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

Chicken Caesar Pasta

I needed a win in the kitchen, and this was it! I was SO HAPPY with this chicken caesar pasta! I made a few things recently that I just wasn’t thrilled with. One was a sandwich which was pretty good and I prob will still blog it. The other. Ugg. It just wasn’t great and I plan to remake it for you. It just had such porky potential!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Pasta

This Chicken Caesar Pasta was perfect! I love watching the little one eat spaghetti and he was very into the chicken. It was freezing, otherwise we might have grilled the chicken. It was quick (or could largely be made in advance) and is a crowd pleaser for sure. Win. Win. Win! Caesar begs for anchovy paste…don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. That is absolutely what gives that Caesar flavor…plus the pepper and Parmesan don’t hurt either.

Chicken Caesar Pasta (serves 4)

Ingredients:

~3 chicken thighs/tenders/breasts (I used thighs, of course)
1/4 cup salad dressing for marinade (I used creamy Caesar)
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups Parmesan
cracked black pepper
tiny dab (1/8 of a teaspoon, 1/4 inch squirt from the tube) Anchovy Paste
2 cups greens (I used a spinach/baby kale mix that go into my smoothies)
1/2 pound spaghetti

Directions:

Heat all the things: a large pot of salted water to a boil (for the pasta), preheat the oven to 350 (to keep the chicken warm), heat a large pan to medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil (for the chicken).
In a medium pot, add in the heavy cream and grate or mince the clove of garlic. Heat over medium for about 10 minutes.
While the cream and garlic are cooking together, use the large pan with oil to pan sear the chicken.  Brown it on each side, then pop into the oven to keep it warm or finish cooking it.
Add the pasta into the boiling water.
Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Pasta
Add the cheese, pepper, and anchovy paste to the cream sauce stirring well. Cook for about 5-10 minutes.
Chop the greens.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Pasta
Drain the pasta and return it to the large pot. Add in the greens & cream sauce (ladle the sauce in and stir so you can add what you like).
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Pasta
Add in the chicken and toss to coat everything.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Pasta
Enjoy!

The sauce was a trick from Sunny Anderson’s Instagram: 123 sauce – 1 garlic clove, 2 cups heavy cream, 3 cups cheese. I took a little liberty on the ratios since I knew I didn’t need too much. Love it.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Pasta

In a hurry? Use leftover grilled chicken and doctor up a jar of alfredo with the Parm & anchovy paste. Add in any greens you have (spinach will cook enough from the hot pasta, or saute any you have on hand). Boom. Dinner = done. Next time I might top it with some toasted panko/parmesan/drizzle of caesar & butter for a super crunchy topping!

Sweet Potato & Bacon Quiche

I had every intention for this to be a meatless meal but the bacon seemed just so necessary. Roasted bites of sweet potato with salty bits of bacon and buttery cheese come together to make this quiche substantial and so full of flavor. If it had to be meatless, I’d have substitute the bacon for sage. Bacon makes everything better so it felt important here. The sweet potato really called out for some salt.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche

Ingredients:

Pie crust
1 large sweet potato
3 strips of bacon
6 oz fontina
6 eggs
2/3 cup cream or half & half
1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees and par bake the pie crust for 10 minutes.
Chop the sweet potato and toss in a coating of olive oil, salt & pepper and then roast for about 20 minutes, until cooked through.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Pan fry the bacon until crisp, then drain.
Grate the fontina.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and cream of tartar.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Layer cheese, potato, and bacon into the pie crust.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Pour the egg and milk mixture on top of the filling.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Bake for 40 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Quiche
I like the buttery crust here. Make it yourself if you’re so inclined, or unroll a frozen one and marvel at how quick this dinner is. I got the whole thing prepped and into the oven annnnnnd cleaned up by the time it was done baking.

The little one just wasn’t into it. I can’t figure out why he won’t eat things cooked together. Much like the components of my chicken pot pie, he loves these ingredients but didn’t eat much. He’s into sweet potatoes and loooves bacon but this wasn’t his thang. I on the other hand, was thrilled to have leftover quiche for breakfast following this dinner!

