Sausage & White Bean Pizza

I made an Alfredo-sauced pizza with sausage and white beans when I was thinking about something wintry and different. I chopped herbs for some peppery-freshness. It was great! What are your thoughts on white pizza? Let’s dish. I’m for it…maybe not every time, but yes, sign me up for something different every now and then.

The Three Bite Rule - Sausage & White Bean Pizza
Ingredients:
pizza dough (I used 3/4 of a refrigerated ball from the grocery store)
1 cup alfredo sauce
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
2 sweet Italian sausage links
3/4 cup white cannellini beans
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup arugula, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven (and pizza stone if using one) to 400-degrees.
Roll out the dough and spread out onto a pizza stone or baking sheet. Poke some holes into the dough using a fork. Then bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned and starting to crisp.
Remove the sausage from the casing and pan fry the sausage in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Then drain from the oil.
Layer the cooked dough with alfredo and cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage & White Bean Pizza
Then sprinkle with sausage, white beans, and Italian seasoning.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage & White Bean Pizza
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until crust fully crisps and cheese melts. While pizza cooks, chop the arugula.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle arugula, and let set for 5 minutes before slicing.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage & White Bean Pizza
Slice and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage & White Bean Pizza
I liked this one for something different. It’d pair nicely with another more traditional pizza if making a few pizzas or flatbreads. I love arugula treated as an herb. It has wayyy more flavor to me than parsley, though if you had oregano kicking around that’d be nice too!

Crockpot Meatballs

My little one is 2 years old! How did that happen so quickly?! For his birthday dinner we made his favorites: pasta, meatballs, and cake! I made meatballs to cook in the sauce which was a first for me. I mixed them, balled ’em up, and dropped them into the sauce to cook on their own. They were great!!

The Three Bite Rule - Crockpot Meatballs
I normally like the crispy exterior of cooking meatballs, and I thought I might miss that. These turned out very juicy from cooking in the sauce. I was relieved they stayed together and would totally make them this way again. These meatballs being pork meant that there wasn’t excess oil that I’d expect if they were beef.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork
3 links Sweet Italian Sausage
1 cup breadcrumbs
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons garlic
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup baby Arugula, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 cups tomato sauce

Directions:

Mix together the breadcrumbs and the milk, then add all the ingredients into a bowl.
The Three Bite Rule - Crockpot Meatballs
Using your hands, mix everything together until well incorporated.
Roll into balls about 1.5 inches wide. Add into a crockpot with tomato sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - Crockpot Meatballs
Cook on high for 2.5 hours. Stir occasionally.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Crockpot Meatballs
Meatballs are always a hit here. We all liked them and I’m glad to have some leftovers. These could cook on the stovetop too, rather than the crockpot. The size of the crockpot was great for 1 even layer of cooking though.

Stir It Up Holiday Mixology Challenge

We had family was here for New Year’s Eve which seemed the perfect opportunity to whip up some holiday cocktails! Stirrings offered some mixers and rimmers. Cheers! I used Peach Bellini Mix with sparkling wine and then swapped it out with ginger ale to be the mocktail version. I loved this and would totally make these again.

I hope your “resolution” was to spend more time with friends, or treat yo’ self, or eat more brunch, or host more often. This cocktail totally fits into all of these! I think a pitcher would be perfect next time!

Holiday Cocktail Challenge - Bellini
I love Peach Bellinis and I wanted to bring them into the evening…they seem to always be stuck at brunch! I rimmed the glass in lemon drop sugar and featured Peach Bellini mix, a splash of pomegranate juice, and sparking wine. It was so good! I made 2 drinks and this was definitely the winner!

Holiday Cocktail Challenge - Bellini

Ingredients:

lemon drop sugar
2 oz Peach Bellini Mix
1 oz Pomegranate Juice
6-8 oz Sparkling Wine or Champagne

Directions:

Wet the glass with simple syrup or a sliced lemon and then rim it with the lemon drop sugar mix.
Mix together the Peach Bellini Mix and the juice and pour in to the glass.
Top with the sparkling wine.
Enjoy!

