Quick Meals for a Busy Season

I’ve been thinking about meals that are speedy yet delicious. Mr. J has been rushing around to get our holiday card photo done (gonna be AHHH-MAZING) and I’ve been trying to finish up some shopping (thanks to Amazon prime!) and I’ve been decorating so my focus has been on some meals that we’ll enjoy but that aren’t as elaborate as they sometimes can get.

Enjoy these ideas, and leave a comment with your own suggestions!

Chicken and waffles makes a quick meal. I made the waffles with some cornmeal and hot sauce in this post but if you find some in your freezer you’ll be halfway to dinner! From Away blogged about some to-die-for chicken and waffle nachos with maple and sriracha.
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I absolutely love this spinach and artichoke pasta. The trick is creamed spinach from the freezer section. It takes longer for the pasta water to boil than anything else!
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Maybe your grill is covered in snow, but grilling some chicken inside, or getting already cooked chicken would make Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps super quick.
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Lastly, when all else fails, breakfast for dinner. Mr. J makes a mean huevos rancheros. All you need is: tortillas, eggs, salsa, and cheese.
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What’s for dinner in your kitchen when you’re busy busy busy?

Quick Cheeseburger Soup

I cannot even put into words how amazing this soup was. One of my favorite things I’ve cooked in awhile. Gahhh. It is so amazing and I want to make it again immediately. It is the perfect non-grilling-weather way to taste a cheeseburger. The tomato flavor and garlic and onions seemed spot on flavors to make me think of a burger.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Soup

I tweaked a recipe I saw on Family Fresh Meals. That one uses a crockpot and I was making this on speed. I also didn’t include the bacon that this recipe did. I know! I know! Blasphemy. I was attempting to lighten this soup up just a bit while maintaing the flavors. I skipped the potatoes, used less cream cheese, nixed the milk/flour slurry, and swapped beef for ground chicken. But then I served it in mini breadbowls so maybe lightening it up didn’t really do much. Next time I might even skip the shredded cheese and just sprinkle some on to serve it. Gasp!

I skipped the crockpot since I didn’t think there were that many more flavors to develop here. Some things (read: chili, pork shoulder, etc) develop more and better flavors the longer they cook. This one wasn’t likely to do that, but don’t get me wrong, crockpots are great to keep food hot for a crowd.

Cheeseburger Soup

adapted from Family Fresh Meals

Ingredients:

1 lbs ground chicken (or ground pork)
3 large carrots
2 celery stocks
1 medium white onion
16 oz can crushed tomatoes (I swear by Pastene Kitchen Ready tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbs dijon, or whole grain mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
4 oz (1/2 brick) of cream cheese
4-6 oz shredded cheddar cheese
green onions for topping

Directions:

Heat a large heavy pot (to become the soup pot) over medium-high heat and heat a large skillet (for the ground chicken) over medium heat.
Peal the carrots, and chop carrots, celery, and onion.
In a large skillet, brown the ground chicken until cooked most of the way through. Break into crumbles with the back of a spoon.
In the soup pot, add in 1 tbs olive oil, chopped carrots, chopped celery, and chopped onion cooking for about 10 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Soup
Drain the meat discarding any excess fat/grease and add to the soup pot.
Add in the crushed tomatoes.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Soup
Add in chicken broth, worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, stirring well.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Soup
Cook for another 10-15 minutes covered. It was at a low boil which helped it thicken up a bit (without needing a milk/flour slurry).
Uncover and reduce heat to low.
Add in the cream cheese, stirring well as it melts.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Soup
Finally, add in the shredded cheese. Stir to melt.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Soup
Serve topped with green onions in mini-bread bowls!
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Soup
This is a serious crowd pleaser. I loved it and would totally make it again! I was a bit heavy handed with the green onions, don’t do that. This was pretty quick but is a recipe where you could do some prep in advance. You could make pretty much the whole thing in advance and refrigerate or freeze it until needed – I’d leave off the cream cheese until just before serving.

