Pumpkin Mac & Cheese with Gouda & Brown Butter Sauce

I wanted to spread out the pumpkin goodies. Sometimes it gets overdone when November is jam-packed with only pumpkin baked goods, drinks, and goodies. I also wanted some great cheese in there.

The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 pound pasta (I used penne)
1 cup shredded gouda
1 1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg)
1 cup shredded Monterey jack
1/2 stick of butter
2/3 cup of breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until it foams, and then starts to brown.
Add in the flour and stir well as it forms a paste. Then add in the milk and cook for another 2 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
Cook the pasta until al dente.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Add in the grated gouda and pumpkin.
Drain the pasta and mix together with the sauce, and jack cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and spoon in the pumpkin mac and cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
Melt butter and mix in the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.
Top with the crumb topping and bake for 20 minutes. Broil the last 2 minutes if it hasn’t browned enough.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
This was subtly pumpkin but had great fall flavors that were far enough away from everyday mac & cheese to feel fun. The brown butter sauce added a nuttiness and the parmesan on top was a good salt component.

I had more sauce than the quantities above so I froze the rest. Someday it’ll be insta-pumpkin-mac. It was pretty thick and I may add some chicken stock to thin it out a bit. That helps mac & cheese have real flavor without being milky without highlighting the cheese.

The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

November Recap

Holy. Moly. November is over. HOW did that happen. I can’t get over it. October and November are the craziest months at work and I feel like I blinked and the turkey has passed. I’m now 34 weeks preggers…out of 40. Wowza. The last 4-ish months have flown by. I haven’t been cooking quite as much but I have a few favorites from November in case you missed them. This month the blog turned 4 years old!

Butternut Squash & Apple Soup came out great. It was a nice comforting fall meal without being heavy.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash & Apple Soup
I cooked so much with apples in October & November. I added some apples to refrigerated cinnamon rolls. This was such a great way to amp up a ready-made item. Barely any cooking for an instant treat.
Apple Cinnamon Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
One dish meals are so great to keep in your back pocket, especially at this time of year. I used some prepared sundried-tomato pesto for a chicken pasta dinner to take this simple pasta dish to something more special and a flavor we don’t have all the time.
The Three Bite Rule - Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chicken

Let’s check on my goals:
The Year of the Flower continues! Mr. J got me some yellow ones that have lasted for.ev.er.
send more mail – ehh. I missed this one.
make some Pinterest pins a reality – Not so much, though the baby-room decor ideas are multiplying on a private board.
cook with yeast (yikes!)
try a spin class – um nope. I’m not adding in any super new exercises at this point. I have just been working and relaxing. That’s it.
make more cocktails – umm no cocktails for me until January ;) I had an idea that I didn’t quite get to. Maybe December.

Bump update:
Mr. J has gotten all the room stuff done. All of it! He also was working like crazy to build a shed and clear out lots of room in the garage. We now can get to both sides of both car for future carseat loading and there’s room to dance park a stroller. The room is super cute. Here’s a sneak peek, and there should be a full reveal later. We picked daycare, a pediatrician, and took a birthing class. The babe is now as big as a honeydew!

I’ve had crazy heartburn that comes and goes and I’ve slept ok. I blame some of my restlessness is the biggest work event of the year. Who knows. I feel so full so quickly that I’m not really even craving anything right now. I miss wine though. Next month I’ll probably address the freezer contents and see what I want to prep. Any suggestions?

December will be crazy but I’m excited. I love the holidays but just didn’t want to be rushed though my work event for Thanksgiving. I see peppermint, and cockpot meals, and hot chocolate in my future for December!

Meatball Panini

This week you may need a non-Thanksgiving-y meal and this is a great one to also not contribute to your leftovers.

