Summer Dinner Round Up

It is just so hot and the end-of-summer motivation is a bit lacking, am I right? Here are my dinner ideas when it it is too hot to cook or when you just need to shake it up without too much effort. .

One:
Sandwiches definitely should be on your radar for a no-cook dinner. Pulled pesto chicken caprese sandwiches use rotisserie chicken, fresh mozzarella & tomato. Add some caesar on the side for a quick, cool meal. Or go for a loaded veggie & hummus sandwich.

The Three Bite Rule - Pulled Pesto Chicken Sandwiches

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Two:
Tuna and White Bean Salad gives you definite dinner-vibes. The tuna and beans provide a serious protein punch.

The Three Bite Rule - Tuna & White Bean Protein Salad

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Three:
Apps for dinner is a great option – for lots of reasons. A charcuterie board (tips: here) and some deviled eggs (like these Italian deviled egg ones) and lemon fruit dip. This definitely takes more ingredients & work, but so fun.

The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Fruit Dip

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Four:
To not cook, think fancy brunch: unusual toast like peach & pistachio toast and a smoothie (maybe this mojito smoothie or chocolate almond smoothie).

The Three Bite Rule - Cherry Basil Toast

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Five: Some cheaters with some cooking
Some quick pastas which would mean you would need to boil the pasta BUT this zucchini and ricotta pasta has a no-cook sauce that is great warm or cool!

The Three Bite Rule - Zucchini, Herb, & Ricotta Pasta

Also, some crostini – like mushroom toasts pair well with anything.

The Three Bite Rule - Marsala Mushroom Toasts

What’d I miss? What’s for dinner when it is so hot?

Loaded Savory Waffle

These waffles have everything: sausage, eggs, cheese, hash browns, and everything bagel seasoning- all wafflized! They’re fluffy and filling with a nice crunch.

The Three Bite Rule - Savory Waffle

I wake up first wanting coffee, then ready for a savory breakfast. I don’t usually want pastries or anything sweet. I loaded up these waffles with the savory elements I love and made them a handheld form for an on-the-go breakfast that eggs and hash browns don’t usually lend to.

Loaded Savory Waffles
Ingredients: (makes 3 waffles, 6 servings)
waffle mix
4 sausage links
2 eggs
2 hash brown patties (or ~1 1/2 cups tots)
~4 slices of cheese (I used half American, half white Cheddar)
everything bagel seasoning

Directions:
Preheat waffle iron and mix up waffle batter according to package. Cook the hash browns, eggs, and sausages and chop everything.

The Three Bite Rule - Savory Waffle

Spray the waffle iron and sprinkle in everything bagel seasoning, then ladle just enough waffle batter to fill the wells halfway. Working quickly, top with 1/3 of the sausage pieces, 1/3 of the hash brown pieces, 1/3 of the eggs, and 1/3 of the cheese.
Spoon on another ladle of batter just to cover the fillings. Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning and close and flip to cook. Mine takes 4 minutes to cook.

The Three Bite Rule - Savory Waffle

Slice in half and enjoy!

These are so good. They freeze well and are perfect to pop in the toaster for a weekday breakfast!

Savory waffles are fluffy with great bites of hash browns and juicy sausage bits and melty cheese. There’s a slight saltiness and I loved every bite. These are nicely filling but not over the top – 2 eggs, 2 hash browns, 4 sausages, 4 slices of cheese becomes 6 servings.

The Three Bite Rule - Savory Waffle

Peach Tea Cocktail

This one is summer in a glass – refreshing tea, sweet peach, and a little spike. Also, when I say peach- I always am using nectarines but if fuzz is OK with you, go for it!

The Three Bite Rule - Peach Tea Cocktail

I usually only drink tea hot and exclusively in the fall and winter but this summer while I was home I embraced (iced) tea time, in the afternoons to have something fun to look forward to. I was surprised to love mint tea iced and blackberry/elderberry tea was a great treat too.

Peach Tea Cocktails
Ingredients:
(for 2 cocktails + leftover iced tea)
2 peach tea bags (mine was peach mango)
3 cups water
1/2 peach, sliced
1-2 oz peach schnapps/cointreau/lemon vodka/raspberry vodka
1 teaspoon simple syrup or 1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 cups ice

Directions:
Brew the tea and let cool. It should be very strong for iced tea as it will get watered down.

