The Three Bite Rule turns 10! Can you believe it?!?! Crazy!

I’m so grateful for YOU! I love hearing back when somebody made a recipe or when something caught your eye. This lil blog is for fun and is my passion project.

Superlatives!
Most popular (aka, repeatable): Roasted Garlic Honey Sauce! This is a monthly recurrence here. I roast garlic even just in the toaster oven and mixing with honey, olive oil, and butter. This sauce is to-die-for. We put it on a white pizza quite often or it is great on roasted veggies or on a panini or it freezes well too!

Most photogenic: Easy Homemade(ish) Ramen it uses shredded chicken, mushrooms, soft boiled egg, along with a ramen packet and Thai seasoning packet. It is so good and a great use for some small bits of chicken.

Best Sweet Treat: Easy Chocolate Mousse which doesn’t exactly need a recipe, but is such a winner!

Most Loved on Insta: the outdoor pizza oven was our best quarantine purchase! Our ooni is so fun and cooks in 90 seconds! We’ve been using weekly!

I don’t know what’s next. I’ll just keep going as long as it is fun! I think especially in these strange times, something I can control has been nice.

Goals for next year:
Year of the ______: this has been my treat for myself each month. Last year was home self-care items. This year, I’m going to do a year of flowers or plants! We’re keeping the little ones alive, I’m ready for some plants!
More breakfasts – we’re home all the time now so why not add some other options.
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance – almost every day I have turkey and arugula because I like it, but also because it takes a question out of the mix during a hurried time.
I’d like to get the house a bit neater. Sometimes the small spaces add up to have a good impact and I always surprise myself what we can do in a few minutes.
Bullet journal
What I’m reading: I read 24 books this year! I’ll aim for the same goal this year I think. Digital library loans are the key to my success!
What I’m watching:

October seemed to go by so quickly! How have we been home 7 months?! September and October were hefty for virtual work events which makes it feel busy. Work is, well, uneasy right now.

T started going to school for a hybrid schedule! It has been amazing. He did tell me “it is a little not good to not have a nap or rest”. That’s my boy! 😉 He loves it but it definitely tires him out. C doesn’t love when big brother is home doing school the other 3 days- she just wants him to play.

I focused on comfort foods for October.

I made these Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes. I was a fan. The kids were so-so on them. For some reason they don’t always want the bread portion of sandwiches.

These Funfetti Waffles were so fun and definitely a morning comfort. I used some funfetti mix (and have an idea for the remainder) and I’d be interested in playing around to try to make in other ways too.

I made a quick dinner of Ravioli with Brown Butter, Corn, and Sage. I loved the fall vibe-without it being pumpkin!

The Little Girl:
She misses her brother when he’s doing school! She is quite into our toy trains and likes tucking in her stuffed toys to sleep and driving vehicles around. She’s zooming around on the scooter and is ready for more on bikes. Her fav food is definitely any kind of cheese, pizza, and oatmeal. Since she’s underweight, we’re trying so hard to keep her eating and getting dense nutrition into her. She’s totally 2 and still easy going but now we also hear “I don’t want that” or “still using that”.

The Big Guy:
He looooves school. We’re so proud of his can-do attitude and how hard he’s working. He goes to kindergarten 2 days a week and virtual the other 3. Managing the timing and assignments takes attention from us. It has been fun to see what he’s learning! A new favorite lunch is grilled peanut butter and fluff.

November brings my blogaversary! I’ll need to think carefully about goals. I’m hopeful but scared about what’s ahead. Get out there and vote. For the sake of humanity, please go vote.

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/self-care: I got this skin scrub
Prep intentional sides and veggies: nope, not really
Eat more fish: Salmon!
Blog some series: Oct is comfort foods!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: I passed along some too-small kid clothes to the next wearer.
Share more books on instagram: ehh. A few.
Prioritize workouts: I looooved a month mash-up incorporating 4 different programs and now I’m doing a ‘muscle burns fat’ one that’s OK, not my fav.
What I’m reading: I read The Other Mrs. Miller – and that’s it. I haven’t read much at all lately.
What I’m listening to: a podcast on the occasional stroller ride for the girl.
What I’m watching: We found a series called Manhunt about the unabomber and it was captivating! I loved the most recent Brother vs. Brother.

I don’t even know what end is up. September is just bananas. I cooked some fun things but we are treading water to adjust to our new schedule. Virtual kindergarten is going great but working full time, monitoring remote school, keeping the 2 yr old occupied/away and juggling these short time blocks has our brains spinning. I’ve felt more stress these last few weeks than this whole quarantine time- if I’m on top of work, then I’m lacking for the kids/home/friends and vice versa.

