August 2016 Recap

I’m never sad for August to be over. I really love September so I’m ready, bring it on. I really had a lot of favorites this month so it was a good month in the kitchen while still keeping most meals quick, flavorful, and fresh. The babe is so active and the bewitching hours are 6-7:30 so dinner is sometimes a scramble right now.

Some of my sangrias have been hit or miss in the past but this insta-sangria really was awesome with barely any time required! I think my Quick Sangria white cranberry strawberry juice was the right sweetness with a touch of tart to then pair nicely with white wine.
The Three Bite Rule - Quick White Sangria
I try to bring out the panini press during the hot nights that I want something quick without heating up the whole house. I made a ham & havarti melt that was perfect and just a touch more special than the average ham & cheese.

Pair that sangria with a burrata bar and poof, instant party.
The Three Bite Rule - Buratta Bar
Yum. I’d be happy eating grilled bread, burrata, tomato, and basil daily. Daily. Day-ly.
The Three Bite Rule - Buratta Bar
Then I tried a new grain and I’m so glad I did. I made Cracked Wheat with Greek Flavors Topped with  Grilled Chicken.  It was awesome and I’ve already made more since then. It cooks quickly, similar to rice but with much more nutrients. Cracked wheat is a wheat berry “cracked” into smaller pieces for quicker cooking, bulger is the next step being par-cooked.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Grain Salad

The Little Man:
This guy. I can’t believe how big he is. He’s crawling and standing. Craziness. Where’d my little baby go? This month more than ever I feel like he’s a little person instead of a baby. The monthly photos might go by the wayside. This one took 2 days of outtakes. He just wants to move. He’ll be on his back for .5 seconds and then he’s rolling over and up to crawl away.
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He loves swimming and crawling. He’s so proud when he pulls up to standing. He eats anything we give him and is 4th tooth is on the way! Thomas LOVES straps: the adjustable straps on his highchair, his backpack for daycare, on our totebags, anywhere. He sleeps like a champ at home and less so at daycare.

Progress on this year’s goals: 

The Year of the Earring:  Yup! Got ’em in August with an instagram discount code 

make more salad dressings: Yes! Make honey mustard and you can thank me later.

factor more time into how long every-day tasks/trips will take: 
I’m doing OK. Getting things ready in advance is becoming more of a habit.

recreate restaurant menu items: 
ehh. not this month I guess.

be more adventurous with my reading selections: 
I was a bit over eager for the beach and loaded up 3. Well, with the baby at the beach I didn’t quite read much. I read Mrs. Hemingway and looooved it. Now I’m into Flight Behavior which is turning out to be captivating after a slowish start. 

use the crockpot more:
Nope. I do have my next plan though! 

seafood once a month: 
I made some lobster cakes that were really good. The breading is only on the outside so the inside is all lobster!

Lobster Cakes

I made some lobster cakes as a play on a crab cake. They were so good and though I plopped mine onto a salad, they would be great as an appetizer too!

The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Cakes

Ingredients:

1 cup lobster meat, chopped
2 tbs mayo
1 tbs grainy mustard
1 tsp minced garlic
4 chive sprigs minced
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions:

Mix together the lobster meat, mayo, mustard, and garlic gently to not pulverize the lobster.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Cakes
Add in the chives and green onion stirring gently.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Cakes
Heat a large skillet with vegetable oil to medium heat.
Form the mixture into 2-3 patties and roll them in the mixed breadcrumbs.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Cakes
To check the oil temperature, drop a few breadcrumbs into the oil and see if they sizzle immediately. If they do, then add the patties in to cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side. Try to let them really crisp on the bottom before flipping so you only have to flip it once.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Cakes
Remove from the oil and let them drain on paper towel to get rid of the excess oil.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Cakes
Serve on their own or on top of salad! Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Cakes
This is the best lazy-man’s lobster. It gets crunchy on the outside but is all lobster on the inside. There really isn’t much filler in these bad boys. I ended up adding a 2nd to my plate. I couldn’t resist!

