9th Blogaversary

9 years old?!?! How’s that possible!
balloons
This was a big and full year. I’m so glad to have the blog as a creative outlet. I think I’m my best when I am doing “all the things” even if each doesn’t shine 100% of the time. I tried to let myself take it slow when blogging just isn’t quite fitting in, but overall I’ve been active here. Thank you for joining me! I’m so grateful to hear from folks who have made something or saw something here and it means a lot to me. I love doing it and hope to instill in my little ones that hobbies are wonderful- all while not having phones at the table!

Superlatives

Best Burger: I mean it has to be this one, right? The Parisian Burger is circa 2014 but the competition will be what always stands out for me this year. I did really love this meatloaf burger too with brown sugar ketchup, crispy onions, and greens.
The Three Bite Rule - Insta
Most Photogenic: Fall Dog with Apple Slaw I’ve yet to source pretzel buns like this again…I’d better search- they seem like an Oktoberfest-ish thing.
The Three Bite Rule - Fall Hot Dog
Most Repeatable: Crispy Fish Rice Bowl
The Three Bite Rule - Crispy Fish Rice Bowl
I think I made more soups and more sandwiches than some years past but definitely fewer pizzas this year.

2019 goals Recap:

Year of ___ decluttering/minimizing/organizing This was a good one for the year. With baby C joining the family and ohh-so-much artwork from Mr. T, relieving our home of stuff is good.
Feeding Littles: I wish I did this more.
Work on advanced food prepping:
What I’m reading: I read 22 books this year! Crazy! My fav was Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar followed closely by The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Find my books and ratings here.
What I’m watching: 

This year’s Goals:

Year of beauty! I loved this suggestion and I kicked it off grabbing some face masks before a weekend away with my college roomies. The “year of” are something I like for myself and I don’t want to have to coordinate with anyone else. I’m overdue for some nail polishes newer than my college days, I love face masks, and my hair could use some TLC.
Prep intentional sides and veggies: too often they’re a bit of an afterthought and we could increase the colors and options here.
Eat more fish: I love it, Mr. J is OK with it, and the kids gobble it up so I should keep going there.
Blog some series: these are so fun for me while I’m doing them, I should try some others. I’ve done series of grilled cheeses, series of toast toppings, and I’ll see what else comes to mind!
Focus decluttering/organizing to an area I think I (or Mr. J) did our most impactful work when doing one little spot at a time. There’s more to do!
Share more books on instagram: I had some stories of kids books and couldn’t believe when I got actual responses and people without kids asking about more of them. It made my heart swell as something I love.
Prioritize workouts: I started Beachbody On Demand doing the Morning Meltdown 100 and I’m loving it.
What I’m reading: 20 books feels like a natural benchmark to strive towards
What I’m listening to:
I love podcasts and have yet to convince my most talked-to people to also listen so we can discuss.
What I’m watching:

Butternut Squash & Cider Soup

Butternut squash soup seems like a fall a no-brainer. I wanted apple in there and was going to grate some into it, but then I couldn’t bear to undo how silky smooth it was. Then I went to apple cider. It was like pouring liquid gold in there! So good! This is vegetarian, almost dairy-free, and an easy one to prep and freeze, or to have the ingredients
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash & Cider Soup

Butternut Squash & Apple Cider Soup

Ingredients: (for ~3 servings)

1 squash (~3 cups of chopped squash)
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup broth
3/4 cup apple cider
salt, pepper, and Parmesan for garnish

Directions:

Cook the butternut squash. (I pressured cooked mine according to the appliance’s instructions- I pealed it, scooped out the seeds, and chopped a bit.)
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash & Cider Soup
Cook until totally cooked through. (I cooked it in the pressure cooker with a little water for 4 minutes.)
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash & Cider Soup
In a large pot, cook the butter until it browns – just after it foams, watch it brown and then quickly remove the whole pot from the heat so it doesn’t burn. Quickly add in the squash, then the stock, and cook for about 10 minutes over low heat.
Remove from the heat and blend until smooth.
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash & Cider Soup
Add in the cider and cook for another 10 minutes.
Enjoy with a sprinkle of parmesan and some cracked black pepper and salt as desired.

I loved this! The brown butter and the apple cider make it so special. I had 2 meal-portions and another smaller portion I froze for another time. My butternut squash was pretty petite- moreso than a usual one.

The pressure cooker made this so fast and easy. It pulverized it, which was perfect for this case but not what I’d always want. My teething-1-year old might say something different though!
The Three Bite Rule - Butternut Squash & Cider Soup

October 2019 Recap

October was very much a blur. The national burger competition was an entirely a different experience for me and we don’t travel much anymore so that was usual for us too! The kiddos stayed with grandparents and Mr. J and I jetted off to Napa Valley for a very busy 3.5 days. We were on a red-eye back so I could be at work. Woah. I’m prepping a competition post so that’ll be soon. This month wasn’t a non-stop menu of new and exciting things, but a few fun things came out!

