Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta

The in-between of Christmas and New Years is kind of a weird time. Kiddos are off from school, travel wraps up, house guests leave, there’s still a holiday coming up, and there’s some more work in between. I also think there’s so much pressure for New Year’s Eve and resolutions. It is just a weird time.

I was on a quick-dinner-kick before the holidays and have just one more that I wanted to share for a keep-in-your-back pocket pantry. It also works for a great #meatlessmonday and a break from extravagant or elaborate holiday dinners.
The Three Bite Rule - Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta

Ingredients:

2 cups Pastene Kitchen Ready Tomatoes
2 tbs cream cheese
2 tbs fresh basil
8 oz (1/2 box) bow tie pasta

Directions:

Boil salted water for pasta.
Heat a flat pan to medium-low heat, adding tomatoes to the pan.
Boil pasta until undercooked and almost al dente.
Reduce the temperature to low and add the cream cheese
The Three Bite Rule - Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
Add in the partially cooked pasta, letting it cook for a few more minutes in the sauce, adding the basil.
The Three Bite Rule - Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
Sprinkle with Parmesan and more basil to serve!
The Three Bite Rule - Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
It is super easy and delightfully comforting. This pasta is just so fast yet it still seems like not the same-old same-old.

Any resolutions coming up? I tend to make them on my blogaversary but I’m thinking I might set a year-of challenge for myself. I have a few ideas brewing so stay tuned!

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays from The Three Bite Rule!

Mr. J did such a fantastic job with our holiday card featuring our furry cuties so I just had to share. I’ll be back after Christmas! Eat well!

The Three Bite Rule - Happy Holidays

What I Ate: Wintry Salad

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.

This is the season of intense foods, holiday parties, hot chocolate based cocktails, and seasonal candy. I figured a few meals should off-set those delicious things. I threw this salad together calling it a Wintry Salad on our meal planning calendar and Mr. J found it comical. What’s winter about salad he asks? I say white beans, pears, and blue cheese dressing make a subtle nod to winter. Either way, we should eat more salads for dinner. This one is hearty and filling while still getting lots of veggies to you.
The Three Bite Rule - Wintry Salad
I had 3 chicken tenders I lightly breaded and cooked, but didn’t use and then froze them. I forget what they had been for, but that was the perfect amount of chicken for some protein without being a ton. I made enough salad for 2 of us for dinner and one for Mr. J to take for lunch. That equates to 1 chicken tender per serving. Plus 2 strips of bacon crumbled, into 3 servings. Basically, I just want to remind you that the amount of protein on salad can be wayyy less than you’d serve otherwise.

The Three Bite Rule - Wintry Salad

Wintry Salad Ingredients (add or swap as you desire!)
mixed greens
tomatoes
cucumbers
1 pear
3 chicken tenders
2 strips of bacon
1 cup white beans
blue cheese dressing

I tossed it with a tiny bit of Italian dressing. That helps reduce how much creamy dressing anyone will “need”.

suggested adaptations:
wintry salad + feta – blue cheese dressing = Greek-ish salad
wintry salad – chicken – bacon + artichokes = vegetarian friendly
wintry salad – chicken – bacon + leftover holiday ham + roasted carrots = lightened up leftovers
wintry salad + balsamic onions + warm bacon salad dressing = winter wonderland

Chicken Parmesan Calzone

I love the ease of calzones and this one is ideal to feed your hungry house guests or to keep your weeknights productive with simplicity or to be a hefty appetizer or a potluck star. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t finished wrapping Christmas presents and there are about a bejillion holiday movies on tv right now. Keeping wiggle room on weeknights is definitely what I need.

This is not a far cry from my Chicken Parmesan Pizza, but I want to save you from a lackluster Chicken Parm calzone if you were thinking of chicken and mozzarella. That’s not enough, but of course you weren’t thinking that. 😉 That’s almost enough for topping a Chicken Parmesan pizza but in a calzone it will be underwhelming and seem empty. Don’t forget to fill, fill, fill the calzone. It seems like wayyy less when you bake & slice it up.

