Nutella Popcorn

I have some strong desire to make any flavor into a popcorn. I’ve made a few popcorns and I’m all about it right now. I like how easy of a treat it is and I love the crunch. I’ve yet to figure out how coating it doesn’t make it sogged/disintegrated but science was never my thing.

One day I had this miraculous idea that I HAD TO MAKE NUTELLA POPCORN. Had to. Right away. Good thing it takes about .5 seconds to get going.

Ingredients:

3 cups popped popcorn
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
3 tbs nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper
Over medium heat stir the butter, brown sugar, and honey until butter melts. Bring to boiling over medium heat. Boil at a moderate, steady rate for a couple of minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Neutella Popcorn
Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture will foam up).
Stir in nutella until well incorporated and salt.
The Three Bite Rule - Neutella Popcorn
Mix popcorn and nutella caramel together and spread onto a pan.
The Three Bite Rule - Neutella Popcorn
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Neutella Popcorn

This was a good one, but I needed a bit more popcorn. It was a bit stick to your teeth caramelly. I made it with 2 cups (above I recommend 3 cups). I also had visions of half nutella popcorn and half coffee-ish popcorn but my ratios were off when I randomly decided to split the caramel up between pots and when I hastily dumped too much coffee into one. Man, it was crazy for a minute.

How do you pop your popcorn? Are you a bag popcorn-er? In college my wise roomie Ms. A discovered how dirt cheap popcorn kernels are. It is astounding. I saw a 4 pound bag of kernels for $3.99 (that is 52 servings of popcorn, or about 7-cents per serving). It also doesn’t go bad. It is a whole grain. It has about 30-60 calories per serving. It has a lot of fiber. Need I go on? All of this is only referring to air popped white popcorn. Not the case when you coat it in caramel and neutella, but my point is air popping. My whole fam is all about these air poppers. It gives you a lot more control over what is going on it, how much butter, oil, salt etc. You dump kernels in and put it in the micro. Easy peasy.
The Three Bite Rule - Neutella Popcorn
I brought some into the office and warned the ladies it was a bit sticker than some caramel corn. It was all gone by the end of the day so I’ll consider it successful.

Ricotta and Pesto Pizza

Happy September! It is fall! We can eat fall-ish foods and still enjoy the summer veggies & BBQ fun. To kick off some inbetween season food I give you ricotta cheese. I have a love affair with ricotta. NOT cottage cheese…that I avoid. I can’t imagine when people don’t like ricotta, especially cooked into a dish. Like people who don’t like chocolate. Baffling.

I was itching for some this summer but thought it wasn’t the right time for lasagna or stuffed shells etc. I could eat it plain, by the spoonful, but that’s not a meal. My next thought was topping a pizza.
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto & Ricotta Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza dough
1 chicken breast, marinated & grilled
1 cup ricotta
1 cup shredded mozzarella
½ red pepper, sliced
1/3 cup pesto

Directions:

Pre-bake the pizza dough for 20 minutes at 400 degrees until it begins to get crispy, but not cooked the whole way. (pre-cooking it a bit helps get it cooked through without drying out the toppings.
Spread half of the pesto onto the crust, then top with shredded mozzarella, peppers, sliced chicken, and dollops of ricotta.
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto & Ricotta Pizza
Drizzle the remaining pesto on top. Throw on any leftover shredded cheese.
Bake the topped pizza for another 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees.
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto & Ricotta Pizza

I adored this pizza. The creamy ricotta was a perfect pairing with some powerful pesto. These flavors definitely made this a special pizza. The chicken seems quite optional but I think it was integral to keeping the pizza fresh & not wintery. I also only used 1 chicken breast. They tend to be so big so with any other topping, one is plenty.
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto & Ricotta Pizza

Keep Calm

I’m realizing that some of my posts might make it look like I have it all together. If you happen to be having one of those days where the blogosphere appears perfectly coordinated when you aren’t as put together then I hear ya but I can also console you. I don’t have it all together.

Did I mention Mr. J and I are painting our bedroom? This is quite the undertaking for us. We’re new to being home-owners and it is a learning process. Thankfully our house didn’t need much. Ummm have you seen my gorgeous kitchen?
kitchen_wide_590_390
The bedroom painting is progressing, slowly but surely. Here’s what I keep telling myself:
a) we’re lucky that we can just set up camp in a guest room.
b) that we don’t have any actual renovation projects.
c) it looks awesome (the parts that are done).
d) that Mr. J and I work together really well and definitely have similar tastes.

