Greek Flatbreads with Hummus & Chicken Sausage

This is such a winner for a quick dinner that feels wayyy different than others during the week. Hallelujah for naan. I love it for individual pizzas and the naan gives good options for a soft, doughy base or a crisp thin-yet-even pizza crust. I went with the latter. This flatbread has hummus, mozzarella, feta, chicken sausage and is topped with arugula or you could have the arugula salad on the side. I like the freshness and crunch.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Hummus Flatbreads

Ingredients:

3-4 naans
2 chicken sausages
1/2 cup hummus
1 cup mozzarella
1/2 tsp dried oregano and dried thyme
1/4 cup feta
2 cups arugula, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400-degrees and place the naan directly on the oven racks for 5-10 minutes (towards 10 minutes for a crisper crust).
Pan-sear or grill the sausages until caramelized and crisped. They come fully cooked so cooking the exterior is for taste.
Spread the naan with hummus, then top with cheese and dried herbs.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Hummus Flatbreads
Slice the sausage at an angle and place a few slices on each naan.
Sprinkle with feta, then bake for 5-7 minutes – just until the cheese melts.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Hummus Flatbreads
Top with fresh arugula, slice, and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Hummus Flatbreads
I loved these. The hummus as “sauce” was so great, such a creamy element with very little mozzarella. This flatbread was a great way to use only a small amount of the chicken sausage, a small amount of cheese, annnnd a small amount of feta. I loved the cracker-ish crunch to the naan but it is so perfectly chewy when barely cooked.

This is such a fast one that I’m sure I’ll repeat it soon. I love to make dinner most nights but there’s such a short window of time from getting home at 6 with the babe to fit in his dinner, a tub, playing, and his 7:45 bed time. This was a dinner I could be super quick with so we could all have dinner together, plus one leftover for Mr. J’s lunch the next day. Hooray!
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Hummus Flatbreads

Spinach Parmesan Biscuits

So I felt a little guilty even sharing hummus & cukes on English muffins but instagram didn’t seem to mind and I’m on a bfast quest for some weekly fun not sweet breakfasts. This week was all about these savory biscuits to go with a green smoothies. These were just what I needed for some toasty savory bites in between sips of a greens/cranberry/citrus smoothie. I don’t like just drinking my breakfast. The smoothies leave me wanting to chew something too.

The Three Bite Rule - Spinach Parmesan Biscuits
I mixed up some regular biscuit mix with chopped fresh spinach (frozen would make it all green) and some grated parmesan.

Ingredients:

Biscuit mix (mixed according to package)
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

Mix up the biscuit mix with spinach and parmesan.
The Three Bite Rule - Spinach Parmesan Biscuits
Roll out the dough on a floured surface.
The Three Bite Rule - Spinach Parmesan Biscuits

Cut the biscuits with a round cutter, jar, or juice glass.
Bake according to the package.
Optional: brush with melted butter.
Cool and enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Spinach Parmesan Biscuits
I liked these, especially for the 10 minutes they took to mix up and the 10 minutes to bake. So easy. I’ll probably toss a few in the freezer once I’m over them and onto the next bfast quest. The parmesan is a light salty touch but these are fresh and fluffy. There are more quick breakfasts, comin’ up!

Mexican BLT with Taco Spiced Mayo

The cutest & tastiest taco joint just opened near my work. The owners are so lovely and the tacos are getting RAVE reviews. I’ve had shrimp tacos, chicken tamales, and a pork torta. All have been fantastic…I dream of the torta. I saw their special for a Mexican-inspired BLT and totally copied the idea. Theirs also had an egg and avocado, which would be great, but I was on a mission for a fast dinner. Thanks Chilicates!

Mexican BLTs for 2

Ingredients:

bread or rolls
2 tbs mayonnaise
1 tsp taco seasoning
~4 tbs refried beans
3-4 slices of bacon, halved
1 large tomato
butter lettuce or greens

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
Bake the bacon on a sheet pan, with a (non-stick sprayed) wire rack on top of it. Bake 15 minutes, or until crispy.
While bacon is cooking, slice tomatoes, lettuce, and toast the bread. Then mix together mayo with taco seasoning.
Spread one slice of toast with refried beans and other side with Mexican mayo.
The Three Bite Rule - Mexican BLTs
Assemble the BLTs.
The Three Bite Rule - Mexican BLTs
Enjoy!

