Portland Maine’s Holy Donuts

I can’t even describe how lovely our Portland, ME weekend was. Well, I’m nothing if not wordy so I’ll try. I fell in love. I’m in love with Mr. J and we LOVED celebrating our one year anniversary in Maine for the weekend. It was beautiful and the Old Port is just too cute. Why didn’t I know about this before?!?! It was so great to wander, eat, shop, gaze at light houses, and not run around like crazy tourists.

Check out Mr. J’s Portland pics here.

My mum suggested we check out The Holy Donut. What. A. Find. I didn’t know I liked donuts that much until I went here.
The Three Bite Rule - Portland Donut

They make these amazing homemade potato donuts in incredible flavors (think sweet potato ginger, or pomegranate, or dark chocolate peanut butter glazed, or dark chocolate sea salt). Before you bail. Don’t think you’re “not into donuts” if you’re only thinking spongy sogged donuts of the legendary Dunkin. I’m not into those. I’m all about these Holy Donuts. Amazing. Life changing!
Portland Maine Holy Donut
I don’t know if I want to admit how many we got…let’s call it a sampler.

Portland Maine Holy Donut

I eased my way in falling hard core for the dark chocolate seasalt. The special of the day was apple with cider glaze. Ohh my fall-goodness.
Portland Maine Holy Donut

This one was created for me and was hands down my favorite: bacon and cheddar donut. I was surprised that it was a filled donut. None of their others are filled but this one is warm and oozing salty bacon and melty cheddar inside a sweet donut. It is like a monte cristo. Mr. J didn’t love it as much. Muhahahaha. All the more for me!
Portland Maine Holy Donut

The building was charming with some outside seating. Early Sunday morning folks made their way here to eat outside with the pup or on a leather couch with a newspaper. Nobody else seemed to have quite the spread we had, but hey, we were on vacation! The staff were great and enthusiastic. It reminded me of the family owned and run candy business I grew up working at. Although that business wasn’t my family, there was care in every item sold and consumed.
The Three Bite Rule - Portland Donuts

Now, to continue the important matters. Coffee. I ordered an ice coffee and then they filled my cup with coffee ice cubes. Love it!
Portland Maine Holy Donut

 

I have a bunch more amazing meals to share too, so pull on your fat pants and get ready!

Behind the Food Trucks

Do you watch the Great Food Truck Race? I’m obsessed. I love it. They were in BOSTON and I didn’t even know it! I googled to see when it was actually filmed but now I know where they parked. The finale is Sunday night. I’ll be glued to the food network. Anywho, there are a bunch of food trucks that park right near my office and I’ve never shyed away from food truck events.

Last fall I went to this food truck festival and had some fightin’ words.
I happened upon the make-up event for the Greenway’s Food Trucks.
I featured a guest post of a food truck festival.

They do make me wonder about the logistics since that’s my area. Permits in Boston are redonkulous. Trust me, I get permits for parks, parades, food service, fire safety etc and they are no small feat. I also wonder about where they park at night, how they track their sales, hiring, and how they got the truck outfitted to begin with.

Boston’s probably ONLY helpful page of the city’s website is about food trucks. There’s a schedule of who will be parked where that is searchable. It also has tips to get a business started. Now, maybe you’re not trying to start a business (I know I’m not!) but I got this guest post and thought it was really interesting.

America's Food Truck Infographic
Full 3 Bite Rule Disclosure: This guest post was sent to me as a complimentary guest post to use carinsurance.org’s image if I chose to. My thoughts, opinions, and words are entirely my own. I was not compensated; I just thought it was interesting.

What I Ate: Foodie Vacation Souvenir

Wayyy back, just about a year ago, Mr. J and I went on our honeymoon to Spain & Italy. We actually didn’t buy many souvenirs since we were racing around like maniacs to see the sights! Although I wasn’t impressed with the sights of Naples, I still chose a treat to bring home. We got some lemon risotto.
WIA lem_risotto_390_590This very same treat provided a halt at security in the US after flying for 8 hours. Not funny. Serves me right for claiming it to a customs dude who had noooo idea that risotto wasn’t a vegetable. Sad.

I remembered the freeze dried pack in the cabinet and thought it was as good a time as any. I hadn’t been saving it but I buy arborio rice in containers so this flat pack slipped my mind. It wasn’t amazing, but it was good and a nice reminder of our time in Italy.

WIA lem_risotto_bowl_590_390
Get excited! I finally got around to editing the photos from our delicious anniversary getaway. Seriously, this tasty destination means so many meals to share next week. Just maybe I’ll get around to sharing some final shots of the completed bedroom renovation/redecorating project.