I loved the peach and pomegranate together. Both flavors got to shine. I liked the not-super-sweet wine with some bubbles, but go as sweet or dry as you like. There are also a ton of variations on this:
Peach Bellini mix + cranberry juice + sparkling wine
Peach Bellini mix + pomegranate juice + club soda
Peach Bellini mix + peach puree + ginger beer or ginger ale
Peach Bellini mix + Polar’s Pomegranate Dry Soda

Holiday Cocktail Challenge - Bellini
Mixers totally elevate the cocktail from my norm concoction from the liquor cabinet! I didn’t go all out with garnishes but drop a slice of peach or frozen peach in, and maybe a drink umbrella. You deserve it! I have another one I was into, but was a bit too boozy for the others. I’ll share that one another time too!

Follow Stirrings on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest for fun recipe ideas. Did you MA folks know Stirrings was founded in Nantucket? Find them at liquor stores & grocery stores like: Roche Brothers, Hannaford’s, Kappys, Yankee Spirits, Wines & More, Total Wines & More, Lukes!

Full 3 Bite Rule Disclosure: Stirrings offered me 2 mixers & 2 rimmers to enter a cocktail challenge for a monetary prize. My thoughts, opinions, words, and love for a fun cocktail are entirely my own. Fingers crossed!

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

I baked! Hazzzah! One of our family get togethers included Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and a birthday! Mr. J made a pistachio cake but since I didn’t plan any other desserts I decided to sneak a cookie into the schedule. These were such a winner. I was nervous the whole time but they worked! Using cake mix made it so easy.
The Three Bite Rule - Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix
2 tablespoons flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 powdered sugar

Directions:

Mix together the cake mix, flour, eggs, oil, and vanilla with a mixer.
The Three Bite Rule - Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Roll the dough into balls and toss in a bowl of the powdered sugar.
The Three Bite Rule - Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Place the cookies onto a baking sheet and cook for about 10 minutes. (They won’t look crinkled until they puff and then set.)
The Three Bite Rule - Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
I loved these! They were super cute, so good, and perfectly cooked. Now I want to try other cake mixes! Lemon seems Easter-y. Funfetti would be festive anytime! I’ll totally make these again. Making red velvet from scratch costs a fortune for how much red dye. Cake mix makes these cookies so easy. Success!

Hashbrown Bake

This weekend was another family holiday get together and the food was endless. I mixed up these hashbrowns so I could prep ’em in advance, and pop ’em it into the oven when we got breakfast going. These are ideal before hosting breakfast or brunch! It was perfect to be out of the way while Mr. J whipped up eggs for our party of 5 adults and 3 kiddos.
The Three Bite Rule - Hashbrown Bake
I made one in a 12″ circular pan and another 9×9 for the freezer. A 9×13 would work too!

Ingredients:

1 pound of hashbrowns (defrosted only for a few minutes, able to be broken apart a bit)
1 small white onion, diced
1 can cheese soup
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups cornflakes

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees (if serving immediately).
Saute onions in a little olive oil until translucent and cooked through.
Stir together the soup, sour cream, and 1/4 cup of the butter.
Add in the hashbrowns, cheddar, and onions. Then stir well.
The Three Bite Rule - Hashbrown Bake
Pour into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Press down a little to make it even.
The Three Bite Rule - Hashbrown Bake

(If not serving right away, cover and refrigerate. To serve, add the topping and bake in the next few days, or cover and freeze.)

If baking and serving right away: melt the other 1/4 cup of butter, and mix in the cornflakes. Stir and spread over the top of the potatoes.
Bake for 40 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Hashbrown Bake
I liked this for the cheesy factor and the crunchy topping. I’m glad there’s one stashed away! This 12″ dish was more than enough for the 5 adults. This would be fun in a bunch of individual ramekins for each person.