Potato Bar

I was inspired to make dinner out of potatoes after seeing lots of potato skin-football food and after making candied sweet potatoes for tacos. A few years ago mashed potato bars were all the rage at weddings costing a fortune for such basic ingredients. I figured with a few toppings it could easily be dinner.

Baked potatoes are so much faster than I really thought they’d take. I spread out a few toppings and it was such a fun dinner. This would be great for guests. Everyone getting to customize their own keeps everyone happy.
The Three Bite Rule - Potato Bar

Ingredients:

2 potatoes
frozen creamed spinach
1 cup shredded cheddar
4 strips bacon, chopped
sour cream

Directions:

Microwave potatoes for 4 minutes then bake potatoes for 20 minutes at 400-degrees.
Pan fry the bacon until crisp.
Heat the creamed spinach until warmed through.
Rub the potatoes in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.
Lay out the toppings and enjoy!

The potatoes were filling but not super heavy. The creamed spinach was a perfect sauce and took no effort.

The Three Bite Rule - Potato Bar
The Three Bite Rule - Potato Bar

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

I saw, I pinned, I waited forever, then I made. I’m not much of a baker but despite the cake, topping, and glaze it was actually really easy. It was addictive and somehow squares of the pan just kept disappearing. I’m not sure how it happened.

The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Coffee Cake
This comes from Tasty Kitchen by way of How Sweet It Is and Pretty Good Food and whoever else has made it.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

⅓ cups water
1 can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 box spice cake mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup brown sugar

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
4 tbs melted butter

Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

In a mixer, combine water, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Add the cake mix and baking soda and mix again until just combined.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Pour cake into a sprayed 9×13 pan.
In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients: brown sugar, flour and melted butter. Use your fingers to sprinkle over the top of the cake.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
In a medium sauce pan simmer brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream. Remove from heat and stir until all sugar dissolves.
When the cake is cooked, pokes some holes and pour glaze over the top.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Coffee Cake
I absolutely loved this. It was great as dessert and as breakfast.

Freezer Foods

So… I’m here! I’m here! I’ve been a bit tired this week so the rest of the week’s posts lost out to:
a) Autumn Awesomeness ice cream: at my fav local ice cream place (vanilla, with nutmeg, apples, and cider donuts)
b) Going to bed early
c) Getting a few baby preparations started
d) all of the above

ding ding ding! D is correct, which means each are right. I figure nobody wants to read a post I wasn’t really into writing or editing so I’ve snoozed a bit earlier than usual, passed my glucose/gestational diabetes test! Mr. J and I went to the hospital to meet the maternity/delivery team and learned how much we don’t know yet. Somehow more posts didn’t make it into this week.

I’ve cooked a bunch this week and last week of oldie but goodies that were freezer friendly so half could be enjoyed now and the other half could emerge during my busy time at work…just before Thanksgiving! Here they are in no particular order if you’re ready for fall/wintry foods or want some freezer prep too!

Butternut Squash Lasagna
I love this one. It is so good and perfectly divides into 2 baking dishes…one for now, one for later.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash Lasagna
Sausage Stuffing
This is a great main dish, or a side. I added shallots and pears and we devoured the “now” portion.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage Stuffing
Chicken Pot Pie
I make the filling and add the topping when round 2 comes up.
chickenpotpie5_290_200

Sweet & Smoky Chili
I literally filled the crockpot for 5 people. Needless to say there were leftovers so we ate some a few more times, and froze the rest.
chili_tomato_590_390

Chicken Parmesan Cups

Let’s start Monday off gently. This is not going to overwhelm your brain. We had houseguests early last week and I wanted to throw some dinners together on Sunday so we could leisurely visit and not put anyone to work. My thought for these Chicken Parmesan Cups were that it seemed like less work than serving Chicken Parmesan and anything in serving size portions is fun. I was going for a crowd pleaser and something I was pretty familiar with making.

Chicken Parmesan Cups - The Three Bite Rule
Chicken Parmesan Cups
Yield: 12 muffin cups, ~5 people
Time: prep ~20 min, cook ~20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry
sprinkle of flour
5 chicken tenders
1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and defrost puff pastry to room temperature.
Cook the chicken until fully cooked through.
When cool enough to handle, chop up the chicken and set aside.
Chicken Parmesan Cups - The Three Bite Rule
Spray a muffin tin or 12 ramekins with nonstick spray.
Lightly flour a surface to roll out the puff pastry. Roll to about 1/8 inch thick and cut it into 12 squares, about 3×3 inches each.
Lay the puff pastry into the muffin tin.
Chicken Parmesan Cups - The Three Bite Rule
Divide the chicken into each cup, spoon sauce over, and top with cheeses. (I had some extra puff pastry so I put another mini 1″ square on top)
Bake for 20 minutes, or until puff pastry puffs up and get golden brown.
Chicken Parmesan Cups - The Three Bite Rule
I loved these. They made serving way easier. I tossed a salad together an poof, dinner was ready. These would be super simple to serve to a crowd since they almost could be eaten by hand.

Suggested adaptations: 
chicken parmesan cups + baked eggplant = dynamic duo of parm
chicken parmesan cups – tomato sauce – cheese + pot pie fillings (corn, carrots, celery, gravy, etc) = chicken pot pie cups
chicken parmesan cups + ricotta = chicken “lasagna” cups

Chorizo Tacos with Candied Sweet Potatoes

Have you heard of Food Fighters on NBC? They pair a home chef in a few rounds against pros. Each round is a different food against a different chef. We saw this one guy make chorizo tacos with sweet potatoes and it had me thinking, “I can make those.” I hadn’t made chorizo before but I tried my hand at it. I tweaked what the contestant made but I was into the idea of tacos with sweet potato.

The Three Bite Rule - Chorizo Taco

Ingredients: for 4 tacos, for 2 people

1 sweet potato
1/3 pound ground pork
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2-3 tsp brown sugar
soft tacos
1 slice red onion, chopped
optional: Mexican crema or sour cream mixed with salsa/lime juice/etc for a sauce on top.

Directions:

Peel the sweet potato and cut into quarters. Boil until cooked most of the way through…about 8 minutes.
Mix together the pork, vinegar, and seasonings.
The Three Bite Rule - Chorizo Taco
Cook over medium heat until cooked through, about 7 minutes. Taste it. Add some tomato paste or tomato sauce if too spicy.
The Three Bite Rule - Chorizo Taco
When the potatoes are cooked, slice in thick slices and then in half by diameter.
Add the potatoes to a hot pan with a drizzle of oil and the brown sugar. Cook for 5 minutes, flipping once caramelizing on both size.
Serve the tacos on the flour tortilla with chopped red onion, and sweet potato.
The Three Bite Rule - Chorizo Taco
My chorizo was spicy and I wanted some sort of creamy, cooling sauce. I mixed some peppercorn dressing with a touch of salsa.
The Three Bite Rule - Chorizo Taco
I liked these, but I went overboard on the chili powder and the cayenne. It was a bit too spicy. The candied sweet potatoes were so amazing. We both loved them and need to make them more often. I tossed some crisp red peppers with lime dressing on the side.

Windsor was sniffing around nearby. It’s nice to have a sous-chef when he is laying down and not underfoot. Look how mature he’s getting!
IMG_4341