Here’s what really annoys me:
a) the trim is taking FOREVER…as in 4 coats. It didn’t seem like much trim but the radiators, around the windows, closets, baseboards, and the door, is quite a lot.
b) to get dressed I need to put on my paint flip flops to traverse over the plastic sheeting because there are clothes in both bedrooms and my stuff feels scattered.
c) by the end of the day I’m tired- trying to set up to paint and clean up each night takes time and we’re only inching closer to being done.
d) I haven’t cooked, grocery shopped, or meal planned which means we’ve been buying lunch and feeling physically crappy for eating poorly and not sleeping well. I like my routines.
e) every weekend is jam packed and there still a lot to do before we can actually move back into the room (like pick out a new bed etc).

September is going to be a very busy month. I keep taking on more things which I love, but which also overwhelm me. I have 1st world problems. I have some work travel, 2 weekend trips away, I agreed to walk an insane distance in the name of work-research, and there’s lots more bedroom re-doing to do. I have some fun posts for you coming up (like a potluck! something with bacon! something with neutella!) so stay tuned, and good luck if you’re feeling the weight of everything too.

(need bacon? get fun bacon stuff here!)

What I Ate: Ramen Coleslaw

I was trying to think of an easy side I could literally throw together. I was lacking motivation recently and somehow this came out of nowhere. I’ve made it a few times, but not once this summer yet. My twist is using broccoli slaw instead of cabbage or slaw mix.

This is so easy and takes 5 minutes to prep and goes with everything. It isn’t vegetarian but it is delicious! It is probably the cheapest side-dish ever. I dare you, find a cheaper one.

The Three Bite Rule - Ramen Slaw

Ingredients:

1 bag broccoli slaw
1 pack ramen noodles, chicken flavor
3/4 cup oil
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp sugar
sprinkle of pepper
1 of the chicken pack flavorings in ramen noodle package

Directions:

The Three Bite Rule - Ramen Slaw
Boil the ramen noodles for about 5 minutes then drain.
Whisk or shake in a jar the oil, vinegar, sugar, pepper, and ramen flavor pack.
The Three Bite Rule - Ramen Slaw
Mix noodles, slaw, and dressing.
The Three Bite Rule - Ramen Slaw
Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. I should have thrown in sunflower seeds. That crunch on top is delicious. I like how oil-vinegary this is. There is so much flavor from the ramen. My Mum and mother-in-law both make it with grapes & nuts. I like this salad when you keep the noodles raw too. They’re super crunchy.

Let’s break it down:

1 pkg chicken ramen: $0.24 (12 pack @ $2.99)
1 pkg broccoli slaw: $2.99
very little oil & vinegar
total = $3.23 and serves about 6, or $0.53 per serving.

Can you believe that pricing? It’s a crowd pleaser that won’t break the bank.

Lighter Lemon Squares

I haven’t shared anything sweet in a while. I made some lemon squares for my dad’s bday. He’s a sucker for lemon squares…get it? Hahaha!

They were good, but quite tart. He’s a healthy guy so I thought he would appreciate that Cooking Light had paired down the sugar and butter in this one. Without futher ado, I give you
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Sq

Cooking Light’s Lemon Squares

Ingredients:

3 2/5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons canola oil
Cooking spray
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions by cooking light:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, pine nuts, and salt in a food processor; pulse 2 times to combine.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Sq
Add butter and canola oil. Pulse 3 to 5 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Place mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; press into bottom of pan.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon SquareBake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Square

Combine granulated sugar and next 5 ingredients (through egg white) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Pour mixture over crust. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, and cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Sprinkle squares evenly with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Sq

These are their words, not mine. I was a nincompoop (why yes, spellcheck does knows that word and corrected it for me) and didn’t read through the whole recipe carefully first. This means I missed the memo that I was to toast the pine nuts. It was fine but the squares would have had 10x the nuttiness if I toasted the pine nuts.

Also ½ cup of fresh lemon juice doesn’t help. I juiced 2 large lemons and didn’t quite get ½ cup. Go with 3 lemons or have some bottled lemon juice to top it off. Do you know the trick to roll them around with some pressure to get the most possible juice? Roll with the meat of your hand while admiring your edgy nail polish and while applying pressure.  (It is prob not edgy anymore now that I said that, right?)
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Sq

If I haven’t given enough credit where credit was due, this recipe (in it’s entirety came from Cooking Light just like the prior 3 links)

Playing Chopped at Home

Do you watch chopped? I love it. As I’ve said before, it is like the old school Ready Set Cook! for the modern day…and with real chefs. My sis and I play occasionally. It’s actually a super easy way to host without going crazy.

