Pulled Pork with Balsamic Fig Dressing on Ciabatta

A pork shoulder in the crockpot is like the gift that keeps on giving. I’d say definitively that pulled pork is the best of any leftovers, hands down. I make it once in the crockpot and have about 6 servings. We had some as tacos and then I wanted to give it another spin with a bottle of fig and balsamic dressing from a Trader Joe’s haul. A little fig jam + a little balsamic vinegar would reach the same flavors without that exact dressing too!

The Three Bite Rule - Pork on Ciabatta with Fig & Balsamic Dressing
I like the sweet but vinegary yet smoky pork on crusty ciabatta but any roll will do! My preschooler got a slider bun since that’s sometimes a better size for him and he’d be more likely to eat all the bread skipping the pork unless sized well. I made some sweet potato tots and called it dinner. Here’s the Balsamic & Fig dressing I used but I’m including a quick fix for just a single use without buying it!

The Three Bite Rule - Trader Joe's Favs into Meals

Balsamic + Fig Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients (for ~4)

1 1/2 – 2 cups pulled pork (~8oz, cooked)
1/2 cup Balsamic & Fig Dressing (or 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons fig jam whisked together)
4 rolls
2 cups arugula
1-2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300-degrees.
Mix the pork and some of the balsamic & fig dressing together gently. Taste and add more if needed.
The Three Bite Rule - Pork on Ciabatta with Fig & Balsamic Dressing
Warm the pork either in the microwave, or in a skillet.
Toast the rolls in the oven for about 5 minutes, until warmed through and just lightly toasted.
Toss the arugula in the olive oil until dressed and lay onto the bottom buns.
Top with pork and a drizzle of dressing more.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Pork on Ciabatta with Fig & Balsamic Dressing
I liked this for a different twist on pork! If you buy fig jam, it is fantastic with a salty cheese (thus why it is sometimes sold near the cheeses) but it is also great for a Fig & Prosciutto Panini, or on pizza!

Meatloaf Burger

Mr. J loves meatloaf so this was inspired for him! It was a perfect early-spring burger! There’s a bit of a decadence to this one- it isn’t light or subtle. It is juicy and flavored with caramelized onions and topped with a brown sugar ketchup, arugula, and crispy fried onions.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatloaf Burger

Meatloaf Burger

Ingredients: (for 2)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon brown sugar
~3/4 cup fried onions
arugula
burger buns

Directions:

Sautee the onions in a little olive oil over low heat until golden and caramelized.
Mix together the ground pork, onion, breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and egg.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatloaf Burger
Preheat the grill or warm a cast iron skillet.
Form into patties.
The Three Bite Rule - Meatloaf Burger
Cook until the middle reaches 150-degrees. Use a meat thermometer to ensure it doesn’t over cook!
While the burger cooks, mix up the ketchup and brown sugar.
In a dry skillet, fry the fried onions for about 2 minutes until toasted.
Serve the burgers with arugula, brown-sugar ketchup, and crispy onions.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Meatloaf Burger
We all liked this one! The preschooler eats a slider-sized burger and liked it. He started with his crunchy onions on the side but added them after eating a few – I think he wasn’t quite sure what they were. We all liked was how juicy this was! We had this with our fav broccoli salad.

Mix everything and form the patties in advance for a faster weeknight dinner. Momma was raving about burgers? tacos? something she used “meatloaf” mix for. That’d be great for this burger too!

April 2019 Recap

Spriiiiing! It makes me so happy. Winter was mild this year but I LOVE the daylight, everything growing, getting outside more, and transitioning from wintery foods. April was fun with a more social opportunities than I sometimes have with friends and a few fun family festivities. I think our energy is up! I feel like I’m being more realistic about what’s possible in the kitchen and I’m being OK with setting the priority that we eat together and eat different things, but I’m not forsaking all else to stick to my dinner plan. Seeing the little babe smile on the swing when her big brother pushes it when we get home is worth wayyy more than the meal prep I otherwise could make happen that night!

I love a grain bowl and these Thai Coconut Rice Bowls with Pork were such winners. The pork was leftover from a crockpot pork, the rice was ready in 10 minutes from the pressure cooker, and the sauce I zipped together in the blender the day before.
Thai Peanut Coconut Rice Bowl - The Three Bite Rule
I need to perfect my salmon cooking. I overcooked it but the leftovers were perfect in a Salmon BLT with lemon aoli.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Aoli BLT
Next month I have some good stuff coming! I have a burger, a breakfast, and a few other things.

The Baby Girl:

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She’s so fast and so strong. She was pulling up to stand before quite hitting 8 months old. All she wants to do is stand! She’s a quick and quiet crawler who can disappear to explore before you know it! I’m so proud of her sleeping skills, though I’m sure daycare wouldn’t mind her sleeping more there! She has 2 little chiclet teeth on the bottom and wants to eat everything. She’s loving the swings and chewing on T’s raptor dino that is unofficially regulated to being hers now. Her teachers at a daycare-wide dance party swooped her away and brought her around to see everyone. They really love her. She’s so happy and chill even when hungry or tired. We got bows to keep her hair out of her face and they’re just too cute.

The Little Boy:

He’s sooo into favorites right now. What’s your favorite dino? What’s your favorite fork? What’s your favorite color on this picture? I forgot that that’s a thing for kids. He loves the baby and is a fantastic big brother. It melted my heart when he said he “just wants to be 6” why I asked, “because then C will be 3 and we can play more.” I’ve loved doing puzzles with him. I think he over-does it on some favorite foods and thinks he wants them but then isn’t really into it- like certain cereals. It seems he will always want pasta, bananas, and avocado. He likes all candy- even junky stuff from a town egg hunt. I loved watching him at a daycare-wide dance party. He wanted to participate, was a bit reserved, then got into it. He thrives on having close friends. I missed the deadline for town soccer so he’s doing a little community one. We’ll see where his comfort-level is. He’s been happy on bike rides with Daddy but also is doing fantastic on his balance bike. His love for library books rivals mine.

2019 goals:

Year of ___ decluttering/minimizing/organizing: ehhh. All I did was pull together items for a clothes swap at work. We have a bunch of baby equipment earmarked for a yard sale.
Feeding Littles: I shared dinner of shrimp with Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki sauce, brown rice, edamame. He wasn’t into the shrimp that night but liked it when he had rice in the same bite. 
Work on advanced food prepping: A day-off mid-month was huge for this! I cooked and blogged 3 things!
What I’m reading: I read An American Marriage for bookclub and really liked it. I read China Rich Girlfriend and loved it as much as the first in the series.
What I’m watching: We watched All the Money in the World and The Imitation Game. Both are so intense and fascinating. I want to know more about each in real life! TV-wise, Mr. J and I got into Schitt’s Creek and are ob-sess-ed. Amazing Race is back

Mocha Smoothie

I took a different route on this smoothie and made it into a snack-like smoothie versus a breakfast kind of smoothie. It was really good and hit the spot on a coffee-sat-too-long kind of day. It isn’t super sweet so the coffee flavor is for real. Don’t get me wrong, I love a fun coffee drink, but the serving of fruit can’t hurt. Right?
The Three Bite Rule - Mocha Smoothie

Mocha Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup coffee, chilled
1 1/2 cups frozen pear or banana
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed meal

Directions:

Blend everything together. If it is too thick add in a bit more milk or some water.
The Three Bite Rule - Mocha Smoothie
Enjoy!

This was the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. A squirt of whipped cream made me fall more in love. I can see this one repeating when it is too hot to think!
The Three Bite Rule - Mocha Smoothie

BLT with Lemon Aoli

The lemon aoli takes this home lunch to the next level. It is tart and perfect with the salmon. It perked up my leftover salmon and brought brightness with the salty bacon, peppery arugula, and juicy tomato. I wanted to make a fun lunch to revive some leftover salmon that I overcooked a bit. It was actually better in this salmon BLT than it was the night before!
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Aoli BLT

Salmon BLT with Lemon Aoli

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons mayo
juice from half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch salt & pepper
2 strips of bacon
3-4 oz salmon, cooked and cooled

Directions:

Pan fry the bacon and remove from the grease.
Turn off the pan from the bacon and gently warm the salmon in the bacon drippings.
Mix together the mayo, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Aoli BLT
Toast the bread and slice the tomato.
Assemble the sandwich with lemon aoli on each slice of toast, then salmon forked apart into chunks, then arugula, then bacon, and the remaining bread.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Aoli BLT
Enjoy!

This was seriously better