Bahn Mi Bowl

For as much as I don’t usually want foods to touch, I’m 100% on board for foods that go together served in a bowl. Bring on all the bowl meals! Build your own! Love it! I made these bahn mi bowls as a quick dinner that could have been made more perfect, but speed is the name of the game here. I figured out the best cheat workaround to not pickling veggies for 24-hours in advance!
Bahn Mi Bowl - The Three Bite Rule

I’d totally make these with leftover pulled pork too! I skipped pickling the carrots mostly because I forgot. My workaround? Pickle juice! A few spoonfuls of pickle juice from our fav local pickles was exactly what this needed. That touch of tart flavor was perfect.

Quick & Easy Bahn Mi Bowls for 3-4

Ingredients:

3-4 thin sliced pork cutlets
1 cup brown rice
2 cups broth/water
3-4 thin pork chops
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (optional)
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
1/4 cup pickle juice

Directions:

Marinate the pork in the soy sauce and rice vinegar overnight, or before cooking.
Cook the rice with broth or water. (I cooked mine in the pressure cooker).
Pan fry the pork in the marinade over medium heat until cooked to 145-degrees using a meat thermometer- just 3-4 minutes on each side.
Chop the carrots and cucumbers into matchsticks. Then slice the pork and chop the cilantro.
Bahn Mi Bowl - The Three Bite Rule
Pour the cooked marinade into the rice and mix. (Only from the pan, not any from the raw pork.)
Stir together the Sriracha and mayo.
Spoon rice into each bowl, then add sliced pork, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, and sriracha aoli. Then drizzle with pickle juice.
Bahn Mi Bowl - The Three Bite RuleEnjoy!

This was fun for a speedy dinner. The pork is soooo fast to cook just being careful not to overcook. Overcooked pork is tough and tasteless. I meant to pickle the carrots but forgot until it was literally time to make this- thus my pickle juice being added on there. Rice in the pressure cooker is so amazing. Brown rice cooks in no time and I love how soft and sticky it gets. It makes great leftovers or can be on a roll or as a bowl.

The little one liked it since he is 100% game for rice, any day of the week.
Bahn Mi Bowl - The Three Bite Rule

Farro Breakfast Bowl with Egg, Bacon & Everything Bagel Seasoning

My grocery store’s grain offerings are scant and uber expensive so amazon prime came to the rescue! I love texture and nuttiness of different grains and had leftover farro from a lunch I packed. The beauty of this breakfast bowl is the base could be any leftover grain.

The Three Bite Rule - Farro Breakfast Bowl

Here’s by bowl formula:

grain: farro; cracked wheat; brown rice; lentils; bulgar, wheat berries, quinoa, cauliflower rice
greens: baby spinach; kale; chard
meat: bacon; sausage; ham
topper: fried egg; soft boiled egg; avocado; sauteed mushrooms; cheese

So much of this can be prepped in advance, which is perfect for breakfast, or dinner! I used leftover farro and made some everything bagel seasoning in advance. My spice drawer does not need one more jarred spice so I make my own seasoning, but I’ve seen this for sale.

Farro Breakfast Bowl with Egg, Bacon & Everything Bagel Seasoning

Ingredients:

~1 cup prepared farro (or other grain)
1 teaspoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
dash kosher salt & cracked pepper
3 strips of bacon
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 egg

Directions:

Cook the grain or use leftovers.
Add minced onion, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, salt & pepper to a small dry pan to medium heat for 2-5 minutes. Then remove from the pan immediately (that minced onion goes from toasted to burnt quickly!)
Then pan fry the bacon until crisp and remove to drain on paper towel.
Drain the bacon grease from the pan and saute the greens for 3-5 minutes with a tiny bit remaining in the pan.

The Three Bite Rule - Farro Breakfast Bowl
Assemble the bowl with the farro, greens, half of the bacon, and a teaspoon of the everything bagel seasoning all mixed together.
Fry or soft boil the egg and add on top, with a last sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning and remaining bacon.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Farro Breakfast Bowl
I looooved this. It has some of my thinking of a bacon, egg and seasoning breakfast grain bowl, but was sooo much better because of the greens and the runny yolk. You are winning your day if you eat something green before 9am.

I’ll totally want to get a sausage, egg, and cheese with everything bagel seasoning variation going because that’s my go-to bfast sandwich choice.