The Three Bite Rule - Peach Tea Cocktail

Add ice to a cocktail shaker with the tea, peach, alcohol, and sugar/simple syrup (if using).

The Three Bite Rule - Peach Tea Cocktail

Shake well and serve over ice.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Peach Tea Cocktail

This was so so good. The tea makes it really light and refreshing and gives you the chance to make it as sweet or not as you’d like with simple syrup or sugar. You could amp up the peach flavor by tossing some peach and the pit into the pot when making the simple syrup (and removing when it cooled). Herbal tea isn’t caffeinated so this is ideal for something fun to sip on a hot night. Cheers!

July 2022 Recap

June was confusing but July was exciting! I got and started my new job! I was grateful to be so so so far in the process when my role was eliminated. I was in weird limbo and unsure what would be next so I was glad to move right into this one! I’m glad to work through this and be in a routine before school starts. 

This month I made the most summery dessert snack: s’mores cheeseball! The kids didn’t care that much about this one either way but maybe that’s because they’d be happy to roast a marshmallow in any weather.

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

Strawberry Lemonade & Basil Cocktail was such a highlight. Cocktails (or mocktails) are such a fun way to liven up any regular day. I tested these babies and tweaked it before blogging them to have lots of strawberry!

Strawberry Lemonade & Basil Cocktail - The Three Bite Rule

Turmeric Couscous Salad was nice to give a side dish some love. I tend to go more basic on the sides but a little splash of orange juice was a great dressing for this one and it is great the next day too. The little girl and I ate leftovers by the pool!

The Three Bite Rule - Turmeric Couscous Salad

August blog posts will be some more summery things – a burger, some prime-time produce (peaches- I’m looking at you!), another cocktail, and maybe some no-cook dinner ideas in case it is just so hot. We’ll celebrate a 4th birthday and have time at the beach. 

The Little Girl:
She’s very very into swimming now and it is so fun to see. She keeps discovering things that she can do now that she’s “big”. She told her teachers she didn’t have goggles “when she was a little girl” and now she has some. Like always, she could eat her weight in cheese.

The Big Guy:
He’s loved camps this summer. We found much better ones this year and he loves swimming and archery at one and was into the classes the teachers have at another camp held at school. His motion sickness has been off the charts, and being physically tired and hot doesn’t help.

Goals:
Year of nail polish! I got this aqua one in the very end of June but didn’t use it until July but I didn’t love it.
More international food inspiration: nope.
More soups/salads: we had caesar a few times, does that count?
More apps: nope.
More fun drinks: Yes! Strawberry Lemonade Cocktail with Basil, and I had (iced) tea time most days while I was home.
Updating photos: not this month
What I’m reading: Sure did! I read Counterfeit which was very fun and fast paced. Bookclub read The Underground Railroad and I loved it – so creative. I read a YA book, The Henna Wars, that I didn’t love, but maybe the YAs would?
What I’m watching: Great Food Truck Race
What I’m listening to: I blew through Land of the Giants and have listened to most seasons – the food delivery season was the best.

S’mores Cheeseball

Heat like this calls for no-cook treats- plus all the AC/pool trips/popsicles you can find. This cheeseball dip is all the flavors of s’mores that you love, without sitting by a hot fire while it is 90-something degrees around here.

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

S’mores Dip
Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 graham crackers crushed into crumbs + ~8-10 graham crackers broken into quarters
1 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallow bits

Directions:
When cream cheese is softened, add in confectioners sugar, vanilla, most of the graham cracker crumbs, and 1/3 of the mini chocolate chips.

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

Mix well together with a spatula or hand mixer. Spoon onto plastic wrap and wrap it up to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Before serving, cover the outside in the remaining graham cracker crumbles, remaining mini chips, and the marshmallows.

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

Use a spoon to pack the “crust” around the cheeseball.
Serve with graham crackers to dip. Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

This was fun – and addicting. The dip is soft and creamy with a tang of the cream cheese but with the sweet and crunch. Mix it up and bring out a cool dessert that appeals to all ages.

These mini freeze-dried marshmallows are perfect here, BUT, skip the marshmallows and swap the cream cheese with ricotta and poof! You’ve got cannoli dip! We used the mini marshmallows in hot chocolate bombs and in some trail mix and in Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies.