November Recap 2023

November was so full – Thanksgiving! End of soccer! Busy time at work! Seeing all the friends!

I made this Mexican Chicken Salad which definitely reinvents taco leftovers!

Then I loved this Parmesan Peppercorn Cheeseball with a brown butter panko crust. It will fit nicely for all your gatherings.

The Three Bite Rule - Parm/Peppercorn Cheeseball

Caesar Chickpea Wraps have the flavors we love with a warm vs cool and light vs filling.

The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Chickpea Wrap

My blog turned 13! I was glad to wrap up practices and have easier dinner time. December will have a few fun things and maybe some speedy or few-ingredient ones!

The Big Kid:
He finished soccer and got going into basketball with some clinics. It is very nice to have more wiggle room in our schedules. He LOVED seeing an author/illustrator talk at the library and is drawing so much – lately there’s been a lot of athletes. His recent choice for snacks is always kettlecorn.

The Little One:
She scored a goal at our last soccer game! She’s now awaiting dance to start in a few weeks. The Paw Patrol movie reinvigorated her interest in the dogs – all day, everyday, there are magnatile command center for the Paw Patrollers. I’m shocked she’s not all that into fruit currently. She questions the school lunch options in the morning and then is content with her choice come lunch time.

Goals for this coming year: some of these are are just a few weeks old…
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: I found a very cute hat at the craft fair. C’s been wearing an old one from them for 3 years.  
More meatless meals: we had grilled cheese and tomato soup and it only went over ok. Sometimes they love it.
sandwiches and salads: the chickpea caesar wraps!
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time: dinner with friends at Liberty on Main and we ate AT our fav Mexican restaurant and the kids thought it was so fun.
redo photos – not this month
what I’m reading: I couldn’t put down Pineapple Street and it was one of my top of the year – they were all endearing and the family dynamics were so good. Woman on Fire was an exciting art-history-journalism-theft story. I read Hey, Hun: Sales; Sisterhood and Supremacy and other Lies behind Multilevel Marketing which was eye opening, even after following a ton of these stories, but never from the top. I loved the New England boarding school setting with homocide, podcasting in I have Some Questions for You.

Caesar Chickpea Wraps

I love all the caesar things so I used the flavors into a meatless wrap. It has caesar flavored chickpeas, croutons, lettuce, caesar dressing, and extra parmesan. I loved the warm chickpeas with crunchy lettuce.

The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Chickpea Wrap

Caesar Chickpea Wraps
Ingredients: (for 2)

~2 slices Italian bread, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt & dried herbs
1, 8oz can chickpeas
2 tablespoons parmesan
2 tablespoons creamy caesar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
2 wraps
2 cups lettuce

The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Chickpea Wrap

Directions:
In a large skillet, warm the olive oil and butter over medium heat and drop in the bread and sprinkle with salt and dried herbs. Toss well and let toast, about 3 minutes.
Remove from the pan and coat again with olive oil. Drop in the chickpeas, creamy caesar, half the parmesan, half the creamy caesar, anchovy paste, and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes to heat through.

The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Chickpea Wrap

Assemble the wraps with lettuce, croutons, ~half or 1/3 of the chickpeas and top with a drizzle of caesar.

The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Chickpea Wrap

Wrap it up and enjoy!

It was a fun lunch. Speed this up by making the chickpeas in advance or use croutons from a bag. This backs well too with just some assembly required.

The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Chickpea Wrap

Leftover anchovy paste?
Make your own caesar dressing!
Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers!
Add some to your Caesar Broccoli!
You need Caesar Deviled Eggs!
Caesar Pasta too!

13th Blogaversary!

My blog is a teenager! Wow! This year was busy and included a bunch of changes – work, schedules, kindergarten, among others. 3 of 4 of us had Covid this year. I think meals were a bit simplified for sports and I think each kid chilled a bit about if if that they would have picked for dinner or not. To celebrate, I’m awarding a few superlatives and setting goals for the year ahead.

Most Likely to Succeed: Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Caesar Salad Burgers

Most Worldly: Taco Beans

The Three Bite Rule - Taco Beans

Most Unique: Cheeseburger Burrito

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

Most Popular (on Instagram): Chicken Bacon Ranch Loaded Fries

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Loaded Fries

When I look back at what we ate the most, we tend to have pasta weekly and that varies for sauce or style. I loooove grain bowls but we didn’t have quite as many – the kids seemed to be less into rice. Beans, eggs, burgers, and pasta are our most popular. I feel more calm getting ready when my work lunches are planned or prepped.

Goals from this past year
Year of workwear – that became especially necessary with a new job and is not mission-complete. I’ll likely keep this one to some extent.
Salads or side-dishes: I did not focus on this, but happened to make something that fit.
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: Savory waffles were most common for this goal.  
Monthly dates: We were so-so on this one.
Declutter/cleaning: Ongoing, will never be complete
Workouts as a routine: Sometimes were better than others
What I’m reading: I’m up to 41 books this year!

Goals for this coming year:
Year of _____: small businesses/artisans/writers I’m going to be open for what qualifies but spending with those who make, create, or add something 😉
More meatless meals
sandwiches and salads
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time
redo photos
what I’m reading

Parmesan Peppercorn Cheeseball

Cheeseballs are so easy and are best when prepped ahead. We had some apps for dinner with this cheeseball and the leftovers are great in lots of uses.

The Three Bite Rule - Parm/Peppercorn Cheeseball

Parmesan Peppercorn Cheeseball
Ingredients:

1 brick cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup grated parmesan, reserving 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon dried herbs (rosemary & oregano, or Italian Seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup panko

Directions:
With a stand or hand mixer, mix together the cream cheese, parmesan, pepper, and a sprinkle of salt.

The Three Bite Rule - Parm/Peppercorn Cheeseball

Spoon onto a pice of plastic wrap and twist up into a ball. Let chill for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

The Three Bite Rule - Parm/Peppercorn Cheeseball

Melt and brown the butter, cooking for about 5 minutes until nutty and brown. Let cool for 5 minutes.

The Three Bite Rule - Parm/Peppercorn Cheeseball

Mix the brown butter with the panko and remaining parmesan. Roll the cheeseball in the brown butter crust.
Spread onto crackers or pieces of baguette.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Parm/Peppercorn Cheeseball

I love the crunch. It was great on a hefty cracker. I later used leftovers on an egg and cheese sandwich and ohhmygosh, it elevated it. Put it on a burger! Spread it on toast! Use some on a turkey sandwich!

A trio of cheeseballs would be so fun with this parmesan peppercorn cheeseball, and this cheez-it crusted one, and this bacon crusted one!

Mexican Chicken Salad

This is the perfect use of leftovers from taco night. I mixed up shredded chicken with part mayo and part avocado before adding corn and black beans. Customize it with any add ins from the leftovers!

It is great scooped up with chips or on a roll! It even keeps pretty well.

Mexican Chicken Salad
Ingredients: (for 2 servings)

1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
1 small avocado
2 tablespoons mayo
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup black beans

Directions:
Mix together the chicken, avocado, mayo, and taco seasoning. Gently mix in the corn and black beans.

Serve with tortilla chips or on a bun. Top with pickled onions or jalapeños or cilantro or tomatoes and spice it up as you like.

This was so good. I refrigerated a portion to see how it was the next day – survey says: yup! It was good! I squeezed some lime to wake it up and loosen it up. The avocado isn’t the same green the next day, but the whole thing didn’t look as sad as old guac.