Chopped Greek Salad

Posted on April 3, 2024 by admin

This chopped Greek salad has the perfect bite every time since everything is the same size! There are a few special ingredients to make it extra special – spoiler: mint and crumbled pita takes this salad to the next level.

Chopped Greek Salad - The Three Bite Rule

Chopped Greek Salad
Ingredients: (serves 2 meals, or 4 sides)
1 can garbanzo beans
1/2 cucumber
1 small tomato
1 bell pepper – any color
~10 mint leaves (or swap for 1 teaspoon fresh oregano)
~1/4 of a red onion
2 tablespoons oil/red wine vingear or 2 tablespoons Italian dressing
1 cup pita chips
Optional: 1 tablespoon creamy caesar + 1 tablespoon Tahini

Directions:
Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, mint, and red onion. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Soak the onion in cold water.
Add all the veggies, herbs, and cheese into a bowl.

Drizzle in the dressing or oil/vinegar, salt and pepper, zatar spice or Italian seasoning, and toss well.

Taste and adjust as needed. Just before serving, crumble in the pita chips.
Optional: stir together the caesar/tahini mixture and drizzle over the top.
Enjoy!

The mint and the crumbled pita chips are the true stars of this salad. It is flavorful, filling, and has all the textures. I ate this for lunch – and can totally picture throwing it together for dinner on the baseball sidelines! It’d be great to bring to a party.

Tomato Jam in Grilled Cheese

Posted on February 13, 2024 by admin

While I don’t believe there is a perfect grilled cheese, this one is delightful. It is special and has all the gooeyness with flavorful tomatoes that are soft but juicy. Cut some bread, go wild or classic with the cheeses, and make a double batch of tomatoes to put them on everything.

Tomato Jam in Grilled Cheese
Ingredients: (for 2 sandwiches)
1 1/2 cups (~1/2 a pint) cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Sprinkle of thyme & kosher salt
1 teaspoon truffle oil (optional)
4 slices of bread
lots of cheese

Directions:
Warm a small skillet to medium and add in the olive oil and tomatoes to cook for about 5 minutes until the tomatoes start bursting.
Reduce to low/medium low and add in the brown sugar, vinegar, and garlic to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Sprinkle in the thyme, salt, and pepper.
Remove from the heat and let it cool. (I let most of the liquid evaporate but remove earlier if you want it more wet. Optional: drizzle in a touch of truffle oil if you wish.)

Assemble the grilled cheese with cheese on each side of the bread and a scoop of tomato jam in the middle. Griddle it and cover to melt the cheese. (Restaurant tip: put butter in the pan and mayo on the outside of the bread!)

Give it a minute to rest before slicing so you don’t lose all the cheese!
Enjoy!

It is so good. The tomato jam is bright and a little sweet like a summer one would be while we’re in the depths of winter. I love the tomato jam on quiche or on an English muffin for breakfast. It would be great on pizza or stirred into rice or pasta. The uses are endless.

French Onion Burrito

Posted on January 10, 2024 by admin

Think of french onion soup but make it hand-held and form it into a burrito! Caramelized onions and melty fontina cheese become a meal with mushrooms, some arugula for freshness, and a grain.

This lunch is brought to you by the color: brown.

French Onion Burrito
Ingredients: (for 2-3 burritos)
1 large white onion
1 cup cooked grain (I used farro but rice/couscous/orzo would be good)
~6 mushrooms
1 cup gruyere or fontina cheese
2 tablespoons fried onions
1 cup arugula (or parsley or thyme)
2 tortillas

Directions:
Caramelize the onions – slice and cook over low heat for ~30 minutes, stirring frequently. This is helpful to do in advance, or freeze leftovers!
Cook the grain – I used farro which cooks for ~30 minutes.
Slice and sautee the mushrooms.

Lay out the tortillas and layer on 1/4 of the cheese, then the grain, then onions, arugula, and crispy onions.

Top with remaining cheese and warm a skillet.
Roll up the burrito by tucking the sides in, then rolling away from you and don’t let go. Carefully griddle the burrito with the seam side down first. Rotate to grill each side.
Enjoy!

