I just had a lovely weekend of Family Christmas #1 with the C family. Even though we hosted here, I have nothing to blog since a) Mr. J did all the work and b) I’m trying not to do too much while toting around this 37-week old babe in my belly and c) I didn’t want to over complicate things. We had great and plenty of food and it was all a manageable menu. Also big kudos to Mr. J for shopping and prepping everything.

One fun moment was making the chocolate fondue  which I choose since I’m not a big baker. The chocolate seized and then there were 3 of us googling how to fix it. It was a reminder that “you can’t win ’em all”, “it takes an army”, and sometimes the fix-risk is worth it when “it can’t get any worse”. Fun fact: the steam from the double boiler is what made it seize, yet boiling water was actually the fix. It was delicious and we ended up laughing about it and to all a good night.

Anywho, now that the holidays are close, here are my round-up of recommendations:

If you need an app:
This Greek Dip is suuuuper easy, very portable to just assemble on-site, and doesn’t require any cooking. Plus it is sort of healthy. Spread hummus onto the plate, top with cucumbers/tomatoes/feta/Greek Dressing. Dip with pita chips. Ho ho ho.

If you need a drink: 
Have one for me! Make some Apple Cider Sangria to appeal to cocktail-lovers and wine drinkers alike.


If you need a side dish:
This Sausage Stuffing is the best. It also can be prepped and just bake alongside the rest of your meal. The secret is golden mushroom soup mixed into it.

If you need a brunch item:
These Apple Cinnamon Rolls will go with anything, and won’t take up your whole morning. Store-bought cinnamon rolls with icing topped some apples cooked with brown sugar and voila! The best part of waking up…

If you need a dessert: 
Black Forest Bread Pudding seems like such a decadent and special dessert. The best part is that it is foolproof, and that the intense chocolate is nicely paired with dark cherries.

If you need a use for leftovers: 
Puff pastry turnovers work well for leftover ham.

(or a panini is a great use for any ingredients like turkey or meatballs, etc).

If you need a warm beverage to serve: 
Caramel Apple Cider was soooo good. Make it now. Apple cider, heavy cream, and brown sugar amp up and personalize this drink.
 
If you need a hostess foodie gift:
Bacon jam is perfect for literally everyone except a vegetarian. It is nicely gifted in a jar and is easy to tote wherever you’re going.

If you need an easy menu:
This weekend was a prime example of centering an easy/do-able menu around a spiral glazed ham. We made some mashed potatoes & green bean casserole. It was simple enough and nothing crazy.

You could do ham/turkey/pork roast/etc then make your sides something easy like a top your own potato/mashed potato bar. Or host apps & zerts that either you make or that everyone else makes. You can add a wine-off too and your guests will surely focus less on your food once they’ve sampled enough $15 and under priced bottles of wine.

Whatever you serve, follow these basic hosting tips:
1) know what you can do/make/what you have time for & ask others to provide a category you can’t or don’t have time for. Giving a category to those who are picky or have restrictions will be great help for you and make them comfortable.
2) don’t apologize for what you made (same for the condition or cleanliness of your house).
3) plan in advance: map out your serving, set up, cooking, prep, & shopping backwards from when you want everything ready (with extra wiggle room).
4) Enjoy!!

See ya after Christmas

Holy. Moly. November is over. HOW did that happen. I can’t get over it. October and November are the craziest months at work and I feel like I blinked and the turkey has passed. I’m now 34 weeks preggers…out of 40. Wowza. The last 4-ish months have flown by. I haven’t been cooking quite as much but I have a few favorites from November in case you missed them. This month the blog turned 4 years old!

Butternut Squash & Apple Soup came out great. It was a nice comforting fall meal without being heavy.

I cooked so much with apples in October & November. I added some apples to refrigerated cinnamon rolls. This was such a great way to amp up a ready-made item. Barely any cooking for an instant treat.

One dish meals are so great to keep in your back pocket, especially at this time of year. I used some prepared sundried-tomato pesto for a chicken pasta dinner to take this simple pasta dish to something more special and a flavor we don’t have all the time.

Let’s check on my goals:
The Year of the Flower continues! Mr. J got me some yellow ones that have lasted for.ev.er.
send more mail – ehh. I missed this one.
make some Pinterest pins a reality – Not so much, though the baby-room decor ideas are multiplying on a private board.
cook with yeast (yikes!)
try a spin class – um nope. I’m not adding in any super new exercises at this point. I have just been working and relaxing. That’s it.
make more cocktails – umm no cocktails for me until January  I had an idea that I didn’t quite get to. Maybe December.

