March Recap

We are so close to spring…I can totally feel it. I’m ready. I love not having to plan boots and shoes just to run outside. March was busy and awesome, because it was my birthday month!

Mr. J and I went to Quebec for my birthday. It was so darn cute. I couldn’t get over how picturesque it was. The food was amazing and I loved how charming Quebec is. It was pretty freezing, next time I’d love a few more degrees.
Quebec Getaway
Then of course the fam had “the cake” for me. It was awesome and I wouldn’t have it any other way. They themed my dinner as all things 3-ways. I got my March #yearoftheflower Also, I got a fitbit which I’m obsessed with. I love the stats. I also like the pressure of knowing if I got close to my goal etc.

fitbit

March was really a fun-filled month. I got to meet the newest B baby who is adorable. I brought them some no-bake energy bites which I think they’ve already recreated. I was really glad to catch up with these forever-roommates.
The Three Bite Rule - No Bake Energy Bites
Hmmm. What other fun activities happened? I saw Flashdance the Musical. Hands down, one of the most fun shows I’ve seen. I loved it and was in the 2nd row for half price. Bookclub finally reconvened…we’ve been on an unofficial sabbatical. Sis and I scoured the antique market for treasures and I left with a rockin’ yellow bird cage for a spring mantle-scape. I was really jazzed about a social media food photo challenge but apparently I was one of the only ones so I abandoned it #healthygbfb

I made an awesome loaded potato soup, which seemed quite weather appropriate.
The Three Bite Rule - Potato Soup with Loaded Toppings
Work is prettty crazy. I have an event coming up that I don’t feel 100% about. I wish it were bigger, stronger, better, etc. As Juan Pablo would say “it’s ok”. The next one follows quickly behind it. I’m loving how busy everyday is, yet I still feel accomplished. It feels doable whereas last year I felt like there was never enough time.

Where are we at for goals
? Funny you should ask. I’m crushin’ it!

year-of-the-monthly self-imposed cooking challenge: I did it. folks, I cooked with yeast. I made Rosemary Focaccia and it was great!
Rosemary Focaccia - The Three Bite Rule

my other goals are on a roll!
send more mail – check! found a great card to lift spirits and encourage…it seemed to do it’s job and had perfect timing.
make some Pinterest pins a reality – check! the energy bites were a pin!
cook with yeast (yikes!) – check!! I made rosemary focaccia
try a spin class not yet
make more cocktails – check! I made instant sangria
Buy myself flowers more often – check! birthday flowers

Quebec Getaway

I’m baaaack! I took Monday off because

IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY!!

Mr. J and I went to Quebec for a long weekend. It was just what I wanted. Quebec is super cute and the food was fantasic. I very much appreciated getting to see the city without running ourselves ragged. Well, we could not have run. It was -15 degrees part of the time. I have a whole new appreciation for weather in the 20s and 30s. We enjoyed the old city and poked around between meals.

Quebec_fontWe were just across the square from Chateau Frontenac, the most photographed hotel in. the. world.

quebec_lower
It just looks like the set of a musical. I felt like any moment I’d have to step aside for a horse-drawn carriage with the heroine singing a tune as she passed snow covered shop steps and lit trees next to ice sculptures. That didn’t happen. But this is for real though, this is what it looks like. So cute!

We ate some really great meals. The best one was at an adorable French bistro. I, of course, got duck confit. This one came with a citrus salad of herbs and more duck confit. Ahhh-mazing.
Quebec_duck

Mr. J got steak frites
Quebec_steak
The creme brûlée didn’t photograph well, but it was MAPLE creme brûlée which was every bit as good as it sounded.

On a more casual night we got burgers, a boozy milk shake, and coq au vin poutine!
quebec_poutine

Cheese curds are so interesting. I was thinking the texture would be too much for me, but it wasn’t. I found them to be sort of like fresh mozzarella. I don’t understand the squeak?

We had a half day our 3rd and final day, which was also my birthday. We started with pain au chocolat.

quebec_pain
and croissant egg sandwiches for the best of both worlds.
quebec_eggsand

Actually, another best that morning was that we got an extra coffee by accident! One bfast came with coffee so we added another. They gave us 2 and then the one came with the food. Jackpot! Happy birthday to me!

Quebec_falls
We took a quick ride (to defrost) over to the frozen waterfalls. Pretty spectacular. See that speck near the orange snow-fence? That’s a person. These falls are huuuge! I wasn’t sad that the 500-stairs up the side are closed for the snow. #nextime

It was a great getaway. I loved it. You should follow me on instagram. I went #happy, and I’m onto a new photo challenge, and I have a family birthday celebration this coming weekend. I’m a pretty lucky girl! (despite coming back to a clog in our sink drain/disposal and the pup having a seizure in our first few hours of sleep being home.)

February In Review

How is February over already? Time is kind of zooming past me. Normally I only feel like time-flies when I’m super busy and over-scheduled. February wasn’t exactly like that but work is busy and I love it. I’m ready for Mother Nature to see the other side, but that might mostly have to do with Mr. J being a one-armed bandit after a hockey injury resulting in a dislocated shoulder. #notfun

The Olympics have taken over the last few weeks of February. Sis had a very themed party. I took a terrible assortment of pics resulting in either an awkward portrayal of a great theme or no blog post…I went with the latter. At least from here you can check out the Jenner Juice (throwback Pepsi), some Olympic torches int he background and Olympic rings in the foreground. I got snowboarding and Austria for a medal pool and was a winner! I was pretty close on the USA medal count though! IMG_3910
I snuck in a few spring-inspired dinners to look past the snow:
like caprese stuffed chicken
The Three Bite Rule - Caprese Chicken
and mojito shrimp which might be my fav photo this year
The Three Bite Rule - Mojito Shrimp
I used some leftover fondue to make some pretty rock-star Kale Mac & Cheese
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Mac & Cheese
My last favorite meal of February has to be Prosciutto, Fontina, and Fig Panini

The Three Bite Rule - Fig & Prosciutto Panini
So, what’s next for March? I’ll have a birthday getaway that I’m sure will be filled with delicious goodies.

