April 2023 Recap

April was such a whirlwind. We had the upstairs floors refinished then we got reset and back to normal and the main floor is happening this very minute. It is like moving! School vacation was fun and we are so glad for more outside time. Baseball started back up and Easter was a very nice day.

In the kitchen, I did a month of Chicken, Bacon, Ranch!

I loaded some fries with chicken, bacon, and ranch with cheddar and queso. They were so good!

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Loaded Fries
Chicken, bacon & ranch loaded fries

I made a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and ranch. I loved it and would definitely repeat or it doesn’t have to be a sandwich.

The Three Bite Rule - Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Sandwich
Grilled chicken bacon ranch sandwiches

It started with a pickle & ranch salad. I had it loaded with pickle flavor inspired by a salad kit, but the kids were happy for salad and ranch, minus pickles.

The Three Bite Rule - Pickle Salad
Dill Pickle Ranch Salad

May will bring a dance recital, reunion weekend at work, and some fun stuff – maybe ask me again when the floor-refinishing is done. I’m envisioning some quick or packable meals for the baseball sidelines.

The big kid:
So many birthday parties – almost all at the trampoline place. He loved the school vacation break with some fun days and other days to just be home. Baseball started back up and they’re more coordinated than last year. He’s been less bothered by a meal that isn’t something he’d vote for which has been my goal all along but if it were up to him, it’d be pasta every night. I think he’s just usually hungry at the moment so maybe that makes him more flexible than in the winter.

The little one:
She had some fear-of-missing-out when it came time on Sunday mornings to get ready for dance class. We re-strategized and it went much more smoothly. I’m seeing her take on some spice – she knew that one of the cheese-of-the-month was spicy (it was sriracha gouda) and she kept eating it on multiple occasions. She’s too funny. She loved gnocchi and was more into hot-dogs than I remember from last year.

Goals:
Year of workwear! I tried some dresses but think they’re both going back.  
Salads or side-dishes: Pickle salad!
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: being out of our space and normal routines has meant some regular occurrences and some spontaneity
Monthly dates: With all the sleepovers during floor refinishing and us each having a doozy of a cold, we didn’t add it anything else.
Declutter/cleaning: As we move all the stuff off the floors, we’ve cleaned, gotten rid of a good amount.
Workouts as a routine: Ehh. I did a few quick runs but got derailed with a cold that went through most of us.
What I’m reading: I read a lot! I muscled through this memoir – (it might be better as audio) Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope. Then I read The House in the Cerulean Sea, which was from a blind-book-swap with bookclub. I never read fantasy and ended up being really into it. I always love Taylor Jenkins Reid and I breezed through Carrie Soto is Back. Rock, Paper, Scissors was a quick suspense one I liked but absolutely don’t endorse being a movie/mini-series.

Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Loaded Fries

Yes. The answer is yes. These are exactly what you need. Chicken, bacon and ranch fries are delectable and so good for a quick lunch, for a crowd, as a meal, or the hefty snack.

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

These fries have rotisserie chicken, bacon crumbles, white cheddar, white queso and are finished with a drizzle of ranch.

Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Loaded Fries
Ingredients: (for 1 as a meal, or 2 as snacks)

2 cups fries
1 teaspoon ranch dressing powder mix
1 cup roasted chicken
2 strips of bacon
2 tablespoons queso blanco
2 tablespoons ranch dressing
1 green onion sprig, chopped up

Directions:
Cook the fries until crispy – I airfried mine for ~10 min from frozen.

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

Shake the hot fries in the ranch powder mix and add half of the fries to a pan and top with half the cheese, half the bacon, half the chicken, and half the queso. Repeat.

Bake for 5-10 minutes until all melted and warmed through.
Drizzle with ranch.

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

Sprinkle with green onions.
Enjoy!

They’re kind of a fork (or close-friends) loaded fries as you will be licking your fingers. I think the layers are key – otherwise only a few fries will have anything fun! These are a great way to use a small amount of these ingredients. Try it with waffle fries, or as nachos.

Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Grilled Sandwich

All our loves together on one sandwich – chicken thighs get sprinkled with ranch, grilled, and topped with cheese and bacon, plus more ranch for good measure.

The Three Bite Rule - Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Sandwich

I loved this. We eat grilled chicken often so putting it on a bun didn’t seem like a big variation. One kid said they’d rather it be a burger & the other ate it disassembled. Cool, cool.

Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Sandwiches
Ingredients: (for 4)

3-4 chicken thighs
1 tablespoon ranch mix powder
4 brioche buns
4 slices of cheese (mine was an herb fontina)
2 bacon strips/2 tablespoons bacon crumbles
4 tablespoons ranch dressing

Directions:
Sprinkle the chicken with ranch mix and a sprinkle of pepper, on both sides.
Grill until cooked through – 170-degrees on the thermometer.
Slice cheese, buns, lettuce and get bacon crumbles and ranch dressing ready.

The Three Bite Rule - Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Sandwich

Melt the cheese over the chicken and remove from the grill.
Assemble with ranch on each side of the buns, lettuce, the chicken, and bacon.

The Three Bite Rule - Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Sandwich

Yum! I loved this. The littlest kiddo had hers without bacon (what?) and ate the parts separately (but mmmm’ed so that seemed fine) and big brother ate about half then wished it was a burger but finished the bun and most of the chicken.

It’d work well in a wrap too!

We had it with a side of tomato & mozzarella & pesto salad which the kids love.

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.