I used farro but go for rice/cracked wheat/orzo/couscous/pilaf – whatever you have. No tortillas? No problem! Make this into a bowl!

This non-traditional burrito/hot wrap joins the others I’ve made like:
Cheeseburger burrito
Chicken, Bacon, & Ranch burrito
Thanksgiving Hot Wraps
Chicken & Broccoli Hot Wrap

Caesar Chickpea Wraps

Posted on November 20, 2023 by admin

I love all the caesar things so I used the flavors into a meatless wrap. It has caesar flavored chickpeas, croutons, lettuce, caesar dressing, and extra parmesan. I loved the warm chickpeas with crunchy lettuce.

The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Chickpea Wrap

Caesar Chickpea Wraps
Ingredients: (for 2)
~2 slices Italian bread, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt & dried herbs
1, 8oz can chickpeas
2 tablespoons parmesan
2 tablespoons creamy caesar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
2 wraps
2 cups lettuce

Directions:
In a large skillet, warm the olive oil and butter over medium heat and drop in the bread and sprinkle with salt and dried herbs. Toss well and let toast, about 3 minutes.
Remove from the pan and coat again with olive oil. Drop in the chickpeas, creamy caesar, half the parmesan, half the creamy caesar, anchovy paste, and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes to heat through.

Assemble the wraps with lettuce, croutons, ~half or 1/3 of the chickpeas and top with a drizzle of caesar.

Wrap it up and enjoy!

It was a fun lunch. Speed this up by making the chickpeas in advance or use croutons from a bag. This backs well too with just some assembly required.

Leftover anchovy paste?
Make your own caesar dressing!
Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers!
Add some to your Caesar Broccoli!
You need Caesar Deviled Eggs!
Caesar Pasta too!

Dairy-free Lasagna

Posted on May 17, 2023 by admin

I’m deep in the lasagna world through my volunteerism with Lasagna Love and wanted to share an option for a dairy-free/vegan lasagna. This is not the only or best way to make a cheese-less ricotta substitute, but it is likely the cheapest and easiest to source. Let’s turn white beans and summer squash into “ricotta”.

The Three Bite Rule - Dairy-free Lasagna

This wouldn’t be a fake-out for those who normally eat cheese, but some cheeseless options are costly or difficult. A popular option for “ricotta” is bulk buying raw cashews which is expensive, and sometimes using an unfamiliar ingredient – like tofu, or sourcing dairy-free options can be tough for some people or in some stores. I find that this white bean & squash mixture is a solid substitute for ricotta amongst sauce and noodles and some herbs.

Dairy-free Lasagna
Ingredients: (serves ~4)
9 lasagna noodles
1 can white beans (drained but liquid reserved)
1 small summer squash/yellow squash/or pealed zucchini
1 teaspoon dried basil/oregano/Italian seasoning
1-2 cups of dairy-free shredded mozzarella
~2 cups of tomato sauce

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and chop the squash.
Saute or steam the squash until cooked through.
Drain the beans but reserve the liquid and add the beans into a food processor with the cooked squash (my photos are of a double batch).

Blend together adding ~1/2 the bean liquid, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Scrape down the sides and blend until smooth. Add more liquid (or water) if desired. Stir in herbs.

Cook the noodles until totally pliable.
Assemble the lasagna – I did 9 roll ups so I didn’t have to trim noodles for a few servings, but this could be a 9×9 pan too as a more traditional layered lasagna.
Lay the noodles out, spread on the ricotta-substitute and sprinkle with dairy-free cheese and roll up.

Spray the pan with non-stick spray, add some sauce to the bottom, and lay the rolls into the pan. Top with more sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove foil, top with remaining “mozzarella”, and bake for another 5-10 until the cheese melts. The broiler may help as dairy-free cheese doesn’t melt exactly the same.
Enjoy!

I liked it! I made a double batch to have some in the freezer. This is a thin & minimal use here, but I think it gives the impression of ricotta. I will use the remainder for my next dairy-free lasagna request or, maybe I’d mix some 1:1 with ricotta for a protein boost, or with a dollop of pesto. It also could thicken a chowder or add some nutrition to alfredo.