November 2015 Round Up

November is which a whirlwind for work. Our Thanksgiving fundraiser makes my October & November a bit nutty. By the end of the month I was really exhausted physically, I got a bit sick, I was tired of going to bed thinking about work and waking up thinking about work. I made a few quick dinners but I was glad to not add too much to my plate and just try to focus/enjoy the ride.

This month, sis’ bday was a fiesta! I made Mexican Street Corn and Mr. J made margaritas. Other than that, Mom made everything else. I looooved the corn. It was creamy, salty from the cheese, sweet from the corn, and had just a hint of zest from lime. It was so great as a side. I’d also definitely be willing to put it on a taco. This one will be a quickie repeat.
The Three Bite Rule - Mexican Street Corn
The Three Bite Rule. Turned. Five. Yes, 5 year old. Craziness!

I wanted something really good in the crockpot. This crockpot cassoulet wasn’t the best I’ve ever made, but I liked it annnnd I used dried beans, so that was a first.
The Three Bite Rule - Crockpot Cassoulet

Queso Smothered Chicken over a bed of black beans and peppers was the perfect tweak on taco-night.
The Three Bite Rule - Queso Smothered Chicken

The Little One:
He is so funny. He’s movin’! He took his first steps just before turning 10 months. I love Mr. J’s monthly photos. He always looks like: splat! Like he’s stuck! There are about 5 seconds before he wiggles off. He has no interest in staying still. The poor babe. He had hand, foot, and mouth. It felt like forever. This photo was delyaed while he was cov-ered in it. Ugg. It’s a total yuck one. Let’s not do that again….ummk?
10 month 2

Progress on this year’s goals:

The Year of the Earring:  I missed it this go-round. 

make more salad dressings: I made a dressing for the Mexican Street Corn…counts, right?

factor more time into how long every-day tasks/trips will take:
I’d say I did OK during my busiest time of the year. 

recreate restaurant menu items:
Nope, I missed this one too.

be more adventurous with my reading selections: 
I haven’t read much. 

use the crockpot more: 
Yup! I made Crockpot Cassoulet

seafood once a month: 
Nope, I’m behind on that.

Happy FIVE Years!

I cannot believe The Three Bite Rule is FIVE years old. Five. That’s bananas. This is a crazy time of year at work for the next few weeks so I didn’t quite have time to plan something extravagant. Then again, I’m not going anywhere so it isn’t like I need to go out with a bang. Should I want this to be bigger? I don’t know. I’m pretty content for The Three Bite Rule to just be what it is.

I like doing this. I like making time for it. I like that it is just mine to share with others. It makes me think, try, be a little creative, and remember not everything comes out perfectly. I know not to force my joy into it providing my livelihood. I want to do good work and make a difference in the world. I absolutely adore my job and was happy to return to it after my maternity leave. I learned being home with the little man meant I was lucky and a positive time for both of us but my best self has to work with other people, providing some good into the world. I think work has to be something you enjoy but I also think people make the mistake of trying to have all their wants and needs met by their life’s work. That’s where your hobby can come into play.

This year, woah. I live in such a different world than when I started blogging years ago. The little one is such a joy and my favorite part of this year, of course. Mr. J and I have adapted our meals to fit our busy times of year at work. It is definitely wayyy quicker to make dinner when not blogging it so I slowed to 2x a week and it seems like a good fit. I learned to snap a few more photos to have some more choices. I unfortunately don’t get to snap the photos in daylight very often but that’s just how it is.

So, what’s ahead for the year? I’m not sure.

My Fav Photo of the year:
Salmon with Creamy Dill & Cucumber Dressing
The Three Bite Rule - Salmon with Creamy Dill & Cucumber Dressing
Fav Food of the Year: Chicken Thighs
Tuscan Herbed Chicken Thighs over White Beans
The Three Bite Rule - Tuscan Herbed Chicken & White Beans
Fav Restaurant Re-Creation of the year:
Chicken Meatballs with Kale, Cranberries, and Fresh Pasta
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Alfredo Meatballs
Fav Burger
Picnic Burger with Potato Sticks & Slaw
Picnic Burger - The Three Bite Rule

This year’s goals:
The Year of the Earring
make more salad dressings
factor more time into how long every-day tasks/trips will take
recreate restaurant menu items
be more adventurous with my reading selections
use the crockpot more
seafood once a month

I don’t know what’s ahead and that’s OK with me! I’m so grateful for everyone who reads my blog. I appreciate you!