I loved the slight tweak on this BLT. Do you bake your bacon? It makes cooking it sooo much easier, plus it cooks totally flat! The bacon grease is well contained and you don’t even have to flip it. This is definitely my preferred method. I love not needing to babysit the bacon.

The Three Bite Rule - Mexican BLTs

What I Ate: Hummus & Cucumber Toast

What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.

Seriously, I feel guilty sharing something as basic as this breakfast, but I am seeking inspiration. I’m on a bfast quest for some weekly fun not sweet breakfasts. Come along!

Why does all the breakfast have to be a) sweet or b) eggs? Answer: it doesn’t. I’m making myself get creative and vary week-day breakfasts that aren’t sugary.
The Three Bite Rule - Savory Weekday Bfast Quest

I layered my English muffin with hummus and a couple slices of English cucumber. I love the English ones because they’re not as seedy as regular one.  I can see myself eating this before/after a morning workout or as a light late dinner after a work event too. I like the creaminess of this while not being cheese. I wasn’t striving for dairy-free but this fits that bill if you’re needing that. On the other hand, a sprinkle of feta on top would add some salt if you wanted more flavor!

Avocado toast would probably be my daily breakfast of choice but avocados are so dang expensive on this side of the country. Plus, they sometimes escape me and are brownish mush.

Disclosure: My real-life breakfasts are often eaten right off the cutting board while I buzz around getting ready. Breakfast-on-the-go is for real. This would easily sandwich-ize if you were taking it out the door with you. I have a new car so I do not take my breakfast on the go anymore!

Sweet Corn Risotto with Arugula

HAP-py New Year! I didn’t exactly make it to midnight. I kept dozing, Mr. J dutifully would gently wake me and I was drowsy/cranky/confused. Dec 30th (a “school-night”) and Jan 1 I had no trouble at all getting to being awake at midnight. Ohh well. Christmas is packed away and the little one now points and says “oooo” at the snowmen I pop into place where Santas once stood. 2016 is going to be fun & tasty, I can feel it.

Ohhmygosh. I’m so excited. I got a pressure cooker for Christmas and I broke it out the other night for risotto. I know, I too thought they were only helpful for big pieces of meat until talk at lunch enlightened me. Risotto in 6 minutes? Sign me up! Spoiler: it was awesome…slightly longer than 6 minutes, but I pretty much dumped it in and let it do the work. Isn’t she pretty? 710RlNjhJ6L._SL1299_ This risotto would work perfectly in a pot on the stove as well. It has Parmesan cheese, corn, and chopped arugula. The Three Bite Rule - Pressure Cooker Risotto

Sweet Corn Risotto with Arugula (serves ~4)

Ingredients:

2 tbs butter 1 tbs garlic, smashed or chopped 2 cups arborio rice 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth) 3 cups water (or sub white wine) 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 1-2 cups Arugula, chopped 1-2 cups corn

Directions:

In a pressure cooker (see below for stovetop directions*), saute the garlic in the butter for 1-2 minutes. Add in the rice and stir well, cooking for about 2 minutes until the rice gets a bit more opaque than white. Add in the broth and water and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. While rice is cooking, cook the corn and chop the arugula. Release the pressure. The Three Bite Rule - Pressure Cooker Risotto Stir in parmesan, corn, and arugula. The Three Bite Rule - Pressure Cooker Risotto Enjoy! *For stovetop risotto: In a medium pot warm the broth and water over low heat. Melt the butter and cook the garlic over medium heat. Add in the rice and cook for a few minutes- until the rice gets opaque versus white. Add in the liquid 1 cup at a time. Wait for it to absorb and then add another cup. Repeat for all the liquid – likely 30 minutes.

The Three Bite Rule - Pressure Cooker Risotto
I loved this. It was cooked PERFECTLY. It was creamy but not mush. The corn was living in my freezer but had been cut off the cobb awhile back. The chunks still connected make me smile…like finding a double Cheez-it! I chopped the arugula really well partly because the baby was going to eat it too, and partly because I love using it like an herb! I’d use wayyy more next time.

The baby loved the risotto! He ate quite a lot. Mr. J and I did a his/hers entree and shared risotto. He had grilled steak and I had grilled salmon with some dijon/lemon/garlic/salt/pepper. Poof. Insta-dinner.