What I Ate: Pizza Grilled Cheese

What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.

I love grilled cheeses packed with all sorts of crazy stuff in ’em. Enter: pizza stuffed grilled cheese. I had a few extra ingredients to a basic grilled cheese with some marinara for dipping. It was a super fast dinner without any leftovers clogging up the fridge. I appreciated the use of some ingredients getting put to good use.

The Three Bite Rule - Pizza Grilled Cheese
Pizza fillings:
american cheese
mozzarella cheese
chopped basil
sliced pepperoni

So good. Many of these items were lasagna leftovers (post coming soon!). Saving even small bits of something comes in handy, especially for instances such as this! This was super comforting with great flavor.

suggested adaptations:
grilled cheese + tomato slices + basil leaves/pesto spread = caprese grilled cheese
grilled cheese + ricotta schmered in there + tomato sauce spread inside = lasagna grilled cheese
grilled cheese + pepperjack + avocado slices + salsa to dip = nacho grilled cheese
seriously, the possibilities are endless.

Some other grilled cheeses I’ve loved:
Grilled cheese with balsamic onions
Grilled cheese with bacon and peach compote
Grilled cheese with breaded eggplant and pesto

What I Ate: Apple Cider Oatmeal

What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.

I was thinking about what could make my oatmeal better. I wanted to amp up the flavor big time. I opened up the fridge and what to my wander eyes did appear, but some apple cider! Normally I stir in some pumpkin butter from a never. ending. jar. This time I figured a different liquid could add some spice to my oatmeal.

Then I’m enjoying my apple cidery oatmeal and browsing through some blogs when I have a total deja vu moment! That very same morning I see that How Sweet It Is wrote about Baked Eggnog Oatmeal. No way! Yes way! It looked amazing. It made me want to put on jammies crawling back into bed to lounge and watch SVU marathons all morning.

Anywho, back to the oatmeal. I literally just replaced the water with apple cider. It would be even better with some chopped up apples, almonds, Craisins or whatever floats your boat.
The Three Bite Rule - Apple Cider Oatmeal
I loved it. I know apple cider is almost out of season, but if they’re still sellin’ it then I’m still buyin’ it, even though it is December.

The Three Bite Rule - Apple Cider Oatmeal
I made a ton and couldn’t finish it. I forgot how filling and how much oatmeal expands. Maybe next time I’ll start with less oatmeal. The flavor was big time, especially for the morning, but you could definitely do 75% cider and 25% water if it was too strong.

Make this for a quick weekend breakfast before you do lots of holiday things. I’m seeing the POPS at Symphony Hall tonight and can’t wait! It might snow a little bit again so that would make for an ideal gift-wrapping-day on Sunday after a holiday party and volunteering on Saturday.

What I Ate: Pumpkin Smoothie

What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.

I almost wanted to call this pumpkin pie smoothie, but it is seriously much healthier for you. It only tastes like dessert. It is perfect for fall flavors. I freeze the bananas for smoothies to make it frostier and thicker, but a regular banana would be fine, just not a chilly.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 banana (preferably frozen)
6 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tbs pumpkin butter (optional)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or make your own: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)

Directions:

Add banana, yogurt, pumpkin, pumpkin butter, and pumpkin pie spice in a blender.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Smoothie
Blend and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Smoothie
This is so good and tastes like dessert. The pumpkin butter amped up the pumpkin flavor even more, but could definitely be omitted. I use it in oatmeal, on toast, or mixed into yogurt during all-things-pumpkin season.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Smoothie

  • this recipe – yogurt + ice cream = dessert
  • this recipe + blend with ice + dark rum + rim the glass with graham cracker = cocktail

Does pumpkin-season end after Thanksgiving? What do you think?

What I Ate: Almond Joy Yogurt Parfait

What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.

I was thinking about how much I love coconut and wondering how to make a smoothie out of it. Then I decided I’d just dump stuff on my yogurt. When I dump more than one topping onto yogurt it makes it a parfait. “Dump stuff” is so classy, but hey, parfait is suuuuper classy. It makes breakfast fancy! Right? Right!

The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie

Coconut yogurt is the best. I shared my love for it here during a smoothie coconut almond milk. More and more brands are adding coconut to their Greek yogurt repertoire. Love it.

Ingredients:

coconut yogurt (or vanilla)
1/3 cup coconut
1/4 cup almonds (not salted, slivers are good too)
(optional: mini chocolate chips)

Directions:

Put a small skillet on over medium-low heat.
Tranfer the yogurt into a bowl (you need more room than a yogurt cup).
The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie
Add coconut to the dry skillet. Stir regularly as it lightly browns. Watch it to ensure it doesn’t burn.
The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie
Chop the almonds (and toast if desired)
Add the toasted coconut to the yogurt over the top and add the almonds around the edge.
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It is so good. Toasted coconut makes me want a samoa girl scout cookie. I didn’t roast the almonds but that would be so amazing here. I seriously made this on a weekday for bfast. Toasting the coconut takes 5 minutes and is absolutely worth it. Some chocolate chips would make this legit Almond Joy but it was bfast so I decided not to go crazy.

Aren’t these guys so cute? They’re regular supporters and they felt like their cute mugs should be on the blog more often. Say hi to Windsor!
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Miss Bailee says hello too.
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What I Ate: Sweet Pumpkin Dip

What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.

It is Pumpkin Week here. Check out my Pumpkin French Toast and my Pumpkin Risotto. This is too easy to share, but it is just such a fall delight and very addictive.

I’m not a big baker so this sweet dip hit the spot. It also isn’t the worst sweet treat to eat. I whipped this up, refrigerated it until I was ready, and then packed it for an Octoberfest party. Now that’s easy.

The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Dip

Ingredients:

1, 15-oz can pumpkin
1, 15-oz container non-dairy whipped cream
1 box vanilla pudding mix (regular, cook to serve)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Whip everything together.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Dip
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Dip
Serve with graham crackers for dipping.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Dip
I like this dip. The flavors and ease are definitely the high points. It is delightfully light and fluffy. I didn’t even think about dipping apples until now, but how great would that be?! I spread this onto toast one morning and couldn’t get over my genius moment. Whip this up for Thanksgiving when everyone needs something to munch on.

This is basically a quickie pumpkin mousse. Sprinkle some graham cracker crumbles on the bottom and top with a dollop of whipped cream and you’ve got dessert.

Should we keep talking about pumpkin? One more day! Tomorrow is something out of the ordinary for The Three Bite Rule and I want you to see it.