Life Update

I started this blog what seems like forever ago. My camera, kitchen, and marital status have all changed. My role at work changed but the place of employment hasn’t changed…until now!  I’m about to embark on a new journey at a new job. Get excited!

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Photo Credit: A Ciordila (creative commons)

I didn’t share until it was official, and it was a process so I didn’t want to spill the beans! I also want this to be my happy place. Along the job hunt I didn’t want you to have to share in all my frustrations every minute I had them, also because food & meals are MY happy place. So when things are going bananas I still want to make dinner. I want to make something out of nothing even on the most stressful of days. I love controlling what I can control and sharing meals with you all.

I’m proud of what I’ve done and who I was during everything. I can be content that I made choices and did what I enjoyed for a while. It was my time. I’ll miss so many people I grew really close with and I think back to all I learned and really skilled folks I learned from.

I’m beyond thrilled to start somewhere new. I forget what it feels like to be a newbie, but I’m ready. I can’t wait! I got to celebrate over champagne in Paris. How lucky am I?!?!

Greek Pasta Salad

Before I get to any Parisian treats or Czech delights, I have a weekend trip to Maine and I’m prepping for San Fran. I unpack to repack. I wanted to share a Greek inspired dish with you. This is a quick meal that I knew would include leftovers and would use tomatoes from our garden.

I settled on a Greek inspired pasta salad. It would be super easy to customize too. We ate this as a meal served with some hummus & pita chips, but I’ll have to keep it in mind for the next BBQ.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

⅔ pound of pasta (I used our fav shape Campanelle)
1 cup Greek salad dressing
1 large tomato
½ cucumber
½ cup creamy Caesar dressing (optional)
Salt & pepper
1 tsp oregano (or basil)
⅓ cup feta

Directions:

(to be partially made/prepped the night before)
Boil pasta in a very large pot of salted boiling water.
Cook pasta through to your liking (for pasta salad, I think it is better a touch past al dente). Drain pasta and transfer pasta to a large bowl or container that can be covered.
When pasta cools a bit to room temperature, mix most of the Greek dressing over the pasta.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad
Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours.
The next day, mix pasta and chop tomatoes, cucumbers, and dice red onions.
The Three bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad
Mix veggies into the pasta and mix in creamy Caesar dressing. Add salt, pepper, and oregano. Refrigerate until serving.
Sprinkle feta over the top and serve.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad

I loved this. Greek flavors are some of my favorites. I never think of pasta in the summer but why not a cool pasta. This is salad minus the lettuce! It is filling and flavorful. The creamy Caesar dressing was something I had, but could easily be omitted.

Pasta salad is really lackluster if it isn’t made in advance enough. I set a timer and went about the rest of my evening while the water was boiling and while the pasta cooked. Prep the night before or it’ll be a let down. It would be easy enough to throw together in the morning before heading off to work too.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad

I don’t do olives, but they would be a great addition for some Greek-ness. Grilled chicken, artichokes, chopped/shaved asparagus, sausage, mushrooms, or chopped spinach would be lovely as well. This is the summer equivalent of a one-pot-wonder.

Green Smoothie

I did it. I mean, in my defense, what kind of food blogger would I be if I didn’t give a green smoothie a shot and get on that bandwagon finally?
The Three Bite Rule - Green Smoothie

I’ve snuck some spinach into a smoothie before, but I did it with blueberries which hide the green-ness. I think this is more about the color and texture than about the flavor. Let’s be real: raw spinach blended doesn’t give off any huge aggressive flavor. It seems about time to blog about a green smoothie, with spinach, and avocado.

Ingredients:

1 green apple
2 cups fresh spinach
1 small avocado (or ½ of a regular avocado)
1/2 banana, frozen
6 oz greek yogurt
1 tbs honey
⅓ cup milk

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Green Smoothie

I liked this green smoothie a lot. It wasn’t as sludge seeming as I’ve heard the green juiced drinks are. I didn’t include any parsley or lemon which bottled green ones often have.

I didn’t feel like I was doing a cleanse detoxing. That scares the beejesus out of me. Do you know people who’ve done it? Bahhh. Yikes. Eeeek. I can’t imagine. I like the idea of detoxing off overly processed foods or striving for as many raw/whole/real foods. I’d rather try to eat more veggies or really, anything other than all liquids.

This smoothie isn’t exactly going to detox you, but the yogurt makes it come together and the milk & honey make it slightly sweet and drink-able. The apple & banana are both sweet and the spinach and avocado are kind of neutral to me. It is for sure a good way to get some more veggies into your day. That’s a plus for everyone.
The Three Bite Rule - Green Smoothie

Avocado – good for fiber & good fat
Spinach – barely any calories, more vitamin A than your usual bfast
Apple – upps your vitamin C & fiber
Banana – Potassium is ideal after an intense workout, or after an evening of drinks.
Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt has about 2x – 3x the protein of regular yogurt and wayyy more protein than just milk would give you, making this smoothie be filling enough for a meal. It’ll help get to your calcium daily suggested amount.