I split a ball of pizza dough into 3-4 balls to bake into bread bowls. Just bake, let cool, slice off the tops, and hollow out the middle.

This would be a perfect recipe to whip up for some family or for a potluck. It could surely be a time savor (and leftover source) during this very busy time of year.

adaptations/suggestions
this recipe + some beans + cooked longer + cumin = cheeseburger chili!
this recipe + some chunks of soft onion rolls with butter for bun croutons
this recipe – cream cheese + a very little dash of cream = lightened cheeseburger soup
this recipe – cream cheese + 5-8 hours in a crockpot + cream cheese at the end = less fuss cheeseburger soup
this recipe + a whole bar of burger toppings (bacon, blue cheese, dollop of mustard, green onions, shredded cheddar, etc)

What I Ate: Pumpkin Smoothie

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 almost wanted to call this pumpkin pie smoothie, but it is seriously much healthier for you. It only tastes like dessert. It is perfect for fall flavors. I freeze the bananas for smoothies to make it frostier and thicker, but a regular banana would be fine, just not a chilly.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 banana (preferably frozen)
6 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tbs pumpkin butter (optional)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or make your own: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)

Directions:

Add banana, yogurt, pumpkin, pumpkin butter, and pumpkin pie spice in a blender.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Smoothie
Blend and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Smoothie
This is so good and tastes like dessert. The pumpkin butter amped up the pumpkin flavor even more, but could definitely be omitted. I use it in oatmeal, on toast, or mixed into yogurt during all-things-pumpkin season.
The Three Bite Rule - Pumpkin Smoothie

  • this recipe – yogurt + ice cream = dessert
  • this recipe + blend with ice + dark rum + rim the glass with graham cracker = cocktail

Does pumpkin-season end after Thanksgiving? What do you think?

Chicken Marsala

Chicken marsala is actually easier than I thought it would be. Somehow I was thinking it would be a lot of steps. I’m not sure why. I guess since it is kind of a “restaurant food” to me I thought it would be more involved. This would be a great Christmas Eve meal or holiday dinner party meal. Early December is a great time to give a new item a dry-run if you want practice. It is honestly easier than it seems. Check it out at the bottom. It’s super cheap to make too.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala
I served it over some egg noodles and it was a super easy dinner plus, the sauce was really great even as leftovers.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (or chicken tenders)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 slices of prosciutto, chopped
4 tbs butter
8 oz. mushrooms, halved, quartered, or sliced (I used button, but baby portabella would be good too)
2 tbs garlic, chopped
1 cup Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 pound wide egg noodles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300-degrees.
Lay the chicken on plastic wrap with another piece of plastic wrap on top. Pound the chicken out with a meat mallet (or a heavy skillet, can of soup, or something equally heavy) until even in thickness.
Mix flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a flat dish with sides, like a baking dish or flat bowl.
Heat a large pan to medium-hich heat with the vegetable oil.
Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture on both sides and shake off the excess.
Pan fry the chicken for about 5 minutes per side, in batches if it doesn’t all fit in the pan. Or use a meat thermometer to get the chicken to about 160 degrees (it will cook a bit more later so it will get to 165 by the end).
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala
Remove the cooked chicken and set inside the oven to keep warm.
Boil water for pasta if serving over egg noodles.
In the same pan, without the chicken, reduce the heat to medium and cook the prosciutto for about 2 minutes.
Add in the butter and button mushrooms, cooking for about 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced.
Pour in the marsala wine, 2 tbs butter, garlic and chicken broth. Let the wine cook the alcohol out for about 5 minutes at a low boil.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala
Add the egg noodles into the boiling water pot.
Add the chicken back into the pan and cook for another 3 minutes, flipping once.
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Serve over egg noodles & enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala

I really love the wine and garlicky flavors in this. It is a light but flavorful sauce and it is a great variation to some of my recent dinners.

