Broccoli Salad

This broccoli salad is a staple with our fam and is over due to be blogged! It is crunchy the light dressing is just enough for the raw broccoli. It is still pretty good the following day, or easy enough to make just enough for a few servings…or a lot.

The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad (serves ~6)

Ingredients:

1-2 heads of broccoli (about 2-3 cups)
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2/3 cup raisins (or dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried cherries)

Directions:

Chop the broccoli into bite size pieces.
Whisk together the dressing of mayo, sugar, and vinegar.
The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli Salad
Mix together the broccoli, dressing, and raisins. Let it come together in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes, or 4 hours before serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli Salad
Enjoy!

I love this one. I used 1 1/2 broccoli heads and thought maybe there wasn’t going to be enough dressing, but it was perfect. Mr. J most often makes this and thought the ratio would be right. He advised it often looks like not enough but to toss it together and wait till dinner. (I do the same with pad thai and too much dressing isn’t great on that either!)

It is a good one to prep in advance, even if just mixing up the dressing and chopping the broccoli. I’m all about working to prep dinner in advance. I’d totally shake up the dressing and in the morning before heading to work.

The little one wanted to help so I was going to have him put the chopped broccoli into the container, but he was only in it for the snacks. He munched the broccoli & raisins and whisked the dressing with me. We got this from my mom and we keep it on a regular rotation through the summer.

Truffle Mushroom Grilled Cheese

Ohh so good. I looove mushrooms but I get there not everyone’s fav. I found a nifty mixed mushroom pack and whipped up a mushroom spread. I wanted some texture but a spread to get some flavor in each bite without whole mushrooms. I’m psyched to have leftovers for toast, or burgers, or whatever!
The Three Bite Rule - Tuffle Mushroom Grilled Cheese

Truffle Mushroom Spread onto a Grilled Cheese (for 2 & leftover spread)

Ingredients:

4 oz mushrooms (mine was a mix of crimini, shiitake, & oyster)
1 oz butter
1 oz olive oil
1 teaspoon truffle oil
1 teaspoon mayo
4 slices of bread
2-3 slices white American cheese
1-2 slices Fontina cheese

Directions:

Saute mushrooms, butter, oil and truffle oil over medium low heat with a generous sprinkle of salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Tuffle Mushroom Grilled Cheese
Pulse half in a food processor a few times to chop then scoop into a bowl. With the 2nd half of the mushrooms in the food processor, add a dollop of mayo and salt & pepper and pulse more into a smaller chop. Add into the bowl and mix together with the coarsely chopped mushrooms. Make in advance & refrigerate until serving or make and enjoy right away.
In the pan where the mushrooms cooked, heat to medium with a little olive oil.
Assemble the grilled cheeses with mushroom spread on one slice and the duo of cheeses on the other. Spread a tiny bit of butter onto one side and butter side down into the pan. When it is in the pan, spread the other side with a bit of butter.
The Three Bite Rule - Tuffle Mushroom Grilled Cheese
Cook 2 minutes on each side, until cooked to your liking and all the cheese melts. add a cover to the pan to help melt the cheese before the bread toasts too much.
Let sit for 3-5 minutes. Flip once on the cutting board before cutting. Seriously, give it a few minutes before slicing.
The Three Bite Rule - Tuffle Mushroom Grilled Cheese
Enjoy! Serve with some greens tossed in balsamic. The decadent and gooey grilled cheese with a little tang of the balsamic greens is perfect. I loved how oozy this was. I have some awesome wheaty & nutty bread but used oatmeal bread. American cheese provided the melt factor and the fontina provides a nutty flavor which is strong enough to stand up to the truffle oil and butter. Loved it.

Specialty grilled cheeses make great dinners for speed, variety, and this is not your lunchbox sandwich. I’m ready to put this spread on everything. Can you imagine butterflying a pork loin and stuffing with this spread and some spinach? Ohh yeah.
The Three Bite Rule - Tuffle Mushroom Grilled Cheese

Veggie-Loaded Baked Pasta

I was wanting something beyond pasta with sauce and was thinking I’d make some tweaks to up the veggie quotient. I used wheat pasta. Gasp! I never do that. Never. This was a good spot to do so. You can’t even tell here – otherwise, I really wouldn’t have.
The Three Bite Rule - Veggie Baked Pasta

Veggie-Loaded Baked Pasta

Ingredients (for 5-6 servings):

