Strawberry Cucumber Cocktail

Strawberries have been suuuper cheap lately so I brought a huuuuge container and boozed some up. This takes a bit of lead time to flavor the vodka but throw it in a jar a few hours (or a few days before) and cocktail time will be here soon enough.
The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Cucumber Cocktail

Strawberry Cucumber Vodka Cocktail

Ingredients (for 4):

~4 oz vodka
1/4 cucumber, sliced
1 1/2 cups strawberries
3/4 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
simple syrup: 1/2 cup water + 1/4 cup sugar
~8 oz tonic or soda water

Directions:

Add the vodka and cucumber slices to a glass jar and give a shake and let refrigerate for 4+ hours (mine were in there 48 hours!).
Over medium heat, cook the strawberries, 3/4 cups water, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Allow to cool, and blend or combine in a food processor. Refrigerate.
In the strawberry pot, cook the 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup until the sugar dissolves. Let cool and refrigerate. (This saves you an extra pot to wash, and “scents” the simple syrup with strawberry flavor from the remnants on the pot.)
When serving, shake together the the strawberry “juice”, 4 shots of cucumber vodka, and ice.
The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Cucumber Cocktail
Add some ice to each glass, and ~2 oz tonic per glass, then pour in the strawberry mix.
The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Cucumber Cocktail
Cheers!

I loved this. The cucumber flavor was there to totally take over the vodka flavor. If cuke is your jam, you could even make cucumber simple syrup! This is drink is cool, sweet, refreshing, and delightful. I’ll totally make this again! Make a big batch in a pitcher or pour a tray of glasses for your next party!

Restaurant Recreation: Bfast Tots Hash

Lulu’s Allston has this so decadent White Trash Hash that is tots, topped with braised short ribs, hollandaise, with poached eggs. It came in a close 2nd place at a brunch battle event and I totally thought it should have won. I recreated at home during my mini stay-cation. A day home alone calls for brunch, with a 2nd cup of coffee. The pups watched me take my plate out and must have been thinking: ‘what, the heck is going on?’ or ‘can I have some?’. I made a cheesy sauce since it is easy to make a small amount.

The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Hash
Sooo good! Using the toaster oven made it surprisingly quick. My eggs weren’t 100% perfect but a bit runny. They’re the most testy part of putting this together. Mr. J is suuuper skilled at pealing soft boiled eggs. I am not. I use a metal insert for poaching eggs- which takes a bit of practice. I’m getting there.

Bfast Tot Hash (for 2)

Ingredients:

2 cups tator tots
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon butter
2 eggs

Directions:

Bake the tots until very crispy. (I popped mine in the toaster oven on broil so they only took 15 minutes.)
In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, mix together the milk and cream cheese until melted and whisks smoothly – about 5 minutes. Then whisk in the cheese and butter.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Hash
While the cheese sauce cooks, poach or soft boil the eggs.  (poach in water = ~3 minutes; poach in insert= ~4 minutes; soft boil= ~5 minutes)
Lay the tots on plates, then drizzle cheese sauce, top with the egg, another drizzle of cheese sauce, and salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Hash
Poke that yolk and enjoy!

What I Ate: Burrito Bowl

I know, you can totally figure this out on your own, but here are a few ways to amp up your burrito bowl. Mexican Street Corn and a quick dressing makes this so. much. better than just leftover taco filling…which is where I started. Taco night leftovers are the best leftovers out there but I love them in a completely different format.

The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl

Burrito Bowl (for 2)

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/3 cup ranch dressing
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 cup corn, cooked and cooled
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tablespoon mayo
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup ground turkey/chicken/pork/beef spiced with taco seasoning
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup black beans

Directions:

Cook the rice.
In a small food processor, mix together the ranch, cilantro, and taco seasoning. Blend well and chill until serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Mix together the corn, feta, mayo, lime juice, and chili powder. Chill until serving, or make in advance.
The Three Bite Rule - Mexican Street Corn
Assemble together the rice on the bottom then top with ground meat, beans, lettuce, and street corn.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Drizzle with the dressing.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Serve and enjoy! I wish I’d had tomatoes, but we ate them all the night before. I had avocados but totally forgot! I started eating and then remembered salsa! Add whatever you have: tortilla chips; cheese; sour cream; queso; jalepenos…whatever you like!