Trader Joe’s Shopping Must-Haves

Trader Joe’s is a gold-mine for some of my favorite staples. This is totally a collection of my choices and is no way influenced by Trader Joe’s. Joe definitely don’t know me. I think it is easy to get caught up in the seasonal or impulse buys, but if you go with a plan for some staples you’ll be totally set. I don’t find it ideal for general grocery-shopping so here are my top buys:

Flowers
Don’t skip them. Trader Joe’s flowers keep well and the price can’t be beat. $5-bucks for a bouquet? Sold! Best $5 way to brighten your week.
Trader Joe's Top Picks - The Three Bite Rule
Wine comes next in the store layout. You really could just make a trip for these two.

I love some of the jarred items. The pesto is the best jarred pesto I’ve found…after a hunt. Also the crushed garlic is so much better than minced garlic. I used the simmer sauce awhile back for turkey meatballs over faux-mashed potatoes.
Trader Joe's Top Picks - The Three Bite Rule

Next another must-buy is some of the freezer staples. They don’t always have it, but the frozen mahi mahi is sooo good.

Roasted Corn is so full of smokey flavor and is a freezer product they always have. Thank goodness.
Trader Joe's Top Picks - The Three Bite Rule
Staying in the Mexican area, I LOVE the chicken & cheese tamales. Seriously. $2.49 for 2. Such a great quick snack or lunch.
Trader Joe's Top Picks - The Three Bite Rule

I always get some edamame. There’s in the shell or out. They’re perfect as an app or snack or on the side. Grocery stores seem to now have edamame more often, but Trader Joe’s has had it forever.
Trader Joe's Top Picks - The Three Bite Rule
TJ’s eggplant cutlets are so so good. They always have them and I use them on their own, on pizza, in subs, or in grilled cheese!
Trader Joe's Top Picks - The Three Bite Rule
Don’t leave the freezer section without Turkey Meatballs. Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs are the best. I’ve tried all the brands and these are significantly better. They’re also a steal! Fully cooked meatballs are the perfect freezer staple. The baby loves pieces of meatballs.
Trader Joe's Top Picks - The Three Bite Rule
Lastly, peek at the candy before you leave. The are a huuuge value and who doesn’t need a bite of chocolate now and then?
Trader Joe's Top Picks - The Three Bite Rule
What do you get at Trader Joe’s?

October 2016 Recap

I cannot wait until Halloween! The little one is going to be a shark! It is hysterical.

October was a fun one. In the kitchen, I was pretty into quick meals. Work is busy, the little one is busy and hungry at dinner time, and there are always 1,000,000 things happening. Or sometimes we just want to play and then we’re uber hungry.

I did a flatbread with pear, feta, and balsamic which was awesome. Make some flatbreads on naan immediately.
The Three Bite Rule - Pear & Feta Flatbreads
We’re still grilling over here so it is still burger season where I made a burger with Cobb Salad toppings. I loved it. Mr. J often gets blue cheese on his burgers so this was a natural fit.
The Three Bite Rule - Cobb Salad Burger
Another fav this month was a chicken cordon blue pasta. It was so good.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta
The Green Smoothie Challenge – I did it!! At the halfway mark, I had learned what I really like in a smoothie: frozen & milk based. There were some really great recipes. I’m glad I did it. I probably won’t make one daily from now on, but 30 days of smoothies was great. One of my favorites was a banana & coco powder and another favorite had pineapple/mango/coconut oil. I have a whole new spectrum of ingredients for future smoothies.
green_smoothie_apple1
The little one:
He’s too funny. I love his chuckle. I really love his sleeping ability. What a champion sleeper! We’re so lucky. The little dude goes to bed at 7:45pm and gets up at 8-9am on the weekends, or when we wake him at 7 for daycare on weekdays. He crawls then adds a leg in there when crawling isn’t fast enough. He magically began standing unassisted. He’ll pull up to standing and then casually let go.