All that being said, I’d do it again. Do I want to juice green things? No thanks.

BBQ Chicken Bubble Up Pizza

This is one of the easiest pizza I’ve ever made. I love how this is kind of like regular pizza but kind of assembled like a casserole. Don’t get turned off by the term casserole. This is doughy BBQ chicken pizza and it is delightful.

The alternative “crust” is super simple and should not be overlooked.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Biscuit Pizza

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated biscuits
1-2 chicken breasts
1 cup BBQ sauce
½ red onion
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Cut chicken into chunks and cook in the pan with half of the BBQ sauce. Turn over to cook for about 7 minutes. The chicken needs to cook most of the way through (it will cook more in the oven).
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Biscuit Pizza
Open the biscuits and cut them in quarters, tossing them with 1 tbs of the remaining BBQ sauce.
Drop them into a 9×9 or 9×12 baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Biscuit Pizza
Sprinkle on half the cheese, the onions, the chicken, and BBQ sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Biscuit Pizza
Bake 25 minutes.
Top with remaining cheese and bake for another 10 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Biscuit Pizza

I loved this. It was simple and most of the prep time is oven-baking-time. I would customize this pizza a million ways. It would be easy to make a few different ones at the same time or even just half and half in the pan. Or in individualized dishes. How fun!

I think making it with BBQ chicken, and without any marinara, this becomes more borderline casserole. The biscuits were a soft and doughy base ideal for any pizza under the sun.
The Three Bite Rule - BBQ Chicken Biscuit Pizza

Want more easy alternatives to using dough for the crust? Here’s a Greek pizza on pita bread, or French bread pizza, or pizza dip, or on Indian naan.

I’ve been whipping up BBQ pizza forever. It was the first meal I cooked for Mr. J, way back, pre-blogging days. Speaking of Mr. J… We are celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary! I feel like we justttt got married. For our honeymoon we went to Spain & Italy. We went to Portland, ME for our 1st anniversary(seen here & here) with another celebration a bit after the actual date in New Orleans & through the Caribbean. This year’s trip is a big one! Just wait till I’m back & ready to blog it!

Bacon & Cheese Panini with Peach Compote

This panini was soo good. I mean, seriously, how can you go wrong with bacon, cheese, and something sweet? It was a really quick dinner but now that I think about it, this would be a good brunchy kind of dish because of the bacon.

The Three Bite Rule - Bacon & Peach Compote Panini

The peach compote has a sweet juicy flavor with a tiny zip to it…it isn’t spicy by any means. It could totally handle some jalepenos if you wanted spice. The peaches cook down considerably so even with just 2 peaches, there wasn’t much left over after making 2 sandwiches. It would be good on a cheese plate or on a crostini too.

Ingredients:

2 white peaches (or nectarines), diced
1 small onion, diced
2 tbs brown sugar
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
6 slices of bacon
4 slices of bread (I used seedless rye)
4 slices of gouda cheese (or fontina)
(optional: tomato, arugula, mustard)

Directions:

Add peaches, onions,and 3 tbs of water to a small pot over medium heat.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon & Peach Compote Panini
Pan fry bacon until crisp.
Stir peaches and add red pepper flakes and brown sugar. It will be soft and will have reduced a bit. The onions & peaches will have broken down by now.
Peach compote cooks for about 10 minutes, but can be kept warm while everything else gets prepped.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon & Peach Compote Panini
Assemble sandwiches with cheese, bacon, and spread peach compote onto one side of the bread.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon & Peach Compote Panini
Pan fry or press sandwiches until cheese melts and bread crisps. (keep warm in the oven if making them in batches).
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon & Peach Compote Panini

I loved this. I kept it simple so there wouldn’t be too many competing flavors but I usually think “the more the merrier” when it comes to a sandwich. I would like some tomato slices or greens in this. Ham, prosciutto, or pancetta would all be good substitutions for the bacon. It would be great as a regular sandwich without toasting it, or having it on ciabatta.

Paninis are such simple dinners. The peach compote would hold up a few days in the fridge if making it in advance. I think this turned my sandwich into something special. I would be a grilled cheese with bacon if I hadn’t added it in there. Peach compote would be a good use if any of your peaches or nectarines get a bit squishy.

Want more panini ideas? This Italian Grilled Cheese is a super easy dinner. This Turkey, Cranberry, & Brie Panini is great if you’re inching towards fall. Top-your-own Chicken & Biscuits is a fun dinner sandwich too.