28 oz can Kitchen Ready tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 sweet potato (fully cooked)
1 large zucchini, diced
1/2 pound wheat pasta (penne, ziti, rigatoni)
2 cups fresh spinach
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup ricotta

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
In a large pot, add in the canned tomatoes, Italian seasoning, garlic, and mashed sweet potato. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low.
Chop then roast the zucchini in a single layer on a sheet pan, drizzled with olive oil for 20-30 minutes – until golden. Stir a few times & leave the oven on.
Bring salted water to a boil for the pasta. Then cook to al dente, according to the package. When cooked, mix about a cup of the tomato sauce into the pasta.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. Spoon a cup of sauce onto the bottom, add a 1/3 of the pasta, then sprinkle with spinach and zucchini.
The Three Bite Rule - Veggie Baked Pasta
Sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and a few spoonfuls of ricotta.
The Three Bite Rule - Veggie Baked Pasta
Spoon half of the remaining pasta on top, then add remaining spinach, remaining zucchini, half of the shredded mozzarella, and remaining ricotta.
Top with remaining pasta and some more sauce (reserve the remaining mozzarella for the last few minutes of baking).
The Three Bite Rule - Veggie Baked Pasta
Bake 40 minutes, covered.
Remove the cover, top with remaining cheese, and bake about 5 more minutes, until melted.
The Three Bite Rule - Veggie Baked Pasta
Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

I loved this! Count ’em: sweet potato; spinach; zucchini. Plus wheat pasta. It is delightfully cheesy and flavorful without seeming veggie focused. The sweet potato thickened the sauce and added a bit of sweetness. It was leftover from the little one and I popped it into the freezer awhile back…not even sure what I was going to do with it!
The Three Bite Rule - Veggie Baked Pasta

Quick Tomato Basil Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a fav to have stashed in the freezer for speedy dinners, such as this! I made a really quick sauce and really focused on this dinner being meatless and flavorful!
The Three Bite Rule - Tomato & Basil Gnocchi

Ingredients:

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
17 oz frozen gnocchi
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic
1 tablespoon cream cheese
1/4 cup chicken or veggie stock
1 tablespoon basil, chopped
Parmesan

Directions:

Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper then roast in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes, until they blister and pop.
The Three Bite Rule - Tomato & Basil Gnocchi

Boil salted water and add in the gnocchi. Cook until they float.
In a large skillet, melt butter and add garlic, and cream cheese to a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and add in the tomatoes and the gnocchi when cooked.
The Three Bite Rule - Tomato & Basil Gnocchi
Simmer and stir in the basil. Cook for about 5 minutes to thicken and reduce a little.
The Three Bite Rule - Tomato & Basil Gnocchi
Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan.
The Three Bite Rule - Tomato & Basil Gnocchi
I loved the slight creaminess from the cream cheese but the lightness from the broth. I think this is a good trick to keep up my sleeve!

Tip 1: use a slotted spoon to scoop the gnocchi out, then there’s no colander to clean. Tip 2: I had a bit too much sauce so I used the slotted spoon to dish the pasta so the excess sauce stayed in the pan.

Speedy Dinner: Falafel Bowls

I’m obsessed with the “bowl” concept for dinners. Do not get me started about the smoothie bowls…those I do not get it. I was wanting falafel and thought making it as a bowl over a bed of couscous instead of as a salad would be fun and winter comforting instead of cool and summery. I looove this for a weeknight dinner or as a build your own!

The Three Bite Rule - Falafel Bowl

Ingredients:

falafel (mix prepared as instructed – I bake mine! or warm frozen ones, or make your own)
couscous (prepared as instructed)
roasted red peppers
cucumbers
tomatoes
feta
Italian dressing
white beans or chickpeas
hummus
creamy caesar or greek dressing

Directions:

Make or heat your falafel and cook the couscous.
Chop the cucumbers, tomatoes, feta and mix in a little Italian dressing.
Spoon couscous into bowls and top with falafel, roasted red peppers, beans, hummus, and cuke/tomato/feta.
The Three Bite Rule - Falafel Bowl
Drizzle with caesar dressing. Enjoy!

I loved this for a bite of this with a bite of that. I’ll totally make these again. The dressing/sauce seemed necessary to bring it all together. A bite of this, and a different bite of that was so fun. Falafel is also a great item to make in advance to speed it up!

I’ll see you after Christmas! I’ll have some tasty treats to share…one celebration is cheese fondue I’m hosting, another is a day of appetizer grazing! I’ll be prepping for the NYE celebrations with family for bfast/lunch/dinner/and treats! Stay tuned and follow along on insta!