Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Peach Cilantro Rice

You know when the all the stars align and your seemingly straightforward dinner wows you? This was that moment. I knew it was going to be good, and a nicely balanced meal, and pretty easy, but I didn’t really anticipate how much we’d all LOVE IT.

Excuse me while I pull out the ole soapbox. Get yourself a meat thermometer. Do not cook meat (especially pork!) without one. If you think you don’t love pork tenderloin then it miiiight be that you’ve only had it severely overcooked. Then it’s bland, boring, tough, and yuck.

Mr. J marinated the pork for flavors of honey and lime. Then while he grilled it to perfection, I made some rice with peaches nectarines, lime juice, peach jam, red onion.

The Three Bite Rule - Pork & Rice

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin
1/2 cup lime juice + 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup rice
1/4 red onion
1 peach/nectarine
~ 1 cup cilantro (1/2 bunch)
1/4 cup peach preserves

Directions:

Marinade the pork in 1/2 cup lime juice, honey, & garlic powder for 4 hours refrigerated.
Get the rice cooking.
Grill flipping to cook each side. Grill to at least 145 degrees. Let it sit about 5 minutes after removing from the heat.
Chop the onion, nectarine, and cilantro and add into the cooked rice.
Add in 1 tablespoon lime juice and peach preserves. Mix well.
The Three Bite Rule - Pork & Rice
Slice the pork and serve with a sprinkle of cilantro over a bed of the rice.
Enjoy!

We really did love this. I was so into the peaches with the pork with the onion. The babe couldn’t get enough pork. He had so much and just kept asking for more! Though, he wasn’t into it the next day as leftovers. He liked the rice being kind of sticky…it was much easier for him to spoon from his bowl.
The Three Bite Rule - Pork & Rice

Nutella & Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

This was pretty fun for a Friday breakfast. To be honest, I reallllly wanted to pick up a bagel on the way to work but ate this instead. It didn’t quite hit the spot since I was trying to make myself want this sweet breakfast. Nutella does a pretty good job at making me forget other ideas, but it just wasn’t a toasty everything bagel. I know, I know, this was a better choice so let’s meet it where it is: this is a healthy-ish breakfast with some fun toppings.
The Three Bite Rule - Overnight Oats with Nutella & PB

Ingredients: (for 2 servings)

1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 cup coconut almond milk
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons flax seeds
1-2 tablespoons peanut butter, melted
1 tablespoon nutella
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Mix together the oatmeal, milk, yogurt, and flax seeds. Then divide into 2 bowls or containers with covers.
The Three Bite Rule - Overnight Oats
Slice banana and lay over the top.
Refrigerate overnight.
The Three Bite Rule - Overnight Oats with Nutella & PB
In the morning, top with melted peanut butter, nutella, and walnuts.
The Three Bite Rule - Overnight Oats with Nutella & PB
Enjoy!

I might not add the banana overnight again…that’s personal preference. The melted pb with the oats and the crunchy nuts was a good combo.

 

Chicken Marsala Pizza

I know what you’re thinking. Whatttt? On pizza? Yes. Do it! So good! All the exclamation points!!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala Pizza

Mr. J and I watched The Revenant and afterwards I needed something calming to clear my eyeballs from the graphic voilence before attempting to sleep. Enter: Diner Drive Ins & Dives going to Phoenix, Arizona to Sal’s Gilbert Pizza for Chicken Marsala Pizza. Perfect night-cap.

Ingredients:

4 chicken tenders
1/2 white onion (or 2 shallots)
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup Marsala wine
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1-2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 ball of pizza dough
1 cup of mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven (and pizza stone if using one) to 400-degrees.
In a large saute pan, cook the chicken over medium heat, sprinkled with salt & pepper. Flip and cook for about ~5 on each side until cooked through.
Meanwhile, dice the onion. Remove the chicken from the pan when cooked, and add the onion into the pan. Saute for about 5 minutes until getting translucent. Add the mushrooms.
Deglaze the pan with the wine and butter over a low simmer to thicken. Cook for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and while the sauce thickens a bit, chop the chicken into pieces and add it back into the pan.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala Pizza
Stretch the dough out and lay onto the pizza stone or pan. Cut a few slits into the dough. Bake for ~10 minutes until starting to brown and puff.
Grate the cheese and sprinkle onto the crust. Crack pepper over the top.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala Pizza
Spoon the sauce, chicken, mushroom, and onion mixture over the cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala Pizza
Sprinkle with thyme. Bake for 5 minutes until the cheese melts and the crust crisps.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala Pizza
Slice and enjoy!