Playing Chopped at Home:

Invite 1-4 people to join you
ask them to bring your specified quantity of basket items (I usually do 3 per person)
stock your pantry if you don’t have some basic staples (i.e. rice, pasta, condiments, breadcrumbs, spices, milk, etc)
Then, come up with your meal together with the ingredients!

I don’t do basket items by course, but you could definitely do that. Or you could break your group by course if you have too many cooks in the kitchen.

There were only 2 of us so we went with just a few ingredients each. Here they are!
The Three Bite Rule - Play Chopped
me:
marinated chicken breasts
onion dip mix
all my pantry items

sis:
pepperoni
ah-so chinese sauce
limes

We made a dip/relish with tomato, corn, red onion, ah-so Chinese barbecue sauce (basket ingredient) and lime juice (basket ingredient). This was seriously tangy and neon pink but surprisingly tasty. We served this with tortilla chips as a starter.
The Three Bite Rule - Play Chopped

Then we chopped potatoes and mixed them with the onion dip (basket ingredient) and some olive oil then baked them to be crispy. While this wasn’t super inventive, it mayyy have been on the back of the package, it was a good use. I liked the extra salty flavor instead of just roasting potatoes with random herbs & spices. Leftovers also made great hasbrowns the next morning 😉
The Three Bite Rule - Play Chopped

For the chicken we decided to stuff it with pepperoni and needed something else. I had some goat cheese so we went fully decadent. I thought the tartness of the goat cheese and the fatty pepperoni was great to liven up some otherwise basic chicken.
The Three Bite Rule - Play Chopped

Go ahead and try it. It is so fun and a great way to not overthink dinner (then send me a pic with what you came up with emily@thethreebiterule.com!

What I Ate: Cobb Salad Lettuce Wraps

Cobb Salad and Chef Salad united for my dinner. This isn’t really a recipe, but it is more of an idea you can happily capitalize on. I went with a everything-but-the-kitchen-sink method for a salad for dinner. It was definitely a dinner plan that was low on actual cooking but was hearty and fun.
3 Bite Rule: Cobb Salad Lettuce Wraps

We don’t eat tons of salads as dinner, so during a hot few days I took advantage of a low-cooking meal. This felt like a fun meal to serve when it is hot, or especially if you aren’t a confident chef! Serve this next time you’re the host or for a potluck and everyone will be happy.

Ingredients:

2 grilled chicken breasts
4 hard boiled eggs
avocado
carrots
cucumber
tomatoes
corn
shredded cheddar
broccoli
head Boston Bibb lettuce
croutons
blue cheese dressing

Directions:

Fry bacon, boil eggs, and grill the chicken.
Chop everything except the lettuce.
Mix the “fillings” and serve in lettuce wraps.

These were really fun! I liked that there were so many interesting textures and bright flavors. I went with the normal cobb salad as though it was a chop salad. I figured if the lettuce didn’t really work, then we could always drop the toppings on a bed of lettuce. It worked well as wraps though.
3 Bite Rule: Cobb Salad Lettuce Wraps

It takes time to chop and prep everything but I made enough for two of us to have for dinner and then for lunch again the next day. I didn’t dress the salad so besides the avocado, it packed up well for lunch too. The only cooking was the bacon, eggs, and grilled chicken.

We were eating and that’s when I realized I had forgotten the chicken. Ohh well. It truly felt like a dinner meal even without that. The eggs, bacon, and avocado makes this a hearty one.

Croutons are such an easy item to make at home and I never buy them anymore. Whenever I do buy them they seem to disappear as snacks before they appear on many salads.
3 Bite Rule: Cobb Salad Croutons

Cut some bread into squares, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and some grated parmesan. Toast a few minutes on each side and voila! Croutons made-to-order!

Lobster Walk n’ Roll

Google+ gave some spots away for a Lobster Walk n’ Roll event a few weeks ago in Harvard Square and I was lucky enough to get one. Liz from Eating Places joined me and we happily munched the lobster slider and cocktail tastes they offered up along with some photo tips while meeting other Google+ reviewers.