These Hashbrown Waffles topped with a fried egg and everything bagel seasoning was so good. I love these and am glad to have a few in the freezer for another time.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
I made cute little sandwiches of crispy chicken, smoked gouda, and apple. They were so good I made them another time to blog them for you!
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken & Apple Sandwiches
I had been very into ciders but the trip to Napa revived my interest in wine. Next month I’ll share a post about the final burger competition, a butternut squash soup, and a few others. November also brings the blog-a-versary and a new “year of the ___” and goals. Stay tuned!

The Baby Girl:

She loves life. She’s happy to play and be outside. Anything brother does makes her smile. We’ve been at the play kitchen a lot and she’s obsessed with dolls. She has a Cabbage Patch baby and my Raggedy Ann. Apparently she “owns” the dolls at daycare- she won’t let anyone else use them. I think some teeth are bothering her so she’s been a bit more testy. Baby C eats everything. She loves avocado, cream cheese & jelly sandwiches, and meatballs. She’s being Minnie for Halloween!

The Little Boy:

He’s so into The Beatles right now. It is adorable. He grabbed a book at the library – possibly because the cover was so colorful with a British flag. Then we listened to some in the car and he asks to listen daily. His favs are: Come Together; Here Comes the Sun; and All You Need is Love. Some meals take him absolutely for-ev-er. What’s the trick around that? Soccer has been great. We went apple picking, got pumpkins, and have played outside a lot. He’s being Mickey for Halloween!

2019 goals:

Year of ___ decluttering/minimizing/organizing: Mr. J saved us this month! He got a travel mug organizer and a sink organizer which is helping us clear off the counters- it is a work in progress for sure.
Feeding Littles: We shoot for some meatless meals and this is a fav with Szechuan beefless strips over brown rice and some snow peas. 
Work on advanced food prepping:
What I’m reading: I read Where the Crawdads Sing for bookclub.
What I’m watching: On the plane I watched Bohemian Rhapsody. Together we watched the movie Yesterday which was a fun one – and so timely with the little guy so interested in the Beatles.

Waffle-ized Hash Browns with Everything Bagel Egg

Everything can be waffle-ized! I’ll admit, these could be pan fried like a potato pancake, but 1) I hate the splatter and patience of frying things and b) these get so delightfully crispy on the waffle iron. Waffle nooks & crannies to be filled with egg yolk? Sign. Me. Up.

I didn’t win the big burger competition but I’ll put together a post about that soon! For now, here’s an anytime meal I whipped up before we left for the competition.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
I made these for a weekend dinner- mostly for time sake, but they’re screaming: BRUNCHHH! I also made enough for another time and dropped some in the freezer for a rainy day. I used leftover cheese sauce I had in the freezer from homemade mac & cheese but have leftover queso (does anyone have leftovers?) use that! Have a can of Cambell’s canned cheddar cheese sauce (use half a can with a 1/4 cup of milk)? Use that!

Waffle-ized Hash Browns Topped with a Fried Egg & Everything Bagel Seasoning

Ingredients: (for ~4 full waffles, ~8 servings)

6 cups of frozen shredded hash browns (~2/3 of a 30oz bag)
2 cups shredded cheddar
2 eggs
1 cup cheese sauce
salt & pepper
3 teaspoons everything bagel seasoning
eggs (1-2 per serving)
bacon

Directions:

Mix together the hash browns, shredded cheese, cheese sauce, eggs, salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
Preheat the waffle iron (or a skillet with oil) and preheat the oven to keep the “waffles” warm.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
Heavily spray the waffle iron with non-stick spray- more than for a waffle.
Scoop about 3/4 of a cup onto the waffle iron and spread the hash browns out (spread more than for a waffle).
Cook on the waffle iron for ~5-7 minutes as the waffle iron instructs (mine gets filled, then tilted in the opposite direction to cook for 4 minutes, but these need longer than the waffle).
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
Keep the waffles warm and re-spray and reload the iron, repeating to use all the mixture.
In a separate pan, fry the eggs sunny-side up or over easy, as you like.
Top half a waffle with an egg, per serving, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and everything bagel seasoning.
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg
Enjoy!

Not into eggs? Slice an avocado! Cut them into quarters, melt a slice of cheese onto the egg and add the top waffle piece for a sandwich!
The Three Bite Rule - Waffle-ized Hashbrowns topped with an Egg

Crispy Chicken Sandwiches with Gouda & Apple

What do you get when you cross a dinner timesaver with all the fall flavors? Answer: crispy chicken sandwiches with gouda, apple, mustard, and arugula. These were so quick for dinner one night – then again for lunch another day annnnd they use some of the bajillion apples we have.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken & Apple Sandwiches

Crispy Chicken Sandwiches with Gouda & Apples

Ingredients: (for 4, serves 2-3 people)

4 pieces of breaded chicken (I used frozen chicken tenders, or make your own)
3 tablespoons dijon mustard or honey mustard
1 large apple
4 rolls (I used finger rolls, shoot for the same size as your chicken)
1-2 cups arugula
4 slices of smoked gouda

Directions:

Bake the chicken (until cooked through, or as the package instructs).
Slice the apple into thin slices.
Spread the mustard onto the rolls then add arugula, and apple slices.
Lay the gouda onto the chicken to melt the last minute of cooking.
Add the chicken onto the sandwiches.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken & Apple Sandwiches
I also like reminding the little ones that foods can be different all the time. We don’t just eat the apples off the core, here they are with other food!