Ingredients:

pizza dough
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (Pastene Kitchen Ready Tomatoes)
5 chicken tenders breaded and cooked through, and cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1 cup Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven, and pizza stone if using one, to 400 degrees.
Spread the pizza dough onto the pizza stone or pizza pan, off center so the filling can be on the “bottom” and the “top” can fold over. When the dough goes onto a hot pan it cooks a bit to hold the form.
Layer chicken chunks, mozzarella, ricotta spoonfuls, Parmesan, and tomato drizzles.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Calzone
Keep layering and making sure there’s filling all the way to the edges. Fill more than it seems like it needs.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Calzone
Keep filling, and filling, and filling.
Fold the top over and pinch the edges together.
Gently “squish” the fillings to the edges to pat it down a bit.
Slice some vents into the top, spacing them out and keeping any unplanned vents.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Calzone
Bake 30 minutes. Optional: Brush with olive oil or eggwash for a shiny top midway through.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Calzone
This is an easy one that is ohh so comforting. It is very simple but hits some flavors everyone likes, plus calzones are great as leftovers. I put tomato sauce into this calzone, but I normally just serve it on the side. I also would love slices of fresh mozzarella in here but I was trying to keep it pretty simple.

I made a few pizzas and a few calzones for guests. This one was a good crowd-pleaser amongst some other flavors. The chicken parmesan calzone helped the menu since I could prep it and partially cook it in advance. I paired this guy with a bruschetta pizza, a BBQ chicken pizza, and a pepperoni pizza for the kiddies. Something for everyone!

Sausage Stuffing

My mom makes some seriously awesome stuffing. It works like a side dish but I figured holding strong on 2 food groups meant I’d make it the main dish! I love this and would eat it far too often if it were at all good for me. It’s a fantastic wintry food and makes a great dinner or side dish. There’s a secret ingredient that is the trick.

My sous chef wanted to help #kitchendogs #fluffybailee

The Three Bite Rule - Sausage Stuffing

Ingredients:

4-6 sausage links, removed from the casing (I used turkey sausage this time)
1 loaf of sourdough bread or something crusty
1 can golden mushroom soup (even mushroom-haters will not notice this is in here)
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup water
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat a large skillet to medium heat while you chop the onion and remove the casing from the sausage links.
Brown the sausage, breaking it into smaller chunks with the back of a wooden spoon.
In a medium pot, warm the soup, wine, water, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic over medium heat.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage Stuffing
Cut the bread into chunks.
When the sausage is mostly cooked through, drain any excess grease and add the onions into the pan with the sausage. Cook a few minutes until the onion gets soft and a bit translucent, about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, toss the cooked sausage and onions and bread together.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage Stuffing
Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl and mix well.
Empty the whole bowl into a large baking dish, sprayed with non-stick spray.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage Stuffing
Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Broil the last 3 minutes if the top hasn’t crisped enough
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage Stuffing
Yum. I love this one. The golden mushroom soup is so flavorful – just don’t confuse it with cream of mushroom soup.

I served this with some roasted asparagus for a quick dinner. The leftovers are great and it is just an inviting unfussy meal.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage Stuffing
I found a loaf of artisan bread with garlic in it. It was pricey but I only used 4 sausage links and the bread. Other ingredients were super cheap and this was about 5 servings for us.

Shhhh. I nibbled on some leftovers for breakfast one morning when all I wanted was a non-sweet breakfast. What? A touch of maple and this is the ideal salty breakfast…just call it savory bread pudding and nobody will think twice.

some suggested adaptations:
this recipe + celery/kale/portobello/peppers = more veggie-ful stuffing
this recipe – golden mushroom soup + low sodium chicken broth = less salty/lower sodium meal (or reduce the soup to half a can and increase the water to 3/4 cups
this recipe + muffin tins = easily servable stuffing cups
this recipe – turkey sausage + soy sausage crumbles = vegetarian stuffing
this recipe + dried cranberries + sage = super seasonal flavors