Cheeseburger Potato Skins

These cheeseburger potato skins were so fun, especially for a drizzly evening when grilling wouldn’t have been ideal. Mark these down for the next time you have just a liiiitle ground meat and want to make a meal for three out of one burger’s worth. The little one is obsessed with “helping cook” so we made these together. Plus, I taught him to say garnish, so there’s that.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins

Cheeseburger Potato Skins (meal for 3, or appetizer for 5-6)

Ingredients:

3 potatoes
1/4 pound ground beef/turkey/chicken
1 tablespoon hamburger seasoning (don’t buy this, I had a packet to use up, otherwise it is: onion powder; paprika; garlic powder; black pepper; dried basil)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
pickle slices for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees, and preheat a medium skillet.
Cook the potatoes until cooked through. (I microwaved mine for 5 minutes.)
Scoop out the insides of the potatoes, leaving about a 1/4 inch thick edge from the skin to the inside.
Brush with the olive oil & spices, then broil for 5 minutes (until crisp).
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins
Whisk together the ketchup, mustard, and worcestershire sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins
Cook the ground meat until no-longer pink in the skillet, then add in the sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 3 minutes or so.
Remove the tray of potato skins and sprinkle in a little cheese, then spoon the meat mixture in.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins
Top with more cheese & bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with pickles.
cheeseburg_pot_plate_590_390
Serve & enjoy!

These were fun bun-less burger, fit for inside eating. It is a tricky line of cooking food we’re all going to eat together while the little one’s has time to cool (usually a turbo cool in the freezer) while ours remains hot. Serve with a salad and poof, dinner’s done.

I’m looooving cooking with the little one. I did have to send him to tell Daddy “5 minutes” so I could quiiiiickly snap a pic before getting the hot pan out of reach. He loves spoons, spatulas, and the like. Sometimes his “helping cook” is to hold this unused, uncooked potato while I’m yielding a knife, but whatevs. He ate all the tomato out of our salad bowl which was kind of funny.

Bahn Mi Burgers

Eeeee! I’m so excited. This was such a fun burger and exactly what I needed to get back into my cooking groove. I seriously haven’t made anything interesting in weeks. It’s been all no-thought-required-meals…until now…I flavored the meat, mixed up a sauce, and topped these with cucumbers, avocado, and cilantro. They were so fun! Albeit, not authentic, but delicious nonetheless.

The Three Bite Rule - Bahn Mi Burger

Bahn Mi Burgers

Ingredients: (for 3 burgers)

3/4 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 cup mayo
1 tablespoon sriracha (or more, to taste)
1 teaspoon Italian dressing
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro + 2-3 sprigs of cilantro leaves
3 burger buns
cucumber, sliced thin
avocado, sliced thin

Directions:

Mix together the pork, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Bahn Mi Burger
Form patties and heat the grill and cook the burgers.
Stir together the mayo, sriracha, salad dressing, and chopped cilantro.
The Three Bite Rule - Bahn Mi Burger
Chill the sauce until serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Bahn Mi Burger
Top the burgers with avocado, cucumber, cilantro leaves, and sriracha mayo.
The Three Bite Rule - Bahn Mi Burger
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Bahn Mi Burger

I loved this burger! I made them with pork since a) I don’t eat red meat and b) it is more reminiscent of a bahn mi and c) it can be easier to have all the same since I was seasoning the meat. I kept the sauce pretty mellow since we don’t eat tons of heat, and the little one was “helping” me cook so I wanted him to taste it. He ate some…not so impressed with cilantro but biting a bunch plain might be weird for anyone 😉

This would be great with pickled veggies, a la bahn mi. I took a simpler route but go forth!