Pickle Ranch Salad

Salad kits are so fun, though rarely enough for a family meal so I made our own. I love love love pickles so seeing the pickle inspired ones are close to my heart.

The Three Bite Rule - Pickle Salad

Pickle Ranch Salad
Ingredients:

1 packet “Restaurant Style” Ranch Mix
1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk (or sour cream + 2 tablespoons lime juice)
2 dill pickles
2 tablespoons pickle juice
greens (half romaine and half arugula is good!)
hard boiled eggs
broccoli
cheese
crispy chicken
sunflower seeds, optional

Directions:
Mix up the ranch dressing mix with mayo, sour cream, lime and refrigerate for at least one hour and it will be thick like dip.
For the dressing, mix half the dip with pickles and pickle juice. Stir well, and add more pickle juice until the consistency you like.

The Three Bite Rule - Pickle Salad

Assemble your salad and toss with dressing.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Pickle Salad

I loved the pickle-y flavors. Our kids love salad bar but aren’t as into pickles so they had the plain ranch. Sometimes they will pick their salad ingredients separately and dip into dressing and sometimes it gets tossed all together.

The kits often have lots of cabbage and radish but the greens and broccoli was a good combo for me. I forgot I meant to add sunflower seeds on the top.

March 2023 Recap

I made tortellini in honey garlic sauce and thought the pairing of ham and honey was spot-on. We love that sauce on pizza, turkey sandwiches, burgers, on broccoli, or anything!

Tortellini in Honey Garlic Sauce with Ham - The Three Bite Rule

We shook up the smoothie game with a redo of Creamsicle Smoothie. We, as in, the little girl and I are the only consistent smoothie drinkers here. The key is to add some other fruit beyond just oranges – it neeeeds frozen peaches or frozen mango.

Creamsicle Smoothie Redo - The Three Bite Rule
Creamsicle Smoothie

Then I made a Cheeseburger Burrito and it was perfect. I loved the crumbled burger with a little rice and all the burger fixings. I loved it an plan to whip up a few for a night that needs dinner in-advance or on the go. It seems fitting for a baseball night this season. I wouldn’t freeze these but they could be assembled and popped into the toaster oven or to a pan when it was time.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule


The big kid:
It is prime birthday party time for his school-friends. We are seeing ohh-so-many, almost all are at the trampoline park. He loves going and I’m enjoying it for him, especially for this time of the whole class, or all the boys, etc. My strategy is a go-to present we give everyone unless he has an idea and they’re super close. He’s into Mario Kart and always legos. Baseball starts soon!

The little one:
One afternoon when big-brother was at a birthday party, we found our own excitement with a teddy bear tea party at the library and it was adorable. They had gold-rimmed paper plates and paper cups with handles and matching saucers and tiny spoons. It was very fancy and she loved it. She’s still always coloring and very into magnatiles.

Next month will feel full with Easter, school vacation, we’re getting our floors refinished (which means totally cleared off and a few days before we can walk on them again!), and of course some birthday parties. I’ve planned a few fun foods for April! 

Goals:
Year of workwear! I tried a new brand for some short-sleeves which might be a tiny bit premature season-wise, but I have them. 
Salads or side-dishes: not really.
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: I haven’t been great about this – I need to get back to it.
Monthly dates: we didn’t. booo. I had to reschedule one and couldn’t get another Saturday until May!
Declutter/cleaning: This is prime time to clear some stuff out before we get our floors refinished. I handed over a few baby-ish toys and expect to really get some stuff out. 
Workouts as a routine: I’ve gone on a few runs and am doing one a mix of weight days with yoga days – though I’m at a solid 2 out of the 3 yoga ones they think I’ll be doing per week.
What I’m reading: My bookclub read And Then There Were None as our classic – it was pretty ok. I read The People We Keep and found it to be the best coming-of-age story I’ve read in awhile. I read It Ends With Us and sort of got the hype, but wasn’t blown away. I can’t quite picture the next one. I also read The Personal Librarian and hadn’t had a historical fiction in awhile.