Bacon Jam Becomes BLT Pizza

I had all this bacon jam and didn’t know what to do with it.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon Jam

Well, that’s a lie. I could eat it out of the jar.

I just wanted to highlight its amazingness. So I created this BLT pizza. I won’t win any photographic awards with this one, but man, this was great pizza.

Ingredients:

pizza dough
8 oz shredded mozzarella
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 medium – large tomato, sliced
¼ cup bacon jam (recipe found here)
2 cups spinach or greens of your choice
1- 2 tbs ranch dressing (or dressing of choice)

Directions:

Spread pizza dough out onto a pizza stone or baking sheet. Bake for 10-20 minutes at 400-degrees to get it preliminarily crispy.
Top with shredded mozzarella then tomato slices, then fresh mozzarella. Add dollops of bacon jam.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Pizza
Bake for 20 minutes at 400-degrees.
Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes (cheese needs to solidify before you cut).The Three Bite Rule - BLT Pizza
Mix the greens with some salad dressing of choice.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Pizza
Top slices with lettuce and dressing.

I only had a little basil so I threw that on. If lettuce on your pizza isn’t your thing, throw on more fresh basil.

This was so cheesy. The bacon jam has a sticky brown sugary flavor so I thought the tang of the dressing was perfect. I used spinach but any greens would do, and spinach could have easily been cooked onto the pizza. I like the warm vs. cool and alternating textures.
The Three Bite Rule - BLT Pizza

It was a great use of the bacon jam. That stuff is just. so. good.

I have one more use to drag out my love for bacon jam. Stay tuned!

Meal Planning Tips, Part 2

I’ve been working in Santa Barbara for the last few days so on this long day of travel home, I have some more meal planning and organizational tips for you. Check out part 1 here! I get started by planning meals. I shoot for some diversity, balanced meals, and I try to be realistic on how long it might take. We like to pack up leftovers for lunch so I typically plan on a meal to serve 4 so the hubbie an I can have it twice.

After thinking about what is going on, what we’re in the mood for I peruse the pantry, fridge and freezer and then make a list.

Step two: grocery list
I keep a running grocery list as I use things up on an app for my phone called grocery IQ. It is one of my favorite apps since we can share the grocery list on both of our phones and I always have my phone when grocery shopping. This ap lets me scan barcodes but usually I’m not so specific as to which brand or size. It categorizes food automatically so you’ll see any produce items you added all together and not be crossing the store a million times. (Nope, Grocery IQ has no idea I exist and did not compensate me to endorse this ap. I just love it after trying a few others.)
The Three Bite Rule - Grocery List

I go through my meal plans and the pantry/fridge to see what I need each night for dinner and what might already be in stock. That helps me defrost since I loooove freezing things too. Maybe my freezing tips will be the next tip post!

Step three: implementing dinner plans
Not all plans always go as scheduled. Sometimes the meal is a bust or there’s not enough leftover for lunch. We often pack tomorrow’s lunch right when tonight’s dinner is over to grab and go in the morning. Salads are another typical lunch but get packed in the morning so that means fewer snoozes on the alarm. On an occasional act of preparation, I will get something going in the morning. It usually just means I had a few extra minutes.

Why it works for us:
It wasn’t fair that the dinner plans were always in my head. I’m happy to share them with Mr. J. It also means we’re not running to the store before even getting dinner going. It makes me more conscious about what I’m making and serving at any given time. He’s not asking what we’re having since he can see the week himself. Mr. J knows if he’s in charge of the meal or if I’m having him BBQ something etc. It also helps us figure out the timing if one of us is running and errand after work etc. There’s also something homey feeling to me that the week’s plan isn’t electronic.

When doesn’t it work:
Sometimes we’re still staring into the cabinets trying to think of something to eat that’s quick/easy. Usually we end up with pasta or breakfast item when that’s the case. It doesn’t mean that food is on the table awaiting our arrival. We rely on a commuter train so during a busy time at work, I don’t know when I’ll get home. None of my method is foolproof. I like when something spontaneous comes up since that just means I have the ingredients for a whole other night! I never want to say “no” to a fun plan because there’s chicken defrosting in my fridge.

I don’t usually plan out the weekend meals. Friday tends to be an unofficial take-out & DVR/movie night. I’m most often the shopper because my gym is in the same shopping plaza…what a suburbanite I am now!

I might jazz up the weekly schedule board itself. Our fridge isn’t magnetic so the menu board is also the home to reminders, coupons, save the dates, etc.
3 Bite Rule meal planning
I think dinner would seem like a way more daunting task if I didn’t plan ahead and already have the ingredients. Grocery shopping at 7pm while being hungry is a recipe for disaster.

What works for you? Are you a planner? Do you dine spontaneously? Do you make something and eat it for a week?