Can you believe I fried them? I never fry things! They’d be good in the oven, if it isn’t too hot to have your oven on. 😉

I served it with honey mustard dressing that is just so easy and worth making yourself:
2 tbs honey
2 tbs dijon mustard
tiniest dab of butter (tiny as in 1/2 teaspoon – this makes all the difference)
shake it up and enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Cakes
Make your own honey mustard dressing. It is perfect to make a tiny bit for one or two servings or double/triple/quadruple this and have enough for a while.

Greek Grain Salad

This dinner is one to make immediately. I was inspired by all the different grains that are served at work. I chose cracked wheat because a) it is such a healthy grain b) it was much cheaper than some others c) it cooks just like rice. To keep it summery, I didn’t try to serve it really warm. The cracked wheat cooks quickly while the chicken was grilling and while I chopped everything else.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Grain Salad

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken thighs marinated in Italian dressing.
1 cup cracked wheat
2 cups tomatoes
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup fresh oregano & mint
3 tbs olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried oregano
cracked pepper

Directions:

Marinate the chicken at room temperature while the grill preheats.
Cook cracked wheat according to package. Mine said 40 minutes but was definitely tender when I fluffed with a fork at 25 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Grain Salad
Chop tomato, feta, and fresh herbs. Add into a bowl with the cracked wheat.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Grain Salad
Grill the chicken until fully cooked through, at least 165 degrees.
Shake together the dressing in a jar – olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, dried oregano, garlic, and pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Grain Salad
Mix the cracked wheat and everything together with the dressing.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Grain Salad
Serve the chicken on top of a bed of the grain salad.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Grain SaladEnjoy!

I loved this. We had plenty of tomatoes, oregano, and mint so I was thinking I should do something Mediterranean. The cracked wheat was awesome! It has more of a nutty flavor and I loved knowing it was a better choice than rice or couscous. I forgot that I had some zucchini which would have been good in this, or raw cucumber.

This was so easy and had great flavor. We both loved it and I’m glad we tried something new with flavors that are sure to be a hit.

Burrata Bar & Crostini

My August event is a lovely Garden Party. I wanted the burrata bar but got out voted for a raw bar. Bahh. That isn’t my thing but I couldn’t get the burrata bar out of my head! I was all too happy to bring home a little buratta-ball-baby to become the star of dinner.

The Three Bite Rule - Buratta Bar
I could have gone on and on with toppings but decided it needed to be somewhat reasonable. This would be so fun for easy prep for happy hour party.

Crostini Components:

Buratta
Herbed butter
Prosciutto wrapped melon
sundried tomatoes
balsamic reduction
African blue basil
tomato
Prosciutto

Mr. J lightly grilled the bread and it was go-time.
The Three Bite Rule - Buratta Bar

Besides the buratta being amazing on its own, I absolutely loved buratta with tomato, basil, and balsamic.
The Three Bite Rule - Buratta Bar
The melon with the prosciutto didn’t really need to go on crostini but the salty and sweet and crunch is so lovely with a schmear of herbed butter.
The Three Bite Rule - Buratta Bar
I mixed butter, garlic, fresh oregano, and fresh thyme. This is also perfect for garlic bread or to jazz up the outside of a grilled cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Buratta Bar

Almond Joy Smoothie

I haven’t made a fun smoothie is such a long time. This was so different than my other smoothies purely because I didn’t use fruit in this one! I went light on the coconut and chocolate and moreso focused on the almond/oaty flavors. The mini chocolate chips were the perfect ending fitting nicely with my aluminum straws.

The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie
I put in a bunch of grains and ice…it worked out really well! I used coconut yogurt but it’d be so great with coconut almond milk. I only used chocolate as a tiny touch but it was all the smoothie needed to also function as breakfast.

Ingredients:
5.3 oz coconut Greek yogurt
1 cup ice
3 tbs oatmeal
3 tbs almonds
1 tbs flax seed (optional)
1 cup milk
1 tsp mini chocolate chips

Directions:
In a blender, add in the yogurt, ice, oatmeal, almonds, and flaxseed.
The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie
Add in the milk and blend until smooth.
Top with mini chocolate chips (or a swirl of chocolate sauce).
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie
I wonder what my 75-year old neighbor things when I’m outside on the deck photographing a smoothie on a random weekday morning. Ohh well, this one was worth it.