Tortellini in Honey Garlic Sauce with Ham

Ham seemed like such a nice fitting with the honey garlic sauce but there are a few paths to take this one in. While you’re at it, make a double batch of honey garlic sauce and freeze some. We put it on pizza, it is wonderful on a turkey sandwich, mix it into pasta/mashed potatoes/roasted broccoli, add on a charcuterie board, or anywhere you’d like! 

Tortellini in Honey Garlic Sauce with Ham - The Three Bite Rule

Tortellini in Honey Garlic Sauce with Ham
Ingredients:
 
1 garlic head
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1, 19oz package of frozen cheese tortellini
~2-3 slices of ham (or chopped roasted chicken, or sausage, or skip to keep vegetarian)

Tortellini in Honey Garlic Sauce with Ham - The Three Bite Rule

Directions: 
Prep the honey garlic sauce: (roast the garlic in foil & olive oil and drizzle for 30-45 min until totally soft), then blend together the roasted garlic, olive oil, butter, honey, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. 
Boil water for the pasta. 
Chop the ham and warm a medium skillet to medium-high heat and sear the ham.
Cook the tortellini until they rise to the top (~4 min). Drain and mix together the pasta, sauce, and ham.
Sprinkle with some pepper.
Enjoy!

Tortellini in Honey Garlic Sauce with Ham - The Three Bite Rule

I loved it. I won’t repeat it all that often but I consider it a success. We had it with roasted broccoli and it was good for variety and a sauce I make all the time for pizzas. I warmed leftovers then topped with a mound of arugula which is my happy place.

Creamsicle Smoothie

{originally published in 2013 and updated in 2023}

This smoothie came about as an alternative use for a bag of mandarin oranges I’ve been eating forever. 2 of the 4 of us eat them so they can seem never ending. I figured they’d be a good smoothie addition!

I loved the really orange AND cream flavors. I think frozen mango or frozen peaches add frostiness since the oranges weren’t frozen and tone down the acidity. 

Creamsicle Smoothie Redo - The Three Bite Rule

Creamsicle Smoothie
Ingredients:
(serves 2)
3 clementines or orange, pealed
1 cup frozen mango or frozen peaches
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup juice

Creamsicle Smoothie Redo - The Three Bite Rule

Directions:
Add everything to the blender and blend until totally smooth.
Drop in some ice cubes and blend again to make it thicker and more frosty.

Creamsicle Smoothie Redo - The Three Bite Rule

I hate peeling oranges so this was perfect! It makes me want to get my hands on some blood oranges! Maybe they’ll be next!

Creamsicle Smoothie Redo - The Three Bite Rule

Cheeseburger Burrito

I love anything in a burrito format – sometimes I call them hot wraps if there isn’t any rice. This one was such a winner and a great way for beloved flavors in winter, on the go, or just to shake things up. I did Thanksgiving inspired ones and a Chicken & Broccoli with rice one, and Chicken, Bacon & Ranch ones too.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

These are a great use for small quantities of leftovers: like rice and ground meat. They can always become rice bowls too.

Cheeseburger Burrito:
Ingredients: (for 2)

1/2 pound ground meat
2 strips of bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or liquid smoke
1/2 cup prepared rice
2 cups arugula, spinach, or baby kale
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tomato
pickles, ketchup, mustard

Directions:
Pan fry the ground meat and bacon and drain the grease. Add in worcestershire sauce/liquid smoke and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Cover (with plastic wrap or lid) and warm the rice.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

Chop the tomato, greens, and pickles.
Lay out the tortillas and top with rice, cheese, ground meat and bacon, greens, tomatoes, pickles, and drizzles of ketchup and mustard or toppings as you wish.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

Warm a pan to medium heat and a drizzle of oil or non-stick spray.
Fold two opposite sides and roll the burrito onto itself and keep tucking the sides in.
Pan fry the burritos, seam side down first, until warmed through and toasted until golden on the outside. Use tongs to keep them rolled while toasting.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule

Enjoy!

I loved this. The smaller amount of meat is nicely balanced with rice and fresh elements in this way versus as a tiny slider. I love the warm parts and melty cheese with fresh greens, tomatoes, and pickles.

Cheeseburger Burrito - The Three Bite Rule