Grain Bowl: Honey Mustard, Chicken, Bacon & Avocado

You know how I’m obsesssssed with grain bowls? This one was on my list for awhile and we all loved it. In the words of Joey Tribiani: what’s not to love? chicken? good! rice pilaf? good! avocado? good! bacon? goooood!

My other favs: Italian Grain Bowls with cracked wheat & Falafel Grain Bowls with couscous. The little one likes the challenge of eating rice. This would also be a good way to use any leftover grilled chicken and it is an easy way to stretch chicken since you wouldn’t need much at all here. We used our fav: chicken thighs.

The Three Bite Rule - Rice Pilaf & Honey Mustard Grain Bowl

Ingredients:

Marinaded & grilled chicken
Rice Pilaf
3 strips of bacon
1 avocado
cucumber
tomatoes
honey mustard dressing

Directions:

Marinade the chicken in salad dressing or your fav marinade for 4+ hours, or all day. Then grill the chicken to cook through.
Cook the rice pilaf according to the package and fluff with a fork.
Chop the bacon and then pan fry until the bite-sized pieces are crisp. Then remove and drain on paper towel.
Slice the avocado, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Slice the chicken.
Assemble and drizzle with honey mustard.

The Three Bite Rule - Rice Pilaf & Honey Mustard Grain Bowl
This was a hit. It worked out perfectly to grill on an unseasonably warm night. I liked this twist since I’d been thinking more Mediterranean/Thai. This was comforting and felt casually fun. Bring on all the grain bowls! Plus, it is so amusing to see the determination of a toddler scooping and then spooning rice into his mouth!

February 2017 Recap

Feb wasn’t the speediest month to pass. So often I’m caught in time as a whirlwhind but Feb felt like the right speed. We had some snowy days and then some unseasonably hot days. I got to read a bunch and we’re totally caught up on DVR (which feels like a serious accomplishment). Our poor Bailee dog isn’t doing well. She’s been without an appetite, lost a lot of weight, and is severely anemic. We’re not sure what’s up but just hope she feels ok.

Hands down, my fav meal this month was a little Valentine’s Day surprise charcuterie and tips to build a better charcuterie board.
The Three Bite Rule - Build A Better Charcuterie Board
I was loving this healthified peanut butter, banana, and nutella smoothie…just as good as the original!
The Three Bite Rule - Healthified Smoothie
This super quick gnocchi with roasted tomatoes was the ideal, hands-free dinner. Perfect for chasing a toddler…or whatever you might be doing.
The Three Bite Rule - Tomato & Basil Gnocchi


Let’s bring on March! My birthday month!!

The Little One:
His 2-year-old molars came in promptly! He had a rough few days but was just so dang cute saying “cheek huuurts”. He is loving painting & coloring. We’re marveling at what he knows. He coughed and I asked, “where did that cough come from” thinking he hadn’t been sick at all the day before. He answered “mouf”. True story. His fav food right now is jelly. Although rice is a tricky one to eat, he loves the challenge. He is hating coming inside from playing. He watched Mr. J cut his own hair and was mesmerized. Now he likes to make a buzz sound running his hand over people’s heads. The little one is quite concerned about “Bab-ee sick?” so let’s all cross our fingers we all do ok.


Monthly goals:

Year of the seasonal decor: I missed Feb, let’s see what I can come up with for March
do more dinner prep more in advance: Yes! I’ve prepped some doubles and got to pull a frozen one out once a week.
read more (and always carry my book on me): I read The Invention of Wings with bookclub and The Royal We
watch more movies: Snowden left me befuddled. I was impressed by the story for Sully.
cook more fish: struggle-bus
focus on clothes that I really like: I capitalized on some Loft points + $20 off +a 10% off night. I took home a mixed media top, some clearance herringbone dress pants, and a sweater that’s more like a shirt.
monthly grocery store ingredient: