October 2022 Recap

October is such a fun month of really enjoying the fall. We had soccer games, apple picking, a long weekend, a trip away, and school parties.

We’ve eaten about 1,000 apples and in all forms – starting with this caramel apple dip that was definitely a highlight. I thought for sure our cheese-loving little girl would be all about it but it was the little boy who ate the most and asked to make it again when it was gone!

The Three Bite Rule - Caramel Apple Cheeseball

I went sweet just for a second at breakfast time for baked apple oatmeal. This format is great for texture if you don’t love the softness of instant or stovetop oatmeal.

Baked Apple Oatmeal - The Three Bite Rule

Lastly I did some egg roll bowls that were fun. They have a bed of sticky white rice, then a ground pork mixture and a cooked cabbage mixture and topped off with crispy wontons and duck sauce. So fun and faster than takeout!

The Three Bite Rule - Eggroll Bowl

November should have fewer commitments. I welcome the wrap up of soccer to give more free time. My volunteer role expanded the region so it’s taken a bit more time.

The Little Girl:
She loved us all getting to go to her school for a family night. We met a friend of hers and she felt like it was just like big brother’s open house. She’s gotten into scrambled eggs with cheese and back on the quesadilla train. Thank goodness – those are two fast lunches or dinners we tend to have ingredients for! She’s being Elsa for Halloween.

The Big Guy:
School and aftercare and soccer are going well and October meant the start of homework…in second grade! His teacher really prepped them well and it has gone really smoothly. We got a sweet note from the PE teacher about good work in class so that made our day. He loved a playground tour extravaganza they had when I was away. October was also the book fair which is a very special time. He’s being a scary dragon for Halloween.

Goals:
Year of nail polish! I got GOLD and that wraps it up!
More international food inspiration: egg roll bowl!
More soups/salads: we had salad bar, shocking.
More apps: After apple picking we had apps for dinner with the caramel apple cheeseball, deviled eggs, and ranch chicken bites.
More fun drinks: I’m back to nightly hot tea time, and have a cinnamon apple tea
Updating photos: nope
What I’m reading: I read The Rose Code which was so so good and long. Then I read This Time Tomorrow which was better than the description. I just finished The Hotel Nantucket and miss it already.
What I’m watching: Amazing race
What I’m listening to: no new ones to binge

Baked Apple Oatmeal

‘Tis the season for all the apple foods! We apple picked and are eating them in lots of forms. I usually head towards savory breakfasts but this baked oatmeal was an exception and loved the crunch of some slightly cooked apples.

Baked Apple Oatmeal - The Three Bite Rule

I warmed it to eat it a few different mornings and froze a portion for another time.

Baked Apple Oatmeal
Ingredients:

2 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted butter
2-3 apples

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
In another bowl, mix the milk, egg, applesauce, vanilla extract, and butter.

Baked Apple Oatmeal - The Three Bite Rule

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Chop the apples and mix together the dry, the wet, with half of the apples.

Baked Apple Oatmeal - The Three Bite Rule

Add the remaining apples and put into a 9×9 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Then pour the mixture into it.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Baked Apple Oatmeal - The Three Bite Rule

Enjoy! Or drizzle with caramel sauce or maple syrup. Warm individual servings with a splash of milk.

Baked Apple Oatmeal - The Three Bite Rule

I like the texture old fashioned oats have – especially when baked. I’m not always into the softness of instant or quick cooking oats but some warm, cooked apples with cinnamon would be a great alternative to a whole batch of baked apple oatmeal too!

Caramel Apple Cheeseball

We went apple picking and now are eating 10,000 apples. I mixed up a caramel apple inspired cheeseball and it was a hit! I initially wanted it to be cutesy and look like an apple but was stuck on what I could roll it in that’d be green or red. It is tasty – but it doesn’t look like an apple.

The Three Bite Rule - Caramel Apple Cheeseball

I already had a request to make it again. We had it as an apps for dinner night then snacked on leftovers a few times.

Caramel Apple Cheeseball
Ingredients:

1 brick of cream cheese
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:
Let cream cheese come to room temperature.
Add cream cheese, powdered sugar, caramel sauce, and cinnamon.

The Three Bite Rule - Caramel Apple Cheeseball

Beat with a hand mixer (or in a food processor) until completely mixed.

The Three Bite Rule - Caramel Apple Cheeseball

Chop the chips and spread them in the center of a piece of plastic wrap. Then spoon the cheeseball mixture onto the chips. Roll it around to cover it, then gather up the plastic by the corners and twist together.
Refrigerate for at least an hour (or for a few days).
Serve with apples, pretzels, graham crackers or anything you like! Add some whole chips before serving.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Caramel Apple Cheeseball

This keeps well so make it and snack all week or spread it onto a bagel. Nuts would be good to roll on the outside but they don’t keep as well if eating it again later.

Pssst! Extra butterscotch chips? They’re great in pancakes & waffles so I use them to make McGriddles and Apple Cider Cookies! They’re fun on yogurt or in your trail mix or granola too.