I really loved this one. I liked that the sauce was so rich but the crust was crisp and the cheese was gooey. It was such a delightful combo. The cheese really served to “waterproof” the dough from the sauce. I think it’d get to soggy if the sauce was under the cheese. I think there’d be a few ways to assemble the pizza but I was glad for the way I did it.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala Pizza

Throwback Snack: Dunkaroo Dip

I was a bit delayed on Mr. J’s August snack of the month. August’s theme was #throwback so I recreated Dunkaroos! I don’t remember ever seeing them at my house growing up. Essentially it was a cookie dipped into frosting so I doubt they are worse than another cookie with frosting but alas, they are no more…except for Pinterest. It is very addicting. The cake mix makes it.

Dunkaroo Dip - The Three Bite Rule

Ingredients:

1/2 box funfetti cake mix
1 cup Greek vanilla yogurt
2 cups cool whip

Directions:

Mix together the funfetti, yogurt, and cool whip.
Dunkaroo Dip - The Three Bite Rule
Mix and serve with animal crackers for dipping.
Dunkaroo Dip - The Three Bite Rule
Add a few more sprinkles serve and enjoy!

I served these as single dipper portions…much like the 90s treat? Why, yes! I gave Mr. J I Owe Yous with themes for his birthday to get a year of Snacks/Treats.

June: hot & cold (Ice cream topping basket)
July: shareable (loaded waffle fries)
Aug: throwback (this Dunkaroo dip!)
Sept: sweet
Oct: homemade
Nov: chewy
Dec: craveworthy
Jan: minty
Feb: crunchy
Mar: dip-able
April: traditional
May: fresh

Herb & Yogurt Marinated Chicken over Orzo

Tomatoes were sort of a bust this year…we had a culprit nabbing them and the latest ones aren’t getting ripe. Herbs on the other hand…are going like GANG-BUSTERS. I wanted to highlight a few so they became part of my marinade. We grilled the chicken and I served it over some pretty basic orzo…like butter/tomatoes/basil/salt & pepper. The babe loved both the “chick-ken” and was thrilled to have his own bowl of orzo. It kind of was all over him, but Orzo-man was worth it.

Herb Marinated Chicken over Orzo - The Three Bite Rule

I kept the yogurt-ness going with a tzatiki-like sauce to go with it. I don’t have any dill and I wasn’t about to buy more fresh herbs right now so I improvised with mint & oregano. Yay for all. the. herbs. Let’s count ’em: basil, oregano, mint, & lemon thyme.

Ingredients:

6 oz plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons Greek or Italian Dressing
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons each: oregano & thyme
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon each: mint & basil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic
1/4 cucumber, with the seeds removed, diced or shredded
1/2 pound of orzo
1 tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon butter

Directions:

Mix together the 3/4 of the yogurt, milk, oregano, thyme, and add the chicken to marinade for at least 30 minutes. Mine marinated for ~2.5 hours.
Herb_marinated_chick_590_390
Meanwhile, mix together the cucumber, yogurt, mint, oregano, lemon juice, and garlic. Then refrigerate until serving.
herb_marinated_tzaiki_390_390
Grill the chicken until cooked through.
While the chicken is cooking, boil water for the orzo and cook according to the package (probably 8-10 minutes).
Toss together the orzo, butter, tomato and once it cools a bit, add the basil.
Herb Marinated Chicken over Orzo - The Three Bite Rule
Serve the chicken over a bed of orzo, topped with the cucumber yogurt sauce.
Enjoy!
Herb Marinated Chicken over Orzo - The Three Bite Rule