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!

October 2023 Recap

October felt like a month where we were in our groove. We had gotten more used to aftercare pick ups, all the soccer practices, weekend plans, and what we need to be ready for it all. We are psyched for Halloween.

I made a Bfast Pizza with Everything Bagel Crust

The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza with Everything Bagel Crust

We had an impromptu Ranch-Off testing out 3 ranches to dip. The “restaurant-style” packet is way better than the regular. I don’t know why. Tell that to my very large canister of dry ranch mix. 

The Three Bite Rule - Wingstop Dupe Ranch-off

Lastly, I made a butternut squash and bacon tart. I loved it having lots of squash and only enough egg to hold it together. It is sweet and salty and perfect. 

Next month I’ll share a lunch idea and an app. I’m not sure what else. Next month brings my blogaversary and new goals. It will wrap up soccer and bring a new routine.

The Big Kid: 
He’s very into sports cards, stats, and teams. The soccer season wraps up soon and it has been fun to see his group. I love picking up from aftercare and kids saying bye or getting to local fall events and him finding his friends. There’s a new ga-ga ball court at school and he’s obsessed.  

The Little One: 
She got very good at taking the world’s most awful-smelling antibiotic (we mixed with chocolate syrup for the win!). She has a best buddy in kindergarten who we hear about daily. We met this little one at a back to school playground meet up and while you can’t judge a book by its cover, C definitely zero’ed in on a long braid and dress. All the kids love seeing one another at soccer or wherever. 

Goals:
Year of workwear! I grabbed some fall-colored tops for family photos
Salads or side-dishes: I made some soft cornbread and seriously, this is the only one to ever make. 
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: I prepped some savory waffles – like this but with bacon and cheese; and I had the butternut squash and bacon tart as lunch a few times. 
Monthly dates: Stars aligned last minute for an unplanned date for Mexican at Casa Loca. 
Declutter/cleaning: Now that we’re into the next season of clothes, the kids needed to pass off ones that don’t fit. 
Workouts as a routine: I’m now onto a long kickboxing one I’ve done several times.  
What I’m reading: I read Remarkably Bright Creatures and Hello Beautiful.

September 2023 Recap

September was such a big-feelings month. The little one starting kindergarten felt so significant and the start of soccer for both of them meant more schedules than we have coordinated lately. September also included our 12th wedding anniversary. 

In the kitchen, I was most psyched about these chorizo eggs “benedict“. There’s white queso replacing what should be/could be hollondaise which I think is so fitting but go for the way you’d like it. 

The Three Bite Rule - Chorizo Eggs Benedict

This butternut iced coffee was such a fun treat. We straddle the line for iced vs hot as fall progresses but I’d be happy with this in any coffee! 

The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Iced Coffee

I also gave the taco-spiced deviled eggs a little refresh from 2017!

The Three Bite Rule - Redo Taco Deviled Eggs

Next month I have some ideas for a pizza, a fall cocktail or sangria, and we’ll see what else. I’m ready for some fall flavors but we’re very much in kid-activity-timing these days. A few days a week somebody is at a practice so dinners have been more focused on everyone getting enough at whatever time works for them. 

The Big Kid: 
Third grade has kicked off well so far. He loves a routine and is so much better at getting himself ready than we saw in his younger years! Soccer is very fun to see them pass and shoot and score – that’s of course the game, but the bigger kids play for real which is refreshing. He’s still all-in on hard boiled eggs and pasta.

The Little One: 
She LOVES kindergarten and wishes every day would be a school day. I was so proud to see her pop right up onto the school bus. I was in turmoil hoping she made it to aftercare on the bus. It has gone smoothly but is a lot to hope a 5 year old will follow correctly. Since food was all provided at preschool, she loves packing a snack. She’s been great at soccer – though they were all a mess when we had a later time for a make up- lesson learned 6pm they’re tapped out. I’m such a proud coach! She was happy to see soup more often now and all the cheese.

Goals:
Year of workwear! I got a dress that my whole office gushed over. 
Salads or side-dishes: I haven’t made interesting sides but the kiddos couldn’t get enough of heirloom tomatoes with Italian dressing so sometimes maybe less is more?
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: I haven’t made anything interesting, but have had stuff around so I’ll get back to it but snacky lunch, burritos I’ve frozen, and chicken salad has been fine
Monthly dates: We celebrated our anniversary at Chickadee and I had the best meal – I chose squid ink pasta and loved it. We started with a trio of dips, what could be better?
Declutter/cleaning: We dropped off a bag at Savers and came home with just a few kid sneaks.
Workouts as a routine: I’ve been doing these “rough around the edges” videos from stunt women and have picked & chosen ones I wanted to do.  
What I’m reading: I read Our Missing Hearts for bookclub and it was too heavy to really enjoy or appreciate. I also read The Mystery of Mrs. Christie and loved it for its intrigue and speed. I read Swipe Up for More: Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers and thought it was pretty good, but all were ideas and convos I’ve heard on podcasts. Anyone who hasn’t will love this one. I finished the month with Same Time Next Summer and loved it. It had serious parallels to Every Summer After but with fun and likable characters and none of the teen spiciness.