I forgot prosciutto but it makes it even better. It’s super cheap to get just a few slices at the deli counter if you don’t mind waiting for it. I usually am not using a whole package whenever I add it to something so I’ve frozen a few slices for occasions such as this where it’ll be cooked. I forgot to check for some this time. Oops.

This would be a nice dinner for guests. You could have the chopping and the chicken cooked in advance then just the sauce would need to come together.

Cost breakdown:

chicken: 3-4 breast pieces $2.99
mushrooms: $2.00
2 slices prosciutto: $3.00
marsala wine: grocery stores here have it without alcohol for $3.00 per bottle or it’s closer to $7 at liquor stores.
garlic: $0.25
egg noodles: $0.75
total: $11.99 for 4 servings, or $2.99 per person. Take that restaurants!

Neapolitan Margherita Pizza & Pizza Tips

I figure you need some non-Thanksgiving-y foods this week. Did ya miss me? I took Black Friday off from blogging…not for shopping, but Thanksgiving week is suuuuper busy at work and my poor puppy Windsor had a lot of seizures on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

I wanted to talk pizza today. I make it all the time but figured I was due to share some tips. I fell further in love with pizza on a stop in Italy to Naples on my honeymoon. I really didn’t love Naples but the pizza made it all worth it.

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Seriously. Look at that! Doesn’t get much better. I don’t pretend that this can be exactly replicated but it is such a good one to make at home. Try this tomato “sauce” and you’ll love it. I never make pizza without it.

Ingredients:

ball of refrigerated pizza dough
1 1/2 cups Pastene kitchen ready crushed tomatoes
8 oz fresh mozzarella
8 basil leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven (and pizza stone if using one) to 400 degrees.
Gently start working the pizza dough in your hands, flattening it out. Slowly, with patience, it will grow in size as your hands warm it. Carefully work the edges to make it bigger and to avoid getting holes or too-thin crust in the middle.
Place the flattened dough onto the pizza stone, or hot pizza pan. Reshape if needed. The bottom will cook a bit keeping it from shrinking right in front of you.
The Three Bite Rule - Margherita Pizza
Poke a few holes with a fork into the crust. It stops it from bubbling up too much.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. It should be slightly cooked and not sticky to the touch.
Top with tomato sauce spreading it evenly and far enough to the edges to leave some room for the crust to hold it in. Then add slices of mozzarella.
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Brush the crust with some olive oil for a shiny brown crisp look (optional).
Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Set a timer and look at the pizza to decide when it is cooked enough for your liking. The pre-cook step helps it be cooked through by the end.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with basil.
The Three Bite Rule - Margherita Pizza
Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

I love margherita pizza. The mozzarella and basil make it just so amazing. I was so happy to make this simple pizza and pair it with some pinot noir. Love.
The Three Bite Rule - Margherita Pizza
I’ve found that the fresh mozzarella sold in the diary case, by the cream cheese & ricotta, works so much better than the wetter mozzarella balls sold in the produce or cheese cases. These dairy section blocks of mozzarella are drier, easier to slice, and hold up better to the oven than the softer mozzarella from the produce or cheese area that I would prefer to use for caprese salads. If that’s confusing just grab both and look at them in the store. This will all make a lot more sense in-person.

Top 5 Pizza Tips:

1) If you make pizza regularly, get a pizza stone. The first time the crust might stick but it has been fool-proof ever since.
2) Pre-cook the crust without any toppings to get it started with a 10-ish minute head start. This keeps it doughy and slightly crisp without being raw. This also helps avoid the toppings getting overcooked.
3) Try using fewer ingredients, but better quality ingredients. (insert: Pastene Kitchen Ready tomatoes)
4) Get the oven really hot, like 400-degrees hot.
5) Don’t try to assemble then move the pizza. Assemble & top it on the pizza stone/pizza pan you are baking on. Pizza from the floor does not taste as good.