Goals update:
#yearoftheflower is going strong, thanks to Mr. J for Valentine’s Day
self-imposed cooking challenge: I made a quickie Curry Carrot Soup that was pretty good, and definitely something different for me.
foodie excursion: the best chicken burger I’ve ever had at Grass Fed & a spur of the moment dinner at Sky for a flatbread that totally needs to be recreated at home.

With February coming to a close do you know what that means? On Monday I will feel like the camel from the commercial GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS!? My birthday is riiiight around the corner, and it’s a biggie!

January Round-Up with Superbowl Snack Ideas

The start to 2014 has been great. Work has been rolling along and getting busy. Hitting my first 3-months at the new job has me feeling more settled and more knowledgeable about everything. I can’t believe it has already been 3 months! Lots of folks at work are all about their fitbit/jawbone/nike fuelband/etc. It’d be a great comparison, thought I don’t exactly have the ability to buy them all and test ’em out. It does have me thinking and wanting to blog something….

I’ve been really appreciating the hibernation-feeling of January. I love having some fun things happening over the weekend but it isn’t non-stop. That’s my favorite. There’s time to make last-minute plans and the freezing temps makes me enjoy hunkering down with some great down-time…perfect for old West Wing episodes (I’m up to season 3). I’m behind on the book I should be reading but I’ll get going. A step aerobics class has brought me back to way-back-when I took step 9 years ago.

For February, I’m psyched for the Olympics. I just watched the Price of Gold story about the ’94 figure skaters, which I remember happening. It was fascinating!

Do you follow me on instagram? I posted a pic of an unbelievable dinner of chicken and waffles Mr. J made. He fried the chicken himself and we couldn’t get over it. Crazy good. Also, I found roasted garlic at the salad bar in the grocery store for dirt cheap. Such a great 40-cent find! Who knew?

In January I redid my traditional lasagna with assembly tips and LOTS of adaptation suggestions.
The Three Bite Rule - Traditional Lasagna

I posted my cheese fondue party. I repeated the fondue for New Year’s Eve too. I still need to show you what I did with some leftovers. Ahhh-mazing. Stay tuned.

Maple Dijon Chicken is such a simple but fantastic recipe. It takes barely any time and you’ll make it again and again. Just try it.
The Three Bite Rule - Maple Dijon Chicken


Need some superbowl snack ideas?

Did you see my Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls? Doesn’t get much better than that!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
To add to your Superbowl Spread….
No-Cooking Required Greek Dip is a base of hummus with chopped veggies, feta, and Greek dressing. Super easy and fresh.
Or Make Everything in a Muffin Tin for easy plate-filling and minimal game distractions.
Apple Cheesecake Dip with apple dippers is an addictive sweet dessert-ish dip
Set up a panini bar or a taco bar or a nacho bar and let your guests make-your-own. The ease is great for the host, and everyone loves to customize their own.


Status of This Year’s Goals:

Year-of-the: self imposed cooking challenge resulted in seeking savory breakfast ideas via Quiche Lorraine
The Three Bite Rule - Quiche Lorraine
also I bought myself more flowers

I’m not sure what will be on the menu in February yet. I have some kitchen tips I was thinking of sharing. I have some more salad and panini ideas. February is a great time for wintry food so I’ll see what else I come up with.

Cooking Forward to 2014

New Year’s resolutions leave me kind of undecided. Part of me thinks why not use the change in the calendar to be a better self. No time like the present to do or start something. The other part of me feels like there’s pressure to claim something big, or change drastically while sometimes New Year’s day feels a heck of a lot like the day before.

A friend told me once about doing a year-of-the-_____. I’ve enjoyed it some years while other years it gets kind of dropped. I think I want to do a food related one this go-around.

The 1st year I did year-of-the-earring. It was perfect since I’m picky about earrings.
The 2nd year I did the year-of-the-footwear. This worked well as I didn’t want to limit myself to just shoes.
The 3rd year I did year-of-the-home decor since it was the year we bought a house. It was kind of a bust.
Last year I thought I’d like to be more crafty, thank you Pinterest. I decided on a year-of-the-DIY craft. I probably did about half the year…if that.

I have a few thoughts for 2014 that might be fun blog posts themes, and we’ll see which actually happen. Maybe a monthly reminder is all I need, or maybe whatever sticks is just meant to be.
a) year-of-the-grocery store impulse buy
b) year-of-the-food re-do/restaurant recreation
c) year-of-the-monthly self-imposed cooking challenge
d) year-of-the-foodie excursion

Cooking Light has an actually do-able 12 Healthy Habits monthly challenge that is actually do-able.

Maybe I also will set some attainable goals for the year:
send more mail
make some Pinterest pins a reality
cook with yeast (yikes!)
try a spin class
make more cocktails
Buy myself flowers more often

What do you think? Do you make resolutions? Do you like hearing what others are doing for a resolution?