September Recap 2024

September brings a lot of big feelings. I love the start of fall, but the anxiety of new routines is a lot. We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary, got back to soccer and fall baseball. I’m ready for some fall temps after some summer-like days. I had a great time cooking a bunch of Italian-ish dishes this month:

First, I made a Pizza Burger and the pepperoni ground into it makes it.

Next I was into a Caprese Quiche after my quiche take out lunch was never delivered at work. It was really simple but great flavors and so helpful to freeze a few slices.

Then, I chopped an Italian Sub and loved every bite.

Finally, I gave the Italian Grain Bowls a little refresh from 2017 and this time it was based on some tomato orzo (which the little eaters gave mixed reviews but both ate).

October brings a little calmness as we’ve all settled and aren’t still sweating! I’m thinking about a few apps and a quick dinner option for the nights we’re fitting in practices. I can’t wait to see what they pick for Halloween!

The Big Kid:
He’s starting trombone lessons for band at school! We were so excited and I loooove seeing him try new things. Fall baseball is….interesting – we like a more chill/less serious chance to play but there are so many kids in different combos each week that the coaches don’t know names. He’s loving 4th grade and being the bigger kids “on campus”.

The Littler One:
She FINALLY has a wiggly tooth! We are eagerly awaiting first tooth fairy visit. She’s starting to settle at school but doesn’t know many kids yet and she’s tired of being new again. Soccer has been great to see her be fully into it – running the whole time, ready, being aggressive, and she scored!

Goals for this year:
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: I got some acrylic hoops from Etsy
More meatless meals: quiche!
sandwiches and salads: The chopped Italian was perfection.
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time: we stopped by Natick Community Farm to see the rabbits and loved it!
redo photos – the Italian Grain bowl was originally from 2017 and was a good facelift as meatballs are an easy dinner.
what I’m reading: I read All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley and thought the writing was fantastic – my mind wandered occasionally but it is a good no-stress book. I read Happy Place by Emily Henry and loved the friendships and vacation spot but the romance was secondary to me. Our bookclub one was The Woman in Me by Britany Spears and I listened to it – being a celebrity sounds awful, but the audio performance by Michele Williams was phenomenal. I read the Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez and will remember it for such a long time – which doesn’t always happen for me!

August 2024 Recap

August includes all the summer things then the real feel for fall. We celebrated C’s birthday and had our week at the beach. There’s such a pull between letting the end of summer be free! to be spontaneous! and also trying to fit everything in!

In the kitchen, I loved this sandwich sauce on turkey…it was perfect.

I thought about low-cook/no-cook dinner ideas

I remade this apple slaw

September is back to school, soccer, fall baseball, and routine. I’m not sure what’s on the menu yet.

The Big Kid:
He absolutely loved basketball camp which was fun to see. He had a bunch of parties and the best time at the beach. He made a beach friend and they happily caught critters all day. We played with gimp and he made them into pretend fishing lures. He always wants to go fishing.

The Little One:
She’s 6! She had a family party at the pool with pesto pasta (her request), pizza, and chocolate cake. She was showered with lego sets, art supplies, her own American Girl doll, and much more. She tried gymnastics and had a great time. Moving on from the early childhood school to the elementary school has her a bit nervous.

Goals for this year:
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: I didn’t make it happen this month. I’ve had a few let downs of the wrong color and a decal that didn’t stick.
More meatless meals: ehh. I may have missed this.
sandwiches and salads: The sandwich sauce was great on turkey!
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time:
redo photos – the apple slaw was a redo.
what I’m reading: I read Margo’s Got Money Troubles and thought it was interesting and concepts I haven’t seen before. Next I read Mayor of Maxwell Street and found it only OK…the final 1/3rd was the best. Then I read Verity and it was mind-boggling. I finished the month with Sandwich feeling fitting at the beach.

Summer low-cook/no-cook dinner ideas

This point of August has me wondering what day it is, what camps are happening, who goes where, how many popsicles has everyone had, and what do we still want to do before school starts!  If you share in wanting some meal ideas for variety that aren’t complicated and won’t heat up the kitchen, here we go.

I did a round-up in 2022 of summer dinners which still work but it always seems to be time to refocus and consider what else sounds right.

Caesar Chickpea Wraps
Flavored chickpeas, lettuce, dressing, and croutons get wrapped up. This includes cooking with a skillet and is fast, easy, nutritious, and could be warm or cool.

The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Chickpea Wrap


Mexican chicken salad
Chicken taco night gets a refresh with NO cooking. It is cool, transports well, and is scooped with chips or a tortilla. Serve on top of salad or greens for a flavorful dinner. This uses leftover grilled chicken or a rotisserie chicken. Thanks Costco!


Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Loaded Fries
These tried and true flavors can go into a toaster oven, air fryer, or could go on a grill! These might need a fork.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Loaded Fries


Corn Quesadillas in herb butter
Use those farmer’s market finds into a veggie quesadilla. The herb butter makes it and the whole thing only uses a skillet or griddle. Swap the corn off the cobb with zucchini or tomatoes.

The Three Bite Rule - Corn Quesadilla with Cilantro Butter

We will head to the beach and have some home days for swimming and finishing our bucket list now that camps are winding down. Our meals could use some inspiration – and maybe a veggie other than the many tomatoes we grow (and love). If this is your time to forget about dinner, come back another time – I feel you.

June 2024 Recap

There’s so much in June for the kids’ end of school festivities and with my work fiscal year-end. We finished strong but I’m also really looking forward to a little more relaxed July! My bffs celebrated our birthdays with a long weekend to Charleston and that included tons of good food, drinks, and a lot of walking. Mr. J didn’t get the greatest birthday or Father’s day celebrations but agreed to a burger and his one gift he wanted.

The Hawaiian Burger was the star this month. It was so juicy and the pineapple slaw was a great addition.


I gave this strawberry lemonade smoothie a refresh from 2015. The extra became popsicles and were fantastic that way.


Lastly, I loaded up Cranberry Nut Chicken Salad and loved it.

July means lots of day camps for both kids this year, which also means packing anything they’ll agree to eat as lunches. I picture more pool time. I have a bfast idea I can’t wait to try out! We are probably overdue for apps for dinner so I’ll have to make that happen.

The Big Kid:
He’s done with 3rd grade! It was a really great year and I love to see him grow up in so many ways. He’s Celtics obsessed and went to the parade. He picked friends instead of the whole class for his end of year party and they are a nice group. He got to see his big cousins play all the sports as their seasons ended.

The Little One:
She had a great time having field day for the first time. She also hosted her first ever end of year party with her class and dance friends. It felt a little sad for kindergarten to be over but I think she’ll feel very comfortable joining the elementary school and with kids who are more used to being at school than in kindergarten. She grumbles about swim lessons but does everything and we can see such growth in her strength.

Goals for this year:
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: I picked cute earrings in Charleston
More meatless meals: hmmm. Maybe not a lot
sandwiches and salads: I made cranberry nut chicken salad!
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time: I had margaritas with the moms’ night out group at El Centro and was reminded to get there soon.
redo photos – this strawberry lemonade smoothie a refresh from 2015
what I’m reading: I read Banyan Moon and was really into it. Then, my fav author had a new book: Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xohchitl Gonzalez had so much to it. I also read Mad Honey which is one I’ll remember forever and wasn’t expecting. It was a really good reading month.

May 2024 Recap

May is a marathon with lots of fun things, true feelings of spring to summer, and also, work is so busy so the month is FULL. We had some fun food and got outside much more.

I made a Street Corn Pasta Salad which felt like familiar flavors in a unique format.

Then I gave a refresh to the beloved Ranch Chicken Burgers we’ve been repeating 4x a year, since 2012!

I turned sausage & peppers subs into burrito-ish wraps. They had great cheesy and mustardy flavors!

My love for rice bowls runs deep so I did a Chicken Parm rice bowl theme.

Chicken Parm Rice Bowl - The Three Bite Rule

June will include a my bffs trip, that busy end of the school year, the end of the fiscal year at work, and of course flag day which is only a big deal in our town. I’ll make a birthday burger, a redo is on the menu, and some other spring/summer ideas.

The Big Kid:
We’re wrapping up the baseball season and school is a max capacity. There are so many field trips, spring concert, field day, the art show, and so much more. We keep hoping we’ll have the last spelling homework packet but eventually it has to be the last one! He got a new bike and is obsessed. It was shocking to see him this spring on his old one where he looked like a clown on a tiny one!

The Little One:
She had her dance recital to wrap up the year and really loved it this year. Her class is huge and I loved that she wasn’t nervous this year. She too had a field trip and will have another one coming up. We got a load of hand-me-down dresses and she’s in her glory with more sequins. She loves playground time during the baseball games and is very into egg salad for quick or picnic dinners.

Goals for this year:
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: I didn’t get to it this month.
More meatless meals: We had peanut sesame noodles & edamame recently!
sandwiches and salads: salad bar dinner one night & a few salad kits were a nice change!
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time: Mom and I hadn’t been to lunch at Legal Seafoods for chowder in a very long time!
redo photos – Ranch Chicken burgers got a refresh since 2012 and apartment life!
what I’m reading: I read Sunshine Nails which was pretty good- it’d be perfect for vacation. The List was kind of a letdown…it was not really worth it. Alternatively, I was very captivated by First Lie Wins which I sought out for a page-turner I could undo the last two I hadn’t loved. I’m pretty obsessed with some others and should finish any day.