The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Panini
Ingredients: (for 2 sandwiches)
6-8 meatballs
2 tbs pesto
1 cup arugula, chopped
4 slices of provolone cheese
4 slices of wheat bread

Directions:
Cook or reheat the meatballs and slice.
Spread one side of each sandwich with pesto. Then layer on half the cheese and arugula.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Panini
Add on the meatballs. Then top with remaining cheese.
Preheat a panini press, a grill pan, or a large skillet to medium-high heat.
Top the other slice of bread with marinara.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Panini
Grill each panini (flip if using a skillet) until crisp on both sides.
Slice & enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Meatball Panini
I loved this one. I found some new chicken meatballs that were soooo good. They were such a find. I actually might whip up a bunch of these and freeze them to live in the freezer until I need an insta-dinner.

What I Ate: Apple Cinnamon Rolls

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.

I “made” these with pears at the pear-picking-party during the pear cook-off and then of course I’m still using the huge supply of apples we picked. It is a great tweak on a pre-made breakfast option. I love it. Also, work is so nuts right now that I can’t even think beyond about 4 ingredients. I’ll re-surface after Thanksgiving. Is it Black Friday yet?

The Three Bite Rule - Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients: (makes as many rolls as come in the package)

Refrigerated cinnamon rolls with frosting
2 apples chopped
2 tbs brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Add the chopped apples to a flat pan with brown sugar over medium heat.
Cook 5 minutes until softened, but not mushy.
The Three Bite Rule - Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Pop open the cinnamon roll can and place into a sprayed baking dish.
The Three Bite Rule - Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Spoon the cooked apple over the top.
Using a knife, press some apple chunks into the cinnamon roll layers.
The Three Bite Rule - Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Bake 20 minutes (or according to your cinnamon roll package).
The Three Bite Rule - Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Spread the frosting over the top. (Tip: dab it out of the package then spread when it starts to melt a bit)
Apple Cinnamon Rolls - The Three Bite Rule
Yum. These are fantastic. The apple flavor is so good with the cinnamon in the roll. The frosting is really non-negotiable. Trust me. Don’t skip it. They’re gooey and soft with apple for texture and sticky sweet frosting.
The Three Bite Rule - Apple Cinnamon Rolls
You could always make your own cinnamon rolls, but aren’t you too hungry for that in the morning? I know I am! Cook the apples in advance and you’ll be on your way even faster.

Make it for Thanksgiving with some dried cranberries getting rehydrated with some cider or orange juice with the apples & brown sugar. Or cook up berries and use that instead of apples!

Greek Chicken Pizza

This was one of those oops moments and times that I had to channel my inner Tim Gunn…make it work! I really meant this to be a calzone. Earlier this month we were celebrating sis’s bday with a calzone dinner and this one just could become a calzone. I was having dough challenges and as I started to get frustrated but had to remind myself sometimes it just doesn’t go how you want, but as long as it is still edible, then it can still be a success.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Pizza
The challenge was that I was trying to rush the defrosting of the dough. Some things you just can’t rush. That’s kind of my soap-box lesson of the day. I was getting a hole-y dough with frozen lumps that just wasn’t working out. I plopped it onto the pizza stone hoping it would “cook” enough to keep the shape so I could fill it then fold the crust over. No dice. Where it plopped it stayed and pizza it became.

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini
2 tbs fresh oregano
3 cups chopped baby spinach
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup feta
1 (or 1/2) ball of pizza dough
2 small chicken breasts, or 3-4 chicken tenders marinated in Italian dressing.

Directions:

Preheat the oven and pizza stone (if using one) to 400-degrees.
Chop the zucchini and sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat, until cooked through, before getting squishy. Then add in the fresh oregano at the end.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Pizza
Add in the tomatoes, feta, and spinach.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Pizza
Cook for another 3 minutes.
Spread out the pizza dough onto the pan and bake for about 5 minutes. Cook just enough to go from doughy to lightly crisped.
Cook or grill the chicken until cooked through. Then slice into chunks when cooled.
Top with marinara, then mozzarella, then with the veggies and chicken.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Pizza
Bake for 10-15 minutes until the crust crisps and the cheese melts.

This was a good pizza. It wasn’t drastically different than some of my others but these are fresh, veggie-centric flavors I love. I really wanted it to be a calzone, but I’m also thinking the “filling”/toppings would be good with pasta or in a pita.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Chicken Pizza