This month Mr. J and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary so that was our bright spot! We went to dinner and I had the best meal I’ve had in for-ev-er. We ate outside at Il Massimo and I had scallops over corn risotto with brussels sprouts.

For dishes from my kitchen, I made these pesto risotto stuffed tomatoes and loved them- they’re also great for grocery store tomatoes as we exit the prime garden tomato season! 

These Chicken BLT Grain Bowls are so ideal for a quick and balanced lunch or dinner. Plus if the grain is prepped ahead of time it saves so much time. I went with quinoa but normally choose brown rice or farro.

Our littlest one needs a bit more dense nutrition- so I made some pb&j energy bites as a little but powerful snack. They were a great use of some freeze dried raspberries nobody was interested in!

This cape codder themed burger with dried cranberries and lime aoli!

The Little Girl:

Her newest words are “yup” and “nope” which just sounds funny. She’s so itty bitty so we are focused on upping her calorie intake and retesting some of her lab work next month. She’s doing pretty well with pediasure and needs to bulk up a bit to hit the chart. Her fav foods are cheese of any kind, pb&f, and anything she can dip. She’s playing a ton in the play kitchen and with the trains. She zooms down the driveway on her bike. This gal is fearless. She did fantastic wearing her mask for her whole physical and for labwork.

The Big Guy:

He loves virtual kindergarten! His teacher is fantastic and he impressed us day 1 mastering the computer mouse and the mute/unmute rules. I’m so thankful he’s good at playing for his his breaks and getting right back to it when his next session is starting. The in-person hybrid schedule should start soon so we’re looking forward to him going 2 days a week. He’s still loving pizza and pasta. His favorite lunch is PB&F or “snacky lunch” of salami/string cheese/etc. We transitioned to quiet time with a stack of books on the couch or his bed instead of naps and he looks forward to it!

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/self-care: not really
Prep intentional sides and veggies: nope, not really
Eat more fish: Lobsters!
Blog some series: nope, but Oct is going to be comfort foods!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: not at the moment.
Share more books on instagram: ehh.
Prioritize workouts: I loved a lifting workout program and looooved it. Now I’m doing a month mash-up incorporating 4 different programs it is has been great for the ultimate in variety.
What I’m reading: I read The Yellow House since it is the summer reading at work for students and the community. It is about New Orleans and the city dynamics pre and post hurricane Katrina. I loved it, though at first I was overwhelmed by the number of people’s names without a family tree chart. Then I blew through Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and the Conspiracies to Protect Predators which is a forever reminder how critical the free press is. 
What I’m listening to: a podcast on occasion.
What I’m watching: America’s Got Talent wrapped up and I’m thrilled the spoken poet won- it literally restored some hope for America voting. We found a series called Manhunt about the unabomber and one season about the Atlanta Olympics bomber. It is very well done!

August seems like a blur. Other than the little lady’s birthday, I’m always pretty ready to skip right over it. It is often too hot and I’m ready for fall. This year is a little funky – to say the least. All the days feel pretty similar. I think the last 2 weeks I’ve had a few things to look forward to and that helps a lot. We did a beach day, and my bookclub has been meeting outside the last few months, and I ate outside at a restaurant, and I like the friend zooms we’ve had.

I made fish tacos with mango sauce, which were so good! I love the ease of frozen breaded fish and the speed can’t be beat! They are fun in the rotation for variety and the kids eat them a little deconstructed, but they were a hit.

Cornbread is a bit hit or miss but THIS soft cornbread is a total winner. It is soft (duh) and has pieces of corn. We had it with BBQ pulled pork and the leftovers I griddled (per Mom’s suggestion) and then I drizzled with some hot honey. It was super addicting! I loved hearing a few folks already made it and loved it too!

Hawaiian Hot Dogs were super fun for some variety too. I mean, at this point in the summer we’ve all had all the grilled things. This also turned us onto grilled pineapple too.

The Baby Girl:

She’s 2! Her birthday was fun – we spent the afternoon swimming and making pizzas at her grandparents house. She loves singing “Hap Birt-day” and this girl can put away some pizza! She got a trampoline and she loves it! We gave her some doll house furniture, a book, and some bath bombs. She loves rainbows, reading her own books, and pb&j remains her fav lunch. She loves corn on the cob. She’ll keep a mask on for ~5-10 minutes.