Bump update:
Mr. J has gotten all the room stuff done. All of it! He also was working like crazy to build a shed and clear out lots of room in the garage. We now can get to both sides of both car for future carseat loading and there’s room to dance park a stroller. The room is super cute. Here’s a sneak peek, and there should be a full reveal later. We picked daycare, a pediatrician, and took a birthing class. The babe is now as big as a honeydew!

I’ve had crazy heartburn that comes and goes and I’ve slept ok. I blame some of my restlessness is the biggest work event of the year. Who knows. I feel so full so quickly that I’m not really even craving anything right now. I miss wine though. Next month I’ll probably address the freezer contents and see what I want to prep. Any suggestions?

December will be crazy but I’m excited. I love the holidays but just didn’t want to be rushed though my work event for Thanksgiving. I see peppermint, and cockpot meals, and hot chocolate in my future for December!

The Three Bite Rule is four years old! F-O-U-R. Cra-zy. Monthly I pretty much don’t know where time has gone.

There were a lot of trips this year: NYC, Cape Cod, NH, Quebec, Prague, & Paris. I changed jobs and am really happy. I was so thankful to have entered into a really great work environment and to not have to go on all the work trips anymore. I love that I get to be around food and conversations about food all the time. Mr. J has done tons to the house this year. I’m now almost 8 months pregnant so year five is definitely going to be different than year four.

The pups are ohh so happy too (just kidding, they’re happy being separate they don’t normally cuddle together).

Let’s celebrate some superlatives:
My favorite post:
Parisian Burger

Most Pinned Post:
Easy Sesame Noodles

Most viewed post:
Almond Joy Parfait

Best Easy Recipe:
Fig Preserve & Prosciutto Panini

So, what are the goals for year 5? I think your guess is as good as mine. I just don’t even know what the next year will look like. I don’t want to be somebody who doesn’t try to do things. I also don’t want to set myself up to not be able to reach any realistic goals. I think I just can’t decide right now what will be ahead. I’m assuming there will be a a baby-hiatus and fewer posts per week.

My goals for the year were something I could think about each month:
The Year of the Flower
make some Pinterest pins a reality
cook with yeast
try a spin class
make more cocktails

I don’t know what next year will be the year of. The year of the flower was one of the best ones I’ve done yet. I might have to go back to the year of the earring. Who knows. Maybe I should transform the grocery store impulse buys into a recipe.

follow me on instagram @emilyran  & catch up on the 3rd, the 2nd, and the 1st blogaversaries.

October flew by. Seriously. I think it was just labor day in NYC. Somehow I’m now 7 months pregnant and work’s huge Thanksgiving fundraiser is just around the corner.

We harvested pears at Mrs. M’s house and cooked them into a few dishes, froze a ton of them for smoothies, then made the rest into pear sauce. The pear sauce has been so good warmed up and served with vanilla ice cream.

October fall flavors kicked off with a Thanksgiving Burger… maybe the best decision I made all month. Ground Turkey, stuffing, cheddar, and cranberry mayo were such a great combo before you’re overrun with Thanksgiving foods.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake was unbelievable and really easy. I’m no baker, but this will appear again very soon.

I think October’s most fun dinner was a Top Your Own Potato Bar. It was seriously so fun and took no time at all.

After apple picking, there were apples appearing in lots of foods, like caramel apple cider, in sausage stuffing, breakfast yogurt, but most importantly this chicken sausage, apple, onion calzone and apple, manchego, bacon quesadillas.

Let’s check on my goals:
The Year of the Flower lives on! I got some funky purple squirly ones but forgot a pic and then added some fall festiveness for my desk.
send more mail – a very special gal got engaged and got a card…though why aren’t there more same-sex engagement cards? I had to resort to congratulations since the engagement are way too heterosexual. I sent the nephews some Halloween cards too.
make some Pinterest pins a reality – Not so much, though I’ve pinned about 1,000,000 baby-inspired pins though I’ve spared my followers with a private board
cook with yeast (yikes!)
try a spin class – um nope. I’m not adding in any super new exercises at this point. I’ve tried to stay active and walking a lot. I might try some prenatal yoga.
make more cocktails – umm no cocktails for me until January  but I made Caramel Apple Cider that was unbelievable.

Bump update:
Lil’ Chil is growing and growing. I can’t believe I’m 30 weeks along. 10-ish more weeks. Crazy! This past month has been baby-centric. We toured the maternity ward, registered and learned a lot about what little ones need. We picked baby names. We not only planned the nursery, but Mr. J painted the walls! We started checking out daycare options.

Next up, classes, putting the nursery together, and a busy, busy work month. I’ll for sure have fewer posts but stay tuned! I’m sure we need more soup and maybe a new pizza.