We began at Upstairs on the Square. I was psyched since I hadn’t been inside there. We were in a super cool pink zebra room. It was a bit pink for photos so bear with me.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

We got a small lobster roll and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. This was a great way to start the afternoon.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
The lobster roll was really simple and filled a buttery roll. I was so happy to see the big chunks of lobster meat with very little dressing.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

Next we made our way to Russell House Tavern for a slider and choice of cocktail.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

This slider reflected their mission to keep food from being pretentious. They kindly provided some fries as well, which were addicting to say the least.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
These sliders were my favorite of the day. I again LOVED that they were lightly dressed but had a touch of a kick.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
Gobs of mayo and miniscule chunks of lobster give lobster rolls a bad name…that isn’t how they’re supposed to be.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

I got their house St. Germain cocktail with sparkling wine and soda water. It was flowery and bubbly making it an ideal pairing with a very filled lobster slider.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

I’ve never been there for brunch but would love to. I need to get on that. Their breakfast sandwich is the stuff my dreams are made of. I might need accompaniment to get the bfast pizza or biscuits and gravy so I can try those too. I don’t know their restaurant Park , but I love Grafton Street.

Next we made our way to The First Printer. I hadn’t been here before (I hear it had been Herrell’s Ice Cream). The interior is homey and charming.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
We cozied up in booths with platters of lobster rolls.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
They offered us 3 custom cocktails but everyone went with the same one! The crispy cuke stuck into it was show stopping.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

I have to say that their lobster rolls were my least favorite. The lobster meat was deliciously tender and I was pleasantly surprised by the orange zest. Their rolls were dry and stale. I think after having 2 other/different rolls these seemed lackluster. That didn’t stop me from eating the insides of other sliders though.

Their ice cubes are crazy perfect squares. We were impressed and I mentioned it to the waitress who thought a) I was nuts, and b) that I was asking where ice comes from. It was awkward and couldn’t have been over fast enough.

It was so nice of these restaurants to host us for this lovely summer Sunday funday.

Full 3 Bite Rule Disclosure: The Lobster Walk n’ Roll was completely complementary but my thoughts, opinions, and words are entirely my own.

Hash Brown Crust Bfast Pizza

Wayyy back when, I was making breakfast pizza I was also thinking what else I could do with breakfast pizza. There’s nothing cheaper or easier than bfast. I always have eggs and bacon around so poof! It became pizza topped with “fried” egg. I was wondering about scrambled egg too. My mind then went to crispy hash browns. I know, you don’t want to know where my food-brain goes.

What if the hash brown cakes were the CRUST. I’m a genius. Or this might exist somewhere. I’m not sure. All I know is that I’ve never seen it on a menu and I’ve been to quite a few diners and breakfast spots and I’ve never seen this. Come on people!
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza

Mr. A recreated the egg one and tweeted it to me. Love it! It got my butt in gear to adapt it for another method.
bfast pizza

Ingredients:

½ bag shredded potato hash browns
1/3 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz shredded cheddar
4 slices of bacon
3 eggs, scrambled

Directions:

Mix shredded potatoes and soup together.
Then spread it out onto a pan and bake for 30 minutes at 400-degrees.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza
Cook bacon while crust is crisping.
When the potato has formed a crispy crust, top with cheddar and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza
Cook the scrambled egg (in the pan you cooked the bacon in for some extra bacon flavor!)
Cook the crust until the cheese melts into a delicious melty layer.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza
Remove and top with scrambled egg and bacon.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza

This was definitely a good pizza! I would have liked the crust to crisp a bit more but I really feared I’d burn the edges. I would recommend being mindful of the thickness. I could have spread it out then squished the edges back in to form the edge/barrier. It also might work better to make individual ones! Smaller ones could be pan fried if potatoes, eggs, and bacon isn’t too much for you to manage at the same time.

If you’re cooking for a crowd or for kids it might be fun to make individual ones that people can top as they like. I’ll make it again, and maybe I’ll even pan-fry the potato cakes…oooo!
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza

It isn’t a dinner that produces leftovers for lunch the next day. That’s usually a considering factor in my meal planning but hash brown cakes with cheese and bacon would still be good even if the eggs don’t reheat well!

A biscuit crust would be good if hash browns aren’t your thing either! I’d love it as potato crust, topped with cheese, and bacon and finished with a poached egg the very last second. Yum!

Which is your idea of a great start to the day?
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizzaeggpizza_baked_290_200

What I Ate: Turkey Panini

In my effort to simplify dinner (but still keep it delicious) I figured I should throw in more sandwiches to the rotations since lately I’ve been into dinner salads. Mr. J is (rightfully) worried about getting salad-ed out.

The Three Bite Rule - Turkey Panini

I like that paninis are perfect any-time-of-the-year dinners. They’re super easy and quick (and cheap). In the summer I appreciate that they don’t heat up the whole house to make! In the winter I appreciate that it is a warm meal with a fresh factor. I also love that there aren’t any weird leftovers. I made some once when I hosted the book club and served them with a salad bar. It was a hit for a group with different tastes!

Here are some tips to take this from a “sandwich” to a “dinner-starring-panini” Continue reading