Egg roll Bowl

This dinner was a fun once since I don’t cook a ton of Chinese inspired food- I leave that to the professionals. I do always order an egg roll with takeout so that idea led me here and the format of rice bowls work well for us. The kids were amusing – each eating different elements. T was all about the rice and just some of the rest, C was very into the meat and less-so into the other parts, thus, the beauty of letting them surprise us and having enough things that everyone can find something.  

The Three Bite Rule - Eggroll Bowl

Egg roll Bowls have a rice base, a ground meat mixture (could be pork, chicken, or beef) and a cooked cabbage slaw with crispy wonton strips on top. Some or all could be prepped in advance to warm & serve! 

Egg roll Bowl

Ingredients: (serves 4) 
1 1/2 cup white rice
2 cups water + 1 cup broth (or liquid quantities according to your rice)
1/2 – 3/4 pound of ground pork
1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 1 clove)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 bag shredded cabbage
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger 
2 green onions
wonton strips
duck sauce 

Directions:
Prepare the rice – mine went into the pressure cooker for 4 minutes. 
In a large skillet, cook the ground pork over medium heat. When mostly cooked through (~5 minutes) drain out grease, and add in the garlic and soy sauce for the remaining ~5 minutes and sprinkle with green onions.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggroll Bowl

While the ground meat is cooking, heat another large skillet to medium heat and add in the cabbage, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and minced ginger. Toss well and cook for 5-7 minutes until cooked through and softened, or with a crunch if you prefer!

The Three Bite Rule - Eggroll Bowl

Spoon the rice into bowls, top with meat mixture, and sprinkle on wonton strips. Drizzle with duck sauce. 
Enjoy! 

The Three Bite Rule - Eggroll Bowl

We had edamame pods with these and the kids love quiz one another if the pod is full or empty. They ate theirs disassembled and us grown up ate it as a rice bowl. 

We keep rice vinegar & sesame oil & soy sauce on hand for Peanut Sesame Noodles (a fan fav at home) and a few times we’ve had these Asian inspired burgers or this bowl reminded me we were overdue for some pad thai which uses a few too. 

September 2022 Recap

I love September. Back to school and the return to soccer went well, and the cooler temps are much appreciated. We celebrated our 11th anniversary. I like September for still summer produce but a good time for almost-fall foods.

I made this lemon garlic pasta for any season, but the lemon kept it light. This is a great sauce to mix up and store a few days for a dinner. It would pair nicely with anything grilled too.

The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Garlic Pasta

Quesadillas (or grilled cheese) are ideal lunches when I’m working from home and can make something but still need to keep getting stuff done so I whipped up corn quesadillas in cilantro butter (pssst! it has other butters if cilantro isn’t your jam).

The Three Bite Rule - Corn Quesadilla with Cilantro Butter

Do not snooze on burger beans! We love (and repeat often) pizza beans for a quick/inside dinner and burger beans are a twist on that. The bean base makes it cook so fast and reheat well too. They are quick and ingredients we tend to have around all the time. I used a veggie burger but any would do!

The Three Bite Rule - Burger Beans

Lastly, I did a round-up of speedy weeknight dinners. There are some for make-ahead, some for prep-ahead, and some of the fastest cooking ideas around. If you learn nothing else, make a brain-dump list of ideas and keep adding to it all the time. When you’re planning, that’ll come in handy and not require any recollection of what works but you haven’t had in awhile.

Oct will have a rice bowl, maybe a fall-ish cocktail, and I’m not sure what else. It is time for all the pumpkin and apple things. Maybe I’ll give baked oatmeal a go? I repeated these loaded savory waffles with sausages, egg, and cheese for one-handed weekday breakfasts.

The Little Girl:
She’s still either singing Frozen songs or in Elsa costume elements. She had an ear infection and did not complain at all (which delayed us even knowing that’s what was happening). She’s packs a backpack of treasures for when she goes to soccer games. We just decorated inside for Halloween and she loved seeing it all again.

The Big Guy:
The start of school has gone well! He was definitely more confident knowing the school, routine, the bus, and other kids this year. I think he’s writing with a little more care this year (so far!). He loves aftercare and he’s in a good routine. Soccer is 2nd & 3rd grade so he’s rising to the challenge this year. He’s obsessed with How to Train your Dragon movies and the show.

Goals:
Year of nail polish! I got color changing ones!
More international food inspiration: ehh not really.
More soups/salads: 
More apps: Not really
More fun drinks: I made some iced tea and we’re alllllmost into nightly hot tea time
Updating photos: nope
What I’m reading: I read I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet and do not recommend – it was a little spiritual which is ok, but not what I gravitate too, but mostly, it was so vague yet google-able. I reread The Gown for bookclub and we all liked it. I read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – loved it and think anyone would get something out of it. I read The Boys Club which was pretty good, and worth it for a non-murder suspense one though I’d recommend with lots of trigger warnings and might be more interested in others by that author.
What I’m watching: Amazing race is back!
What I’m listening to: I did another season of Land of the Giants