Stuffed Acorn Squash

A while ago I was at the grocery store and I asked a guy working the produce area if they had any tomatillos. He pointed me towards squash and said the “weird vegetables” are over there. By weird he pointed me to acorn and spaghetti squash. Not weird at all to me, but I decided to take his answer as “I don’t know”.

Anywho, I’ve been thinking about acorn squash lately and thought it would actually make a super simple weeknight dinner. It has some really great flavors and was so easy. I didn’t know if it would seem like too much of one thing but we liked it. It was like hitting all the food groups in one meal.
The Three Bite Rule - Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients (for 2 people):

1 acorn squash
2 sausage links
1 cup brown rice
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tbs garlic, chopped
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup wheat germ/breadcrumbs
1/3 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut squash in half and scoop out the middle (I saved the seeds).
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Roast face down in a baking dish for 20-30 minutes (or until tender when pricked with a fork).
While squash is roasting, remove the sausage from the casing and brown over medium heat with the onions.
Spoon out any grease/fat.
After 5 minutes or when the sausage is almost fully cooked, add in the rice, garlic, salt, pepper, and wheatgerm/breadcrumbs.
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When fully cooked, add in the dried cranberries and stir well to incorporate the cranberries.
Remove the squash from the oven and flip the squash halves onto their skin. Spoon the filling into them.
The Three Bite Rule - Stuffed Acorn Squash
Return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Optional: while squash are cooking rinse any seeds you saved away from the stringy part and toast in the oven.
Serve squash halves with some toasted seeds on top.
The Three Bite Rule - Stuffed Acorn Squash

I loved this. It is so easy and quick. It felt very fall to me. The cranberries honestly make it. I think it needs the sweet/tart to contrast the savory sausage and the soft squash. I used a cup of single-serve brown rice that just needed to be microwaved. This would also be a good use for any leftover rice you wanted to use up.

Kale Pesto over Pork Chops and Polenta

I know, right? How amazing does that sound?!? Mr. J was in charge of dinner and that is seriously what he came up with. I loved it! It was really good and actually surprisingly easy. I assisted as his sous-chef so I snapped some photos as he cooked.

This is super easy feels totally special and is such a wow meal.

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He found the pork chops with roasted kale and walnut pesto on the food network site. It was so good and definitely one to jot down. If you think you aren’t into pork chops then get a meat thermometer. If you’ve had hard-as-rock pork it isn’t pretty. The thermometer will save the day.

The pesto takes 10 minutes. Polenta takes about 5 minutes. The pork cookes quickly too.

Roasted Kale Pesto

from Food Network
Ingredients:

1 head of kale
olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
2 tbs lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Tear the kale off the stems and spread onto a sheet pan.
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Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.
Roast for about 5 minutes (be careful not to let it burn)
Transfer into a food processor with walnuts, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
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Blend until smooth while slowly streaming in the olive oil until you reach your desired thickness (add more olive oil if using with pasta, add less for topping on meat).
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It stores well and we froze half for a “rainy day”. This pesto would be amazing for a vegetarian dish. It is so flavorful, unique, and not overpowering at all.

For the pork chops we used were boneless but bone-in would be fine as well. Season generously with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary, on both sides.

In a pan large enough to fit all the chops, preheat it to medium-high heat.
Add the pork chops to sear on one side for about 5 minutes, then flip and cook until the center reaches 140-150 degrees on a thermometer.
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We made some polenta too. I haven’t had polenta in awhile but I forgot how quick it is. As in, 5 minutes quick. It makes dinner feel really different.
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Have leftover pesto? Spread it into a panini and dip the grilled cheese into marinara for an Italian grilled cheese. Or use it on pizza or pasta. Leftover polenta? Form into patties and fry like I did here with scallops. Polenta works well with anything spicy like chorizo or with anything earthy like duck.

Restaurant Recreation: Pork Pizza with Mustard Beer Sauce

A few weeks ago I had dinner at Salty Pig and got a pizza. It was too dark for pics but I loved every bite of it and knew instantly that I had to recreate it at home. I made a recreation of Salty Pig’s pizza “today’s pig parts” mustard and pale ale caramel. Sold! I tweaked mine a bit and it was a success!

Follow me on twitter @threebiterule to see the restaurant’s response leaving me feeling HONORED that they responded. Yay!
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Ingredients:

pork butt/shoulder roasted and pulled
2 tbs butter
1 large white or yellow onion
pizza dough
1 bottle beer (I used blue moon)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
1 cup fontina cheese, sliced or shredded
1 tbs garlic, chopped (optional)
2-3 tbs whole grain mustard

Directions:

