Egg roll Bowl

Posted on October 6, 2022 by admin

This dinner was a fun once since I don’t cook a ton of Chinese inspired food- I leave that to the professionals. I do always order an egg roll with takeout so that idea led me here and the format of rice bowls work well for us. The kids were amusing – each eating different elements. T was all about the rice and just some of the rest, C was very into the meat and less-so into the other parts, thus, the beauty of letting them surprise us and having enough things that everyone can find something.

Egg roll Bowls have a rice base, a ground meat mixture (could be pork, chicken, or beef) and a cooked cabbage slaw with crispy wonton strips on top. Some or all could be prepped in advance to warm & serve!

Egg roll Bowl

Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 1/2 cup white rice
2 cups water + 1 cup broth (or liquid quantities according to your rice)
1/2 – 3/4 pound of ground pork
1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 1 clove)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 bag shredded cabbage
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 green onions
wonton strips
duck sauce

Directions:
Prepare the rice – mine went into the pressure cooker for 4 minutes.
In a large skillet, cook the ground pork over medium heat. When mostly cooked through (~5 minutes) drain out grease, and add in the garlic and soy sauce for the remaining ~5 minutes and sprinkle with green onions.

While the ground meat is cooking, heat another large skillet to medium heat and add in the cabbage, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and minced ginger. Toss well and cook for 5-7 minutes until cooked through and softened, or with a crunch if you prefer!

Spoon the rice into bowls, top with meat mixture, and sprinkle on wonton strips. Drizzle with duck sauce.
Enjoy!

We had edamame pods with these and the kids love quiz one another if the pod is full or empty. They ate theirs disassembled and us grown up ate it as a rice bowl.

We keep rice vinegar & sesame oil & soy sauce on hand for Peanut Sesame Noodles (a fan fav at home) and a few times we’ve had these Asian inspired burgers or this bowl reminded me we were overdue for some pad thai which uses a few too.

Salmon Cakes with Lemon Risotto

Posted on June 1, 2022 by admin

We love salmon but I had some not-great salmon from the grocery store that I really needed to use. The salmon from Costco is 100x better so this sub-par stuff seemed best suited to become a crispy cake with some powerful flavors like lemon and dijon.

The Three Bite Rule - Salmon Cake & Lemon Risotto

Swap the rice for any grain you like, just don’t forget the lemon. Swap the salmon for any flaky fish, crab, shrimp, or canned salmon/tuna. Add a drizzle of tahini, or dijon + mayo, or cracked peppercorn salad dressing.

Salmon Cakes and Lemon Risotto:
Ingredients: (for 2 dinner/3 lunch portions)
1/4 white or yellow onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 lemon
~6 oz salmon, chopped or forked apart
1 egg, whisked
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs, toasted
2 tablespoons dijon
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon seasoning (I used Zatar or TJ’s Mushroom Umami or Todd’s Dirt or Italian Seasoning)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
Prepare the risotto (in a pot for ~30 minutes, or I used the pressure cooker cooking for 6 minutes). Sauté the onion and garlic in butter and olive oil. Then add in the rice and broth/wine mix.

Mix up the salmon, egg, panko, spices, salt and pepper.

Stir well and preheat a pan with olive oil and butter.

Form into patties and pan sear for ~4 minutes on each side, flipping just once. (I used silicone egg molds to keep them together while the first side cooked.) Once seared on each side, remove from oil onto paper towels.
When the risotto is cooked, remove from the heat, and juice half a lemon into it. Stir and spoon into 2 bowls.
Top each bowl with a salmon cake.

I drizzled with a little lemon/dijon/mayo/peppercorn aoli and some chives.
Enjoy!

This is such a great meal. I would definitely order this kind of thing at a restaurant but having at home is so special but still easy. This absolutely is NOT a pack-for-work lunch, no fish is a work lunch. I froze a portion for another time. I have visions of getting home some night after baseball and getting the kids to bed and having something delicious to unearth from the freezer when cheez-its aren’t going to cut it.

I wouldn’t put it past me to lightly dress some arugula and toss it on top, or some green beans, or some tomatoes to make this a fully balanced meal. 😉 I loved it.

Burger Rice Bowls

Posted on May 6, 2022 by admin

A burger in a quick & packable form! I made these rice bowls as an easy meal and froze another portion to grab for lunch or to eat quickly on a busy night on the baseball sidelines.

Think of a burger on a bed of bacon rice topped with cheese, pickles, greens, tomatoes, and a final drizzle of special sauce and ketchup. It is perfectly scoop-able, filling, and nutritious.

Burger Rice Bowls
Ingredients: (for 2 servings)
1 1/2 cup brown rice prepared
2 tablespoons bacon bits
2 veggie burgers (or any patty)
2 slices white cheddar cheese
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1-2 cups baby arugula
2 teaspoons mayo
4 teaspoons ketchup
dash of garlic powder
pepper

Directions:
Cook the rice and stir in the bacon bits.
Pan fry (or grill) the burgers and top with cheese.
While the burgers are cooking, chop the tomatoes, arugula, and pickles.

Let the rice and burgers cool a few minutes.
Mix up the special sauce: 2 teaspoons ketchup with the mayo, garlic powder, and pepper.
Assemble with rice on the bottom, topped with burgers, cheese, greens, tomatoes, and pickles.

Drizzle with special sauce and ketchup and sesame seeds.
Enjoy!

I loved these! It gives you all the flavors you want from a burger – just with a fork. I love a bun but serving this on rice is actually easier to pack and eat in a hurry than as a burger. It wouldn’t replace a traditional burger for me, but I also wouldn’t pack a burger to be a work lunch.

The bacon brown rice is delicious. I used a veggie burger topped with white cheddar (but could be any burger or portabella cap) and the bowl gets all the burger toppings I had on hand. It was great. For me it is much more filling than as a salad, but you-do-you!

I scooped another serving of rice and chopped another veggie burger and froze it for a later date. One morning I’ll be so grateful to pull it out of the freezer, throw on some greens, veggies, pickles and some ketchup/mustard/mayo dressing on the side. When it is time to eat, I flip the non-cooked parts onto the lid, then I warm the rice & burger and pile on the raw veggies and a drizzle. It is just what I need mid-day – something delicious, nutritious, and appealing.

Cobb Salad Rice Bowls

Posted on February 16, 2022 by admin

Love a rice bowl – this inspiration was perfect for winter when we want something warmer than salad! Rice bowls are also filling and great to use leftovers! I subscribe to the goal of:
grain + protein + veg + drizzle = grain bowl

The Three Bite Rule - Cobb Salad Rice Bowl

Cobb Salad Rice Bowls
Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 1/2 cup rice/grain
4 breaded chicken tenders
4 hard boiled eggs
2 cups greens (I used arugula)
~3 tomatoes
~6 oz cheese
1/4 cup salad dressing

Directions:
Cook the rice and the chicken and hard boil the eggs. (My rice was in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes and my chicken went into the air fryer.)
While the rice, chicken, and eggs cook, chop the cheese, tomatoes, and greens.

Assemble as you like and drizzle with dressing.
Enjoy!

Bacon, avocado, and pickles would all be great additions too but my avo decided a few days prior to this meal ‘it was now or nothing’.

The kiddos had cukes versus greens, and they like theirs separate and to dip into dressing. I stirred some bacon bits into the rice when I made it the first time!

There’s a whole category (over to the right under “rice/grain bowls”). I pack them for lunch all the time too – I just scoop out the raw things and warm the rest and dump back on and drizzle. Voila!

BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl

Posted on July 7, 2021 by admin

I love a rice bowl because of the customization options! The little ones always surprise me with what is a hit any particular day and the bowls ensure everyone has the same things- maybe more of some parts than others. The littlest was most into the chicken and the big one loved the grilled zucchini…who knew! These were only a slight variation from grilling a few things.

The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl

BBQ Chicken Rice Bowls
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water/broth
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
4 chicken thighs
2 tablespoons mixed herb seasoning (we love Todd’s Dirt, or Italian seasoning, etc)
1 large zucchini
2-3 tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian dressing
1 teaspoon honey

Directions:
Cook the rice (mine took 7 minutes in the pressure cooker – or it could be made in advance too). Then mix in 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce.
Preheat the grill.
Season the chicken with the dried herbs. Then slice the zucchini into coins and brush with olive oil on both sides.
Grill the chicken and when almost cooked through, add the zucchini to the grill for the last few minutes.
Chop the tomatoes and mix with Italian dressing.
Whisk or shake together the remaining 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce with the honey.
Spoon the bbq rice into each bowl, then top with sliced chicken, zucchini, tomatoes.
Drizzle with honey bbq sauce and Enjoy!

Our kids tend to want things separate but I love love love the bites together. Letting them surprise us is always worth it. Grilled zucchini isn’t something we have all the time but they liked it. They do not love brown rice but I think the BBQ sauce made them a bit more into it, and we don’t try to please everyone all the time.

Avocado would be great in here, or corn, or greens, or cheese. The rice could be any grain or starch – farro or potlenta or orzo or couscous…go wild! I usually do a grain + a protein + 2 or more veggies + drizzle of something. I like contrasts of cooked and raw veggies. Here are others!