He’s eating all foods. He literally eats anything we give him and doesn’t seem to have anything he doesn’t like. He’s now eating people food for breakfast & dinner and just a few bottles. He has 8 teeth! I can’t wait to dress him up for Halloween! Eeek. It is just too cute.
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Progress on this year’s goals:

The Year of the Earring:  I got these, just in the nick of time. 

make more salad dressings: I made a dressing with some apple cider.

factor more time into how long every-day tasks/trips will take: 
Ehh. Mornings haven’t been as quick moving as I need it to be. Otherwise, I think I did pretty well.

recreate restaurant menu items:
Sure did! My copycat Roxy’s Grilled Cheese had apple, cheddar, and sweet potato.

be more adventurous with my reading selections: 
I’m reading I am Malala but it has been slow going. I’m almost through the podcast Undisclosed, if that counts.  

use the crockpot more: 
I did a pork tenderloin in the crockpot. It was good to have something to just cook away all day. 

seafood once a month:
Nope, I’m behind on that.

September 2016 Recap

Woo-eee! September whizzed by. We hosted a brunch party, then a BBQ & firepit party the next weekend, then a trip to Martha’s Vineyard, then a visit from Grammie C. So busy and so fun. Work is really ramping up and suddenly fall arrived in the matter of a day or two.

For October I’m doing a 30-day green smoothie challenge (join in! it is free!) so I’ll keep you posted how it goes – not a weirdo-cleanse when you starve yourself and only drink liquids or $30-a-bottle juices. It is a month of green smoothie recipes to get into a healthy habit. Plus, it ends just in time for Halloween candy. I can’t wait to put the little nugget into a Halloween costume!

The Martha’s Vineyard weekend trip was awesome. We ate some good food, strolled around, chilled on the Inn’s cupula, and explored. It was awesome. I was very sad pulling away from the little one but it was good for everyone. I hadn’t left him before but it went well. We had a really fun diner breakfast that might need to be the next restaurant recreation. Stay tuned!

lighthouse

My fav recipe of September is the Bacon Cheddar Biscuits. They were really awesome for breakfast on the go and I popped a few into the freezer. They tasted just as great out of the freezer! These buggers would be the ideal brunch party prep in advance! I just made them for fun but now I’m wanting to jazz up biscuits more often! Spinach and parmesan next?
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
Rosemary Hard Lemonade was perfect for my garden rosemary, or if you have rosemary on hand for something else… ummm Parisian burgers anyone? Lemonade, citrus vodka, rosemary, and some frozen blueberries make for such a fun instant summer beverage.
The Three Bite Rule - Rosemary Hard Lemonade

This salad with cucumbers, feta, nectarines, and quick dressing was good. I was all about the fruit in salad this month also with a spinach strawberry salad!
nectarine_feta_close_590_390

I actually took a week off from dinner this month. It was pretty refreshing to my cooking motivation. We had lots of leftover, uncooked items from the BBQ party of 30 people, so somehow there were a few things to pick from. Also, since I knew we were going away, I really wasn’t wanting to grocery shop then be gone, especially after shopping and prepping for the party. I should prob do that more often. It wasn’t our most well-rounded meals but it was a few days of anything-goes and I appreciated a break (from myself).

The Little One:
He’s so active! He loves to move. He’s been taking steps using a push toy, feeding himself cherrios, and riding in the big stroller insert. He loves looking around and touching everything! He’s curious and babbling. He just started feeding himself pieces of things we put on his tray and drinking water in a sippy cup. I’m so excited! He hadn’t been into textures but now seems more ready/willing.
8month

Progress on this year’s goals:
The Year of the Earring:  I got these and love ’em

make more salad dressings: Yes! This poppy seed dressing was so great a spinach and strawberry salad, or anything else!

factor more time into how long every-day tasks/trips will take: 
Always a work in progress. I did pretty well in September.

recreate restaurant menu items: 
ehh. not this month I guess. I did find an amazing diner breakfast menu on Martha’s Vineyard that I’ll have to use in October.

be more adventurous with my reading selections: 
I read Flight Behavior and LOVED IT after a slowish start. I started Cutting for Stone but didn’t really get going. I blame the timing. I’ll try that one again. 

use the crockpot more: 
Nope, but now that fall is here I’m sure I’ll get going.  

seafood once a month: 
I had a quickie Angry Shrimp Wrap aka, Buffalo Shrimp Wrap that hit the spot. I swear I’ll get on the real fish soon enough.