What I Ate: Hawaiian Hot Dogs

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 jazzed up some dogs just as summer was “ending” though there’s plenty of grilling season left. I should totally have done this combo sooner. Grilled dogs with pineapple & teriyaki sauce. I just want crazy toppings on everything right now.
The Three Bite Rule - Hawaiian Hot Dog
I mixed up chopped red onion, pineapple, and just a touch of salsa.
The Three Bite Rule - Hawaiian Hot Dog
Then I mixed honey, teriyaki marinade, and soy sauce. I eyeballed it, and went heavier on the honey than anything else.
The Three Bite Rule - Hawaiian Hot Dog
The tang of the teriyaki, the sweet pineapple, and crunch of the red onion went perfectly with the dog and soft roll. There are so many topping options besides the regular mustard/relish.
The Three Bite Rule - Hawaiian Hot Dog
These were fun. I love a good theme. Flying on Jess Fuel made some Banh Mi Hot Dogs that looked incredible. A nacho-y one would be fun or I did one with avocado, leftover corn cut off the cob, and ranch for a Californian Dog. Food themes are the only time old stereotypes are permissible, right?

Crispy Pizza Rolls

I love appetizers for dinner. I make pizza all the time but I was thinking of something different and decided on putting the best favors into eggroll wrappers. They’re kind of pizza kind of lasagna, kind of just Italian flavored. I don’t know what box to put them in!
The Three Bite Rule - Pizza Rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Italian sausage, removed from the casing
1 cup ricotta
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup mozzarella
eggroll wrappers

Directions:

Pan fry the sausage, crumbling it and cooking it all the way through and sprinkling with dried oregano. Then drain on paper towel.
Lay the eggroll wrappers out and on a diagonal, to opposite corners, top with mozzarella, ricotta, sausage, and sauce.

The Three Bite Rule - Pizza Rolls
Fold the opposite corners in and fold the bottom across the filling. Then roll toward the top corner. Be sure none of the filling escapes out the edges.
Pan fry in shallow oil or spray with nonstick spray and bake. (I baked at 375-degrees flipping on all sides).
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Let cool 5 minutes. Serve with more sauce for dipping.
The Three Bite Rule - Pizza Rolls
These freeze well too, then pop in the oven when you need lunch, dinner, or a hefty appetizer. I should have more of these things prepped & hanging out in the freezer. I really loved having some as a what-to-have-for-lunch on a weekend day. I’m currently working on going through the freezer so I can clear room for ready made stuff, though this babe is just past halfway so I have a little time for January freezer prep.

suggested adaptations:
pizza rolls – sausage + chopped pepperoni = pepperoni pizza rolls
pizza rolls + green peppers + onions + mushrooms = loaded pizza rolls
pizza rolls – sausage + veggies = vegetarian pizza rolls

Spice Up Your Life

The Spice Girls may have formed 20 years ago, not to make you feel old, but today I’m talking about spices. I got some spice mixes from Healthy Solutions to try and I loved them. You can love them too by entering my giveaway below! I tried the Encrusted Haddock and the Ultimate Burger. Both were so good.

I tried the Encrusted Haddock mix too. I used this on a tilapia filet I had and it was wonderful.
The Three Bite Rule - Spice Mixes
I put the fish in a little packet with a little panko and Mr. J grilled it on a his/hers night.
The Three Bite Rule - Spice Mixes
The Encrusted Haddock mix had some garlic and onion flavors with a sweet touch. I served it over a couscous, tomato, and chopped arugula with a touch of mustard.

The Three Bite Rule - Spice Mixes

For the Ultimate Burger I mixed some into my chicken burger and into Mr. J’s beef burger. It absolutely amped up an everyday burger into something really special.
The Three Bite Rule - Spice Mixes
I loved the onion, garlic, and pepper flavors. Every burger needs a kicker to come alive. Grill it up and you won’t want your ground meat to be naked again.
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Now, enter to win your choice of 3 mixes shipped right to you! Enter before Wednesday!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Full 3 Bite Rule Disclosure: Healthy Solutions Spice Blends were completely complimentary but my thoughts, opinions, and words are entirely my own.

Cheesy Polenta with Shrimp and Tomatoes

I was inspired to try my hand at polenta. It seemed like a good way to make a his (beef)/hers (fish) for dinner some night…also without needing the oven. Polenta cooks so quickly that it can really be a pantry shelf staple that becomes an afterthought.

The Three Bite Rule - Polenta & Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 cup polenta
1 cup water
1 cup milk
salt & pepper
1 cup grated white cheddar
5 large shrimp
olive oil
2 tbs butter.
1-2 cups arugula
1 cup red wine

Directions:

Over a low boil, reduce the red wine by half…about 10 minutes.
In a large pot, bring the water and milk to a boil. Add in the polenta and whisk to combine. Then cover and cook over medium for about 15 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Polenta & Shrimp
Peal and devein the shrimp.
In a flat skillet, cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil and melt 1 tbs of butter.
Add the other 1 tbs butter to the reduced wine.
Pan fry the shrimp, arugula, and tomatoes for about 3-5 minutes.
Check on the polenta. If it is too dry, add more milk or water and stir in the cheese.
Spoon the polenta into a bowl and top with the shrimp, then with the wine.
The Three Bite Rule - Polenta & Shrimp

Ella’s Wood Burning Oven

The fam went to Cape Cod again this year. Mr. J and I had a few days when the kennel had availability for the pups. The fam went last year too. I ate ice cream nightly and had perfect weather. It was awesome and we did not want to leave.

The first night there we went to Ella’s Wood Burning Oven just a few minutes away. It was so good and we looooved everything we got.

We started with squash blossoms. They were very filled with ricotta and basil, lightly fried and served with zucchini pesto. Soo good. They weren’t oily at all. The ratio of crispy blossom with ricotta was perfect. There was a gnocchi entree sort of version of this. I definitely would have had it if the table hadn’t shared this app.
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We had an order of calimari that was cooked perfectly. Sometimes these get over cooked and chewy. I didn’t loooove the putanesca sauced served with it, but others did.
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It was so hard to pick an entree and then there were a few specials.

I got a special pork chop. It came with homemade spaetzle, roasted red peppers, and zucchini pesto.  They cooked it perfectly…am I sensing a trend? It was juicy and tender. The spaetzle had more of the pesto which I loved.
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Mr. J got a meat lasagna special with béchamel sauce. It had a bit less bechamel than he expected. He thought it was good, but maybe not his favorite ever. Maybe my lasagna edges theirs out!
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Momma got the rainbow trout. It came with a fennel & potato confit and had lemon oregano vinaigrette over it and in it. It sounded really good and she chose it since she doesn’t cook rainbow trout at home.
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Dad got the paparadelle with bolognese. They make the pasta in house and the sauce smelled amazing. He had his eye on this and we encouraged him since I was sure the sauce would be good!
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Their desserts sounded really good, but I was hoping to digest enough to have some room for an ice cream walk. We loved this spot. I’m so glad we tried it. The pizzas sounded great (and looked delicious) but the next night was whole family pizza night at our fav neighborhood spot.