Chocolate Almond Smoothie

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Emily

If the start of 2021 has you feeling crummy and seeking positive choices, this smoothie is perfect! It is DELICIOUS but also full of good stuff. I tend not to make many in the winter, so, enjoy this one!

The Three Bite Rule - Chocolate Almond Smoothie

This one is a meal – I’m going for protein & fiber and wanted to hit fruit and dairy here. This can be downgraded to a snack by skipping the yogurt, adding a bit more water, and serving as 4 smaller portions.

Chocolate Almond Smoothie
Ingredients: (serves 2-3)
1 frozen banana (or 1 cup frozen cauliflower)
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (or 1 tablespoon cocoa powder)
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed (optional)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 – 1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup water
a few ice cubes

Directions:
Add frozen banana/cauliflower, yogurt, chocolate protein powder/cocoa powder, ground flaxseed, almond extract, milk, water, and ice to a blender.

Blend & enjoy!

I loved this! I was a bit heavy handed with the almond extract the first time – so use with caution and measure. It totally brings a unique flavor – especially if you don’t loooove protein powder. Mint extract would be a good alternative too! My fav protein powder is Amazing Grass brand, especially peanut butter or vanilla. Any chocolate-ish smoothie could definitely include/hide frozen greens. I almost did but I also wanted to keep it simple. Go for it – you won’t taste or see some frozen baby spinach in there!

My all-time fav smoothie is this PB&J Smoothie so if you got a new blender, this one is a winner and often the only one I make!

The Three Bite Rule - PB & J Smoothie Healthified

McGriddle Breakfast Sandwich

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Emily

Breakfast sandwiches are my fav and let’s get into 2021 with my take on a McGriddle. McDs describes these as griddle cakes with flavors of maple syrup. I have no idea what a griddle cake is but seems like maybe I would if I were in the south? Mine is a twist on a pancake and to become a sandwich with a folded egg, a slice of American cheese, and a sausage patty.

There’s more here than what appears…

McGriddles
Ingredients: (for 2)
1 cup pancake mix
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon cinnamon chips (or butterscotch chips)
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/4 cup cold water (or as the mix instructs)
2 sausage patties
2 eggs
2 slices of American Cheese

Directions:
Mix together the pancake mix, cornmeal, maple syrup, and add water. Then stir to combine but not over mixing. Cook small pancakes (think of the egg size and the sausage patty size) and add the chips before flipping.

Keep the pancakes warm while cooking the sausage. Drain the sausage on paper towels to remove excess grease.
Crack the eggs and whisk to scramble. Cook in a medium pan so the very thin egg can be folded into a square.
Melt the cheese on top.
Assemble the pancakes as the bread with a light brush of maple syrup, the sausage, the egg & cheese, and the other pancake.

I loved these. Breakfast sandwiches are my love language. I never fold the egg up like this but was going for a very McD’s style. I should have flipped it over to show you a nice smooth side with melted cheese on the flat part, but hey, here we are.

I used a few butterscotch chips I had around but cinnamon would be wayy better. They are also great in pumpkin or banana bread for all the leftovers you’d have!

December 2020 Recap

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Emily

See ya 2020! December was so fun and I’m glad there can be a collective looking forward to 2021. It was a full month of food, like always. I’m grateful both Grandmas do most of the cookie baking with/for the kiddos. Christmas was so so fun and the little ones are perfect ages for the magic and surprise that fills this season.

I made this fantastic Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple and I love it in all seasons.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple

For a second I was going to save the Stuffing Waffles for next Thanksgiving’s leftovers but life is short, wafflize it all.

These Chicken Tacos with Cherry Salsa was a fun twist since we have tacos on the regular and I live to keep us on our toes.

The Three Bite Rule - Cherry Salsa on Chicken Tacos

BLT Quiche was so handy to have around for breakfasts & lunches. Mr. J was wayyy more into it than I expected.

I’m looking forward to NYE which always features sliders & shakes. Then mid-month T will turn 6! Work will have fewer evening virtual commitments. I’ll be kicking off the month with a super fun breakfast! Stay tuned!

The Little Girl:
She’s as happy as can be. Santa brought her a Mrs. Potato Head (in her picture & on Facetime), she asked for a toy. She talks so much and I’m amused by the constant narration and clarifying questions. She had another weight check and is onto the chart! Woohoo! 1st percentile! We’re continuing to focus on nutrient dense foods and pediasure.