Sausage, Arugula, and Walnut Rice Bowls

This rice bowl continues the obsession! I used grilled sausage, arugula, mushrooms, apple, toasted walnuts and rice with a drizzle of honey mustard. It was the perfect barely-needing-cooking for a summery dinner. It kind of is a nod to fall with the apples & nuts but the sausage, apples, walnuts, and arugula beg for the mustard.

The Three Bite Rule - Sausage, Arugula, and Rice Bowl

Sausage, Arugula, and Walnut Rice Bowls

Ingredients: (for 2-3 servings)

1-2 cups of rice/grain of choice (I used brown rice)
2 Sweet Italian Sausage (or chicken sausage)
1 cup mixed mushrooms
1 apple, chopped
2 cups arugula
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup honey mustard

Directions:

Preheat the grill then grill the sausage.
Cook the rice and keep warm until serving.
In a dry skillet, toast the walnuts stirring regularly for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Empty the nuts out and saute the mushrooms in a little butter until golden in the same skillet.
Assemble the bowls with rice at the bottom and top with sliced sausage, nuts, mushrooms, arugula, apple and then drizzle with honey mustard.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage, Arugula, and Rice Bowl
Love! I live for the bites with all different elements.  I like the nutty brown rice, with arugula, with apple, with nuts, with honey mustard. Ohh yes.

What I Ate: Burrito Bowl

I know, you can totally figure this out on your own, but here are a few ways to amp up your burrito bowl. Mexican Street Corn and a quick dressing makes this so. much. better than just leftover taco filling…which is where I started. Taco night leftovers are the best leftovers out there but I love them in a completely different format.

The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl

Burrito Bowl (for 2)

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/3 cup ranch dressing
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 cup corn, cooked and cooled
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tablespoon mayo
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup ground turkey/chicken/pork/beef spiced with taco seasoning
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup black beans

Directions:

Cook the rice.
In a small food processor, mix together the ranch, cilantro, and taco seasoning. Blend well and chill until serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Mix together the corn, feta, mayo, lime juice, and chili powder. Chill until serving, or make in advance.
The Three Bite Rule - Mexican Street Corn
Assemble together the rice on the bottom then top with ground meat, beans, lettuce, and street corn.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Drizzle with the dressing.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Serve and enjoy! I wish I’d had tomatoes, but we ate them all the night before. I had avocados but totally forgot! I started eating and then remembered salsa! Add whatever you have: tortilla chips; cheese; sour cream; queso; jalepenos…whatever you like!

Chicken with Peanut Sauce Grain Bowl

I can’t stopppp! I love these bowls with a few elements tied together with a quick drizzle of sauce for a balanced, speedy, and fun dinner. I appreciate these qualities most during my busy time of year at work and with meals the toddler can eat before/after us. Next time this one could use more texture, but it was tasty and added some good variety to the week.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken with Peanut Sauce Grain Bowls

Chicken & Sweet Potato Grain Bowl with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients (for 3-4 bowls):

1 cup cracked wheat (or any grain of your choosing: rice/lentils/farro/couscous/quinoa/etc)
1 1/2 cups water
3 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
1 -2 sweet potatoes
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon lime juice
touch of Sriracha sauce
1 avocado (or 1 cup edamame)

Directions:

Marinate the chicken overnight, or for 3+ hours in Italian dressing & some soy or teriyaki sauce. Then heat up the grill.
Cook the grain: I used cracked wheat + 1 1/2 cups water to a boil, then covers and cooks over low for 20-ish minutes.
Micro the sweet potato(es) for about 5 minutes. Flip them once and poke holes with a fork.
Grill the chicken until cooked through.
Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar, lime juice, and hot sauce to a bowl.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken with Peanut Sauce Grain Bowls
Whisk together, and add in a splash of water. Whisk again, and add more water if needed. (I started with about a tablespoon and added another teaspoon). It should be drippy enough to drizzle over the top of your bowls.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken with Peanut Sauce Grain Bowls
Once the chicken has sat for a few minutes, slice into strips. Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice in half, then scoop from the skin with a spoon and slice into bite-sized pieces.
Assemble the bowls with 1/4 of the grain in the base of each bowl, then add chicken, sweet potato, and avocado. Drizzle the peanut sauce on top.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken with Peanut Sauce Grain Bowls
I loved the peanut sauce being creamy from the pb and salty from the soy sauce and a little wake up from the ginger and sriracha sauce. I cooked the sweet potato the night before so these were even speedier than they seemed! I thought I had edamame int he freezer – that would be a better texture to each bite than the soft avocado with soft sweet potato.

What’s my next bowl? I need a new theme!