Roast the pork in advance. I used a small one that went into the crock pot overnight for 6 hours.
In a large skillet, add onion slices over medium to medium low with 1 tbs butter. Cook until caramelized (about 20 minutes for just 1 onion).
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While they are cooking preheat oven (and pizza stone if using one) to 400 degrees.
Empty the beer into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. This should come to a medium boil for about 10 minutes.
Put the pizza dough onto the stone (or pan) and poke a few holes into it with a fork. Cook for about 10 minutes. This is just to get it started to be cooked though so it will be crispy.
While the dough is pre-cooking pull the pork with a fork, and slice/shred the cheeses.
Turn the beer to low to keep reducing it.
When the pizza dough is partially cooked, take it out to top it with a little olive oil then with mozzarella, garlic, pork, onions, and fontina.
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Return the pizza to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
Add 1 tbs butter and mustard to the beer to make it a bit creamy. Whisk it until smooth and keep cooking on low to get it smooth.
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Take the pizza out of the oven once the cheese has all melted and the crust is crispy enough to your liking.
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Drizzle with mustard beer sauce.
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I loved this pizza. I sprinkled a few chives on top to add a touch of color and freshness without overpowering any of the flavors. The pork, onions, and mustard beer sauce are strong flavors but they go so nicely together.

The pork needs to be cooked in advance. While you’re at it, caramelizing onions takes for-freaking-ever. I should have done a double batch some other time. It is a good thing to put on the stove and stir every-so-often when you’re not in a hurry. You can’t hurry a caramelized onion but they’re worth the wait.

Let’s talk about how cheap and easy the pork is. I put it into the crock pot (much like this pork in the crock pot) but minus the brown sugar & tomatoes since this wasn’t a bbq one. I eyeballed it adding some vinegar, veggie stock, garlic, and herbs. I discard the cooking liquid afterwards and then had super tender pork. I didn’t want to run the crockpot all day because I’m afraid it drives the pups bananas to smell delicious pork when nobody is there. I set it before bed and it was ready when I woke up.
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Mine was little and had the bone out. I think it was just a regular one cut and packaged smaller. I read the cooking instructions on it and I cost about $9. We ate it on this pizza (4 servings of pizza) then I mixed it with bbq sauce and onions for pulled pork sandwiches (2 servings) and I have another 2-3 servings I froze. They’ll likely be tacos. That’s about 8-9 times we will have eaten this tiny $9 pork butt. $1 per. serving. Even if I graciously let you count the pizza has really only having 2 servings over the whole thing that’s 6 servings, or $1.50 per serving. Stop. It.

This pizza was hands down one of my favorites. I love everything on it and think nothing overpowered anything else. Each bite was interesting and memorable.

Pork and Vegetable Spring Rolls

On vacation to Bermuda, Mr. J became OBSESSED with a pork and vegetable spring roll. I think he ordered it almost every night. I recreated them for Dad & Mr. J’s combo birthday/father’s day meal. Our theme was “best of vacation” foods.

The eggroll wrappers are from the produce section of the grocery store. They feel like fresh pasta and are easy to use. There are about 20 in a package and I made them all. They were easy to make in advance and bake for a few minutes when it was time to eat.
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Ingredients:

3/4 pound ground pork
10 oz cole slaw mix (or chopped cabbage)
2 tbs garlic, chopped
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 tbs cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 package eggroll wrappers
1 tsp cornstarch & 2 tsp water

Directions:

Fry pork in a large pan until mostly cooked through, about 5 minutes over medium heat.
Drain excess oil off the pork and add in the cabbage and garlic to the pan.
Add in sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce.
Mix well and cook another few minutes. The cabbage quantity will shrink up.
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lay out wonton wrappers. Add about 3 tbs of the filling onto each one. Brush the edges with the cornstarch/water mix.
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Fold the point in the front over the filling, then fold the side points inward towards the filling. Then roll the whole thing over, continuing to wrap the sides towards the center.
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Place the spring rolls on a baking sheet, sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake for 5 minutes at 375 degrees.
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Then flip and bake another 5 minutes.
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I sprayed them and flipped them often. I wanted them crisp all the way around. They also could be pan fried, but I thought baking would keep them from being oily or greasy.

Sesame oil and rice wine vinegar are ingredients I try to keep around. They take any Asian-inspired dishes to the next level and they never go bad. They are good for vinaigrette on salad or a stir fry.  I have another dish to blog for you next week that uses them…stock up now!

I served them with a chipotle orange ginger barbecue sauce. They were a hit!

Sausage Puff Roll Up

These were pretty addictive. I made them for dinner thinking they’d reheat well too but it got me thinking they’d be a good brunch addition! These Sausage Roll Ups use only a few ingredients and are quick to whip up while tossing salad together.
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Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry (or crescent rolls)
3 sausage links, casing removed
1 tsp fresh thyme
salt & pepper
1 tsp garlic, chopped
2 tbs heavy cream
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Defrost puff pastry to room temperature.
Saute sausage, thyme, salt & pepper, and garlic in a hot pan over medium heat. Add heavy cream when mostly cooked through.
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lay out puff pastry sheet, top with sausage and cheese. Roll up into 1 long roll.
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Cut into 3/4 inch slices. Reform if the slices if they get a bit squished. Lay them on the cut side up in a greased baking pan.
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Bake 25 minutes until golden brown and puffed.
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I served it with salad and it was perfect. I appreciated how few ingredients it took. I knew it would be hefty so I used pretty minimal cheese. I had a few mozzarella string cheese laying around so they became my cheese addition (in case you were confusing my cheese disks for hearts of palm or something).
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