The Pre-K Guy:

He’s starting virtual kindergarten soon! Who knows what that’ll be like! He can occasionally be convinced that we don’t all have to play the same things together 24/7. He is super into spiders at the moment. Legos are his fav. I had to laugh when he decided he wouldn’t be able to keep a secret from C so he couldn’t know what gifts she’d get for her birthday. He has surprised me lately being more into meat- BBQ chicken, and sausage, and burgers. He’s very into corn on the cob. Both kids love tomatoes from the vine and are lucky to snag cherry tomatoes from their grandparents’ garden on the way from the pool.

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/self-care – New facewash may have been the culprit to breakouts so I didn’t introduce anything new this month.
Prep intentional sides and veggies: Yes! Some farmer’s market purchases nudged us out the box.
Eat more fish: we had fish tacos and are prob due for our fav salmon. I’m awaiting a deal on lobsters.
Blog some series: no series but we’ve been a little better with variety
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: I got some baby toys out of here!
Share more books on instagram: yup
Prioritize workouts: I’m nearing the end of a lifting/high intensity interval training one. I liked it a lot!
What I’m reading: I read The Idea of You, which wasn’t good. I actually listened to an interview by the author on a podcast because I wondered what everyone else liked about it! Then I read The Girl with the Louding Voice and let me tell you, it is so wonderful. The writing is magical and there’s great intrigue and heartbreak and encouragement for the characters. 
What I’m listening to: a podcast here and there but I’m behind on all that I’d normally catch on my commutes.
What I’m watching: 10 years late to the party, we started watching Modern Family and it is so fun! We watched the movie Richard Jewell and it was captivating.

July wrapping up has me wondering what the fall will be like- along with the rest of the country. We don’t know what school will be like for kindergarten. Returning to daycare will be a change too. I’m working remotely and I’ve settled into that. July normally would have been a summer vacation week to the beach but this year we just went for a day. It was good for what it was. I don’t feel like I’m mourning what “should have been”.

In the kitchen this month. I went with a lettuce-less salad series. Lettuce is my least fav part of salad so I strove for salads that are fresh and cool and packed with flavor and texture without any greens. Also, whip up some easy chocolate mousse.

This peach, tomato, and mozzarella salad has a balsamic drizzle and was DE-LIGHT-FUL. The kids loved it and it turned Mr. J onto peaches! It was great and we’re already due for a repeat.

Another one was purple cabbage, carrots and peanut sauce with so much flavor and crunch alongside our sesame noodles & edamame. Brown sauce isn’t photogenic but peanut sauce is so great and this isn’t one to miss.

We also had this watermelon, mint, and cucumber salad as a relish or topping for grilled chicken. It was so juicy and crunchy and perfect. I chopped ours tiny- for topping and for a 2 year old. It could easily be bigger chunks for a side.

The Pre-K Guy:

He’s becoming such a strong swimmer! He would have had a summer of swimming lessons at daycamp but here we are. I’m amused to see his monochromatic outfit choices. He looooved getting library books for the first time since March! He’s into the sandbox and puttering around the driveway with tools and discarded remnants from Mr. J’s projects. Go Jetters is his show of choice for the moment. Snacky lunch is the current fav and cherries!

The Toddler Girl:

Her tiny voice singing is just so dang cute. She loves wheels on the bus, happy birthday, itsy bitsy spider and I can’t get enough of it. Her strength and determination is shining through once in a while – maybe I should stop telling her she’s about to be two? She loves jelly, peaches, and yogurt. Her impressions repeating what somebody just said, in their tone is also amusing.

This Year’s Goals:

Year of beauty/selfcare – I got new facewash – so exciting! haha
Prep intentional sides and veggies: Yup! All the salads!
Eat more fish: ehh I don’t know that we had much fish this month
Blog some series: salads, sans lettuce!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area: I didn’t but should get back on that.
Share more books on instagram: I’ve shared the collections I pull for the kids and what I’m into.
Prioritize workouts: I finished barre blend. Then I got going on a lifting one. It is too hot to run this week but I’ve tended to do ~2 miles once a week.
What I’m reading: I finished The Secrets We Kept for bookclub and loved how many topics are represented, then read Girl Woman Other and was so captivated and connected to the characters, and The Wife Between Us which was a thriller but actually lighter in terms of thought required. I’m just finished Beyond Belief: My Secret Life inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape which is a bit lengthy and too many details included and lacked enough personal reflection for me- I preferred Leah Remini’s book for an overview of Scientology and for a personal experience. 
What I’m listening to: a podcast here and there but I’m behind on all that I’d normally catch on my commutes.
What I’m watching: we just watched the Last Dance docu-series about Michael Jordon and the 1990s Bulls. It was so well done and fascinating – despite the fact that I don’t follow basketball and I had no idea all these players were on the same team! We watched the movie The Way Back and thought it was great.