What I Ate: Almond Joy Yogurt Parfait

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 was thinking about how much I love coconut and wondering how to make a smoothie out of it. Then I decided I’d just dump stuff on my yogurt. When I dump more than one topping onto yogurt it makes it a parfait. “Dump stuff” is so classy, but hey, parfait is suuuuper classy. It makes breakfast fancy! Right? Right!

The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie

Coconut yogurt is the best. I shared my love for it here during a smoothie coconut almond milk. More and more brands are adding coconut to their Greek yogurt repertoire. Love it.

Ingredients:

coconut yogurt (or vanilla)
1/3 cup coconut
1/4 cup almonds (not salted, slivers are good too)
(optional: mini chocolate chips)

Directions:

Put a small skillet on over medium-low heat.
Tranfer the yogurt into a bowl (you need more room than a yogurt cup).
The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie
Add coconut to the dry skillet. Stir regularly as it lightly browns. Watch it to ensure it doesn’t burn.
The Three Bite Rule - Almond Joy Smoothie
Chop the almonds (and toast if desired)
Add the toasted coconut to the yogurt over the top and add the almonds around the edge.
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It is so good. Toasted coconut makes me want a samoa girl scout cookie. I didn’t roast the almonds but that would be so amazing here. I seriously made this on a weekday for bfast. Toasting the coconut takes 5 minutes and is absolutely worth it. Some chocolate chips would make this legit Almond Joy but it was bfast so I decided not to go crazy.

Aren’t these guys so cute? They’re regular supporters and they felt like their cute mugs should be on the blog more often. Say hi to Windsor!
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Miss Bailee says hello too.
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Pizza with Eggplant Spread and Zucchini

I was thinking about pizza with tapenade but happened upon a Mediterranean eggplant spread.  I thought it would be a great spread on pizza or as a sauce. Pre-made jarred sauces are great pizza toppings.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza

Ingredients:

1 ball pizza dough
1 cup eggplant and garlic spread (or tapanade, or roasted red pepper spread)
8 oz shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 small zucchini
1 tbs garlic, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven and pizza stone (if using one) to 400 degrees.
Spread pizza dough out onto a pan/stone poking a few holes with a fork.
Bake for 10 minutes until lightly browned and not fully cooked.
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Spread eggplant spread onto the dough.
The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza
In a large skillet, saute zucchini and garlic over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes and then remove from the heat.
Sprinkle pizza crust with mozzarella, and spoonfuls of ricotta.

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Spoon zucchini onto the pizza as well.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza
Bake for 10-15 more minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini still has some texture.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza
Let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza
It was really good and had some different flavors. I loooove ricotta on pizza or in calzones. It’s such a light cheese with some creaminess.

Tapenade, or pesto, blended roasted red peppers, or spreads are great for pizzas. I used some zucchini but eggplant or butternut squash would be good too. If pizza dough isn’t your thing then make this on naan, pitas, or flatbread.

What else would be a good fall pizza?

Kale Pesto over Pork Chops and Polenta

I know, right? How amazing does that sound?!? Mr. J was in charge of dinner and that is seriously what he came up with. I loved it! It was really good and actually surprisingly easy. I assisted as his sous-chef so I snapped some photos as he cooked.

This is super easy feels totally special and is such a wow meal.

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He found the pork chops with roasted kale and walnut pesto on the food network site. It was so good and definitely one to jot down. If you think you aren’t into pork chops then get a meat thermometer. If you’ve had hard-as-rock pork it isn’t pretty. The thermometer will save the day.

The pesto takes 10 minutes. Polenta takes about 5 minutes. The pork cookes quickly too.

Roasted Kale Pesto

from Food Network
Ingredients:

1 head of kale
olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
2 tbs lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Tear the kale off the stems and spread onto a sheet pan.
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Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.
Roast for about 5 minutes (be careful not to let it burn)
Transfer into a food processor with walnuts, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
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Blend until smooth while slowly streaming in the olive oil until you reach your desired thickness (add more olive oil if using with pasta, add less for topping on meat).
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It stores well and we froze half for a “rainy day”. This pesto would be amazing for a vegetarian dish. It is so flavorful, unique, and not overpowering at all.

For the pork chops we used were boneless but bone-in would be fine as well. Season generously with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary, on both sides.

In a pan large enough to fit all the chops, preheat it to medium-high heat.
Add the pork chops to sear on one side for about 5 minutes, then flip and cook until the center reaches 140-150 degrees on a thermometer.
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We made some polenta too. I haven’t had polenta in awhile but I forgot how quick it is. As in, 5 minutes quick. It makes dinner feel really different.
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Have leftover pesto? Spread it into a panini and dip the grilled cheese into marinara for an Italian grilled cheese. Or use it on pizza or pasta. Leftover polenta? Form into patties and fry like I did here with scallops. Polenta works well with anything spicy like chorizo or with anything earthy like duck.

Cranberry Soda Cocktail

I love the fall-finds at Trader Joe’s I grabbed this cranberry soda without a plan for it but it sounded good and had serious potential. Sometimes special cocktails don’t need  a reason. They make a random night’s dinner prep that much more exciting!

The Three Bite Rule - Cranberry Soda Cocktail

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cranberry soda (or cranberry juice + club soda)
1/2 shot cranberry vodka
1/2 shot whipped vodka
splash lime juice

Directions:

Mix vodkas and soda over ice.
Add a splash of lime juice.
The Three Bite Rule - Cranberry Soda Cocktail
It was so good. I think the whipped vodka was key to this. It kept it from being overly bitter with a hint of a creamy flavor. It is so pretty too. #winning

The Three Bite Rule - Cranberry Soda Cocktail
Ginger ale with a splash of cranberry juice would be good flavors in this. Orange zest and cointreau would be good flavors. How great would the orange flavors be for brunch?!

Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Mustard Dressing

I love brussels sprouts. I was wanted a really fall-inspired side dish. This was a really quick side dish that actually has tons of room for customization. I used Israeli couscous because it is really fast and versatile especially for a his & hers night. I don’t eat red meat and Mr. J isn’t into fish so we share side dishes. Mr. J had some venison tenderloin and I made some shrimp.

The brussels sprouts dish was sweet from the honey mustard and has really crisp apples. It is really comforting and took less than 15-minutes to whip up.
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Ingredients:

2-3 cups brussels sprouts, halved or quartered
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 medium apple, chopped
3 tbs dijon mustard
3 tbs honey

Directions:

Heat a medium stock pot to medium heat.
Add couscous and 1 tbs olive oil, stirring to toast couscous.
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In a large flat pan over medium heat, add brussels sprouts, and 1 tbs butter or oil.
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Add 1 cup of vegetable broth and 1 cup of water to the couscous, stirring well and reducing heat to medium-low.
Cook the couscous through, about 4 minutes.
Mix up the mustard and honey.
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Add the couscous and honey mustard dressing to the brussels sprouts.
Stir well, turn off heat, and add the apples.
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Gently stir again and serve.
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Couscous is a pasta so there’s literally zero health benefit from it. I like the soft nutty flavor from couscous but this brussels sprout side dish would be good with brown rice, or barley, or quinoa, or beans. There’s a lot of nutritious alternatives. Nuts would be good in here for crunch. I love the honey mustard with the apples but you could swap the apples for dried cranberries.