The Big Guy:
He’s doing great in kindergarten. We adore his teachers and cannot get over how much they do everyday. He is reading so much and we love to see it. Santa brought him a remote control car (in his letter and on Facetime), he asked for a green racecar. He lost his 2nd tooth!

Goals:
Year of the ~~flowers or plants~~ I’m switching it up and going with fun mail! We justttt send New Years cards so that’s my fun mail for Dec.
More breakfasts – ehhh.
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance – BLT quiche was great for some lunches, I made quick ramen a few times (like this!) and tuna melts were all part of my more varied lunches!
I’d like to get the house a bit neater. I should prob be more strategic, but I did a few spots that needed extra attention!
Bullet journal – ehhh. I did not start yet.
What I’m reading: I read 30 books this year! This month I read Such a Fun Age & The Heir Affair & Destination Wedding & Pretty Things (wow, what a reading month!
What I’m watching: We watched our fav holiday movies: Christmas with the Kranks & Home Alone & Christmas Vacation. TV wise, we’re into Man Hunt season 2 about the Olympic Park bombing and others I didn’t know of. It is so good but intense. It is regularly followed by Modern Family.

Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Emily

Welcome to the easiest dessert ever! It is so perfect for your small family gatherings – with only slightly more effort than, say, an oreo. It is sweet, flavorful, and unique for home. I’ve done a twist on this before, for easy chocolate mousse or strawberry cheesecake mousse.

Go for it even if you wouldn’t say you like Cool Whip- it is so good and that’s not what stands out!

Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple
Ingredients: (for ~5 servings)
1 package cheesecake pudding
2 cups milk
4 oz Cool Whip
1 cup granola (or crushed graham crackers)
1 tbs butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 can of apple pie filling
4 tablespoons salted caramel sauce

Directions:
Prepare the pudding according to the package – mine had 2 cups milk whisked for 2 minutes. Then it chills for at least 30 minutes.
Gently mix in Cool Whip to the pudding.

Melt the butter and mix in the granola and cinnamon.

Assemble with some granola at the bottom of each bowl, then cheesecake mousse, then apple pie filling, and finish with a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Enjoy!

I loved this and it is such an easy one to make ahead and just assemble when serving. It could easily have a few options – I liked the salted caramel apple but some crushed candy canes and mini chocolate chips would be fun too!

Stuffing Waffles

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Emily

I thought after Thanksgiving on this crazy year, you probably didn’t have loads of leftovers to work though so I tabled this stuffing-as-a-waffle idea. Though, if you aren’t overloaded then maybe there’s room for some a month later!

I saw Funk ‘n Waffle Restaurant on the Food Network and took a twist on the stuffing waffle meal. Stuffing in waffle form is just so fun. 10 out of 10. Highly recommend.

Stuffing Waffles, Topped with Chicken/Turkey
Ingredients: (serves ~4 as 1/2 of a waffle each)
6 oz seasoned stuffing mix (I used half of a 12 oz bag, the bag says 14 servings)
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/4 cup broth (as the stuffing directs, I needed 1/4 cup more)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
dried/fresh sage, sautéed onions/carrots/celery (optional)
salt & pepper
1/4 cup pancake/waffle mix
3 tablespoons water
chicken or turkey
gravy (optional)

Directions:
Prepare the stuffing according to the package- bring the broth and butter to a boil and add in the stuffing, onion powder, herbs if using, and pepper. Taste before adding salt. Then remove from the heat and fluff to cook through.
Heat a waffle iron.
Mix together the pancake/waffle mix and water. Make it more runny than the mix instructs.
Spray the waffle iron with nonstick spray.
Spoon half of the stuffing onto the waffle iron, spreading it out to be a thin layer. Drizzle half the of pancake/waffle mix onto the stuffing.

Close and flip. Cook for ~4-5 minutes, or as waffles typically cook on it.
Keep the first one warm while repeat to cook for the other waffle with spray, the remaining stuffing mix, the remaining pancake/waffle mix.
Serve half a waffle with warm chicken or turkey on top. Drizzle some gravy if you like!
Enjoy!

We loved this! They’re soft but have some crispy bits! I should have served some cranberry sauce on the side. Our kids looooove jellied cranberry sauce! We had green beans and some gravy to dip. The 5-doesn’t care about stuffing so he ate some, the 2-ate all of hers!

I froze some extra stuffing waffles to pull out of the freezer some random time. I’m thinking they’d be a fun slider with deli turkey, some melted cheese and cranberry spread!

The stuffing mix in a bag seems sooo much better than the box – I’ve noticed a serious difference. They’re always a bit salty, plus the broth- so definitely taste before adding any more salt.

When you have leftover stuffing, make a Friends Thanksgiving Sandwich or these delightful Thanksgiving Meatballs that have dried cranberries and stuffing in them!

Chicken Tacos with Cherry Salsa

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Emily

Let’s quickly shake up taco night, shall we? I love alllll tacos (see here, or here, or here, or here) but to keep things interesting, I went with chicken in the tacos and the topping was a super quick cherry salsa.

I always want the kiddos eating new things and knowing that “tacos” don’t mean one thing. Once a week(ish) taco night can be tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, etc. Using frozen cherries makes this fit any season and makes it so easy!

Cherry Salsa
Ingredients: (for 4)
1 cup dark cherries
1/4 white onion
2 tablespoons chopped arugula
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 tablespoon salsa

Directions:
Defrost the cherries.

Chop the cherries, onion and arugula. Mix in the lime juice and salsa.
Serve on chicken tacos with black beans.
Enjoy!

I loved this and it takes less than 5 minutes to mix up. The cherries are juicy and sweet against the seasoned taco and the crisp of the onion and arugula. The arugula can swap for cilantro but we have arugula around so it does double duty here.

We often make meatless with Gardien crumbles (don’t get me started how quick and fool-proof or crispy fish tacos but for these I chopped some chicken thighs and sautéed them with taco seasoning.

2 gobbled up more tacos than usual and 5 deconstructed his and ate maybe a bit less than usual but didn’t have much to say either way about the salsa….so a win and a tie?

Leftover frozen cherries? Make Cherry & Arugula Flatbreads or Make Cherry “Cheesecake” Parfaits or Make Chocolate Cherry Smoothies.

BLT Quiche

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Emily

I was striving to shake up lunches a bit. Somehow during this time home I began eating the same thing everyday: turkey, arugula, & provolone. I do want to get some variety going with the same “no thought required” as that daily sandwich so I made quiche! Poof! One hour of prep/baking time in advance and we have about 4 servings of lunch!

I went to make this and was out of tomatoes. I thought there was one left soooo I substituted a few tiny dollops of tomato paste from a tube I keep in the fridge. It was good! Go with real tomatoes but in a pinch, I’m here for ya!

BLT Quiche
Ingredients (for 4-5 servings):
1 pie crust
4 strips of bacon
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk/cream
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1 cup spinach
1 teaspoon tomato paste (or ~6 cherry tomatoes, halved)
1 cup fontina cheese, grated
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
salt & pepper

Directions:
Bake the pie crust in a pie plate, as instructed. (Mine was ~10 minutes)
Chop then pan fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain excess grease.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream of tarter, and salt and pepper.
In the baked pie crust, add in some cheese, some some bacon, some spinach, and a few dots of tomato paste. Repeat to fill it up.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. It should puff a bit and not giggle in the center.
Let fully cool, then slice and enjoy!

I’d totally go with tomatoes but it worked so well in a pinch! Have some sun dried tomatoes in a jar? Use those! The flavor theme would have been wreaked without any and I liked it! Tomato paste is concentrated so really don’t go overboard!

I love the buttery and crumbly crust. The bacon is the star but the spinach is there to make you feel good about your life choices.

Quiche is such a great and balanced lunch – I went back for seconds so this will end up being 4 servings for us- a quarter of the quiche. That’s 1 egg, 1 slice of bacon, and about 1/3 of a cup of cheese per serving! There’s really not much of a veg serving here so add some salad on the side but overall that’s what I call balance!

I’ll probably tuck one into the freezer for the next time I need some variety!

Friends Thanksgiving Sandwich

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Emily

As a forever-Friends-fan, those Thanksgiving episodes are the best! Monica makes historic leftovers sandwiches with a “moist maker” of gravy soaked bread in the middle. It totally takes it over the top!

Plan your leftovers accordingly! This is so good! Even if you don’t have leftovers, roasting a turkey breast (or use thick deli turkey – I won’t tell)! A box of stuffing is easy to make just enough for this- or use some for these amazing Thanksgiving Meatballs with stuffing and dried cranberries!

Friends Thanksgiving Sandwich
Ingredients: (serves 2)
6 slices of bread
4 slices of turkey
1 cup stuffing
1/2 cup gravy
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons mayo
1 1/2 cup arugula

Directions:
Toast 4 slices of the bread (leaving 2 un-toasted). Warm the turkey, stuffing, and gravy.
Trim the crust off the remaining 2 slices and dip them into the gravy to soak.

Spread cranberry sauce onto one of the toasted slices for each sandwich and a smear of mayo onto the other.
Lay the arugula on top of the cranberry sauce, then the stuffing, then the gravy soaked bread, then the turkey, then the bread.
Enjoy!

Slice and enjoy!

This was so fun and perfectly decadent. The tart cranberries and peppery arugula seems necessary with the heft of everything else

It is such a good idea as a stable way to get the gravy in there without it dripping off your sandwich!

A Decade!

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Emily

The Three Bite Rule turns 10! Can you believe it?!?! Crazy!

I’m so grateful for YOU! I love hearing back when somebody made a recipe or when something caught your eye. This lil blog is for fun and is my passion project.

Superlatives!
Most popular (aka, repeatable): Roasted Garlic Honey Sauce! This is a monthly recurrence here. I roast garlic even just in the toaster oven and mixing with honey, olive oil, and butter. This sauce is to-die-for. We put it on a white pizza quite often or it is great on roasted veggies or on a panini or it freezes well too!

The Three Bite Rule - Honey Garlic Sauce Pizza

Most photogenic: Easy Homemade(ish) Ramen it uses shredded chicken, mushrooms, soft boiled egg, along with a ramen packet and Thai seasoning packet. It is so good and a great use for some small bits of chicken.

Best Sweet Treat: Easy Chocolate Mousse which doesn’t exactly need a recipe, but is such a winner!

The Three Bite Rule - Easy Chocolate Mousse

Most Loved on Insta: the outdoor pizza oven was our best quarantine purchase! Our ooni is so fun and cooks in 90 seconds! We’ve been using weekly!

I don’t know what’s next. I’ll just keep going as long as it is fun! I think especially in these strange times, something I can control has been nice.

Goals for next year:
Year of the ______: this has been my treat for myself each month. Last year was home self-care items. This year, I’m going to do a year of flowers or plants! We’re keeping the little ones alive, I’m ready for some plants!
More breakfasts – we’re home all the time now so why not add some other options.
Lunches coordinated or prepped in advance – almost every day I have turkey and arugula because I like it, but also because it takes a question out of the mix during a hurried time.
I’d like to get the house a bit neater. Sometimes the small spaces add up to have a good impact and I always surprise myself what we can do in a few minutes.
Bullet journal
What I’m reading: I read 24 books this year! I’ll aim for the same goal this year I think. Digital library loans are the key to my success!
What I’m watching:

Mushroom Risotto

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Emily

I’m all in on mushrooms for this one. I made just 2 servings (both for me!) and loved it. I’m the only mushroom fan in our fam right now so I made it to be lunch 2 days! Mine went into the pressure cooker, but there are stovetop directions below too.

Making risotto is a great home project. It isn’t quite as fussy as it seems to be. It takes some time (on the stove) and some stirring, but it is worth it.

Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients:
~1 cup baby portabello mushrooms
~1 cup crimini mushrooms
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup broth (vegetable or chicken)
1/2 cup Golden Mushroom soup
2 tablespoons sherry
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
Chop the mushrooms leaving half of each kind as slices, and the other half diced of each kind. Reserve the diced ones. Saute the slices in butter, in a heavy pan (not a nonstick pan, if possible) over medium heat until caramelized.
Saute the arborio rice in a drizzle of olive oil for ~3 minutes until translucent in the pan it will cook in.
If cooking on a stove top, heat the broth and mushroom soup and sherry in a separate pot. If cooking in a pressure cooker, add the broth, soup, and sherry into the pot of arborio rice.
If using a pressure cooker, add in the diced mushrooms, seal it, and set timer according to the cooker- mine was 8 minutes on high then pressure release.
If cooking on the stove, add in the diced mushrooms, then add a ladleful of liquid to the rice and cook over medium heat until absorbed – repeat for all the liquid, about 30-40 minutes.
When fully cooked, top with the cooked slices of mushrooms. Sprinkle with parmesan and enjoy!

I loved this. The golden mushroom soup MAKES it. The ones cooked in the risotto are so good and the caramelized ones are buttery and give an alternate texture.

When you have leftover Golden Mushroom Soup, freeze it, and use it in:
– Chicken & Golden Mushroom Sauce in the Crockpot
– Sausage Stuffing
– or as mushroom/veggie broth