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.

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.

Need some superbowl snack ideas?
Did you see my Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls? Doesn’t get much better than that!

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

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.

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?

December is over and 2014 approaches. In case you’ve been too busy for The Three Bite Rule, here’s some highlights of what’s been happening lately.

I was thrilled to see snow, but didn’t love my commute home. It seemed appropriate for December and a weeknight snowfall didn’t affect any holiday gatherings for me. Mr. J was psyched to use his snow blower. In December we cut down our Christmas tree, celebrated with each family, and I hosted a little holiday girls gathering one afternoon.

The puppies were just so happy to pose for a holiday card. Seriously. They love it. Windsor & Bailee are happy to have attention of any kind, also when earning a biscuit afterwards. Poor Windsor had a rough few weeks of seizures around Thanksgiving and then again on Christmas Eve. I told him people were going to think he didn’t like holidays.

For most of December I was obsessed with quick & easy meals. One of my favorites was Cheeseburger Soup that is easy on a weeknight or well suited to be kept warm in a crockpot.

I tweaked how I suggest adaptations, which has been well received: As seen at the end here for Sausage Stuffing

I figured everyone could use some tips to make better pizza

And after all of that, who doesn’t need a lighter salad inspired by winter


It’s a light few days here on 3 Bite Rule and in the blogosphere. I have a fancy new laptop (eeeeek!!!) for January posts and some ideas for blog-related New Year’s Resolutions. Stay tuned!

I’ve been thinking about meals that are speedy yet delicious. Mr. J has been rushing around to get our holiday card photo done (gonna be AHHH-MAZING) and I’ve been trying to finish up some shopping (thanks to Amazon prime!) and I’ve been decorating so my focus has been on some meals that we’ll enjoy but that aren’t as elaborate as they sometimes can get.

Enjoy these ideas, and leave a comment with your own suggestions!

Chicken and waffles makes a quick meal. I made the waffles with some cornmeal and hot sauce in this post but if you find some in your freezer you’ll be halfway to dinner! From Away blogged about some to-die-for chicken and waffle nachos with maple and sriracha.

I absolutely love this spinach and artichoke pasta. The trick is creamed spinach from the freezer section. It takes longer for the pasta water to boil than anything else!

Maybe your grill is covered in snow, but grilling some chicken inside, or getting already cooked chicken would make Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps super quick.

Lastly, when all else fails, breakfast for dinner. Mr. J makes a mean huevos rancheros. All you need is: tortillas, eggs, salsa, and cheese.

What’s for dinner in your kitchen when you’re busy busy busy?

Happy Thanksgiving eve! I have a few ideas that are just so simple that you can contribute regardless who is making your meal. If you’re not hosting and wanting to contribute be sure to check with your host. I like to make something for most meals, but this is my crazy time at work so this holiday will be low-key relaxing and I think I’ll provide the wine. I also might wear yoga pants and play with puppies all day. Forget the football games. I’m in for the parade though.

Maybe you need a bfast to start your day with something good-for-you. I suggest a smoothie!
Coconut Milk Mango Smoothie

Maybe you need a bfast for whenever-people-are-ready to eat. I suggest the easiest pumpkin muffins ever.
2 ingredient pumpkin muffins

Maybe you need that snack-before-the-meal. I suggest a light pumpkin dip with graham or apple dippers.
Fluffy Pumpkin Dip

Maybe you need a fresh-snacky-item for everyone to nosh on. I suggest this super easy chopped veggies, feta, and salad dressing over hummus with wheat thins. This is a crowd pleaser for sure.
Greek Salad Dip over hummus

Maybe you need the cocktail-everyone-will-like. I suggest something chilled. This is easy to serve in a pitcher.
Apple Cider Sangria

Another favorite cocktail is the creamsicle. I suggest finding some good orange soda and you’re good to go.
Or Creamsicle Cocktail

I’m excited to have Black Friday off. Work is bananas before the holiday and the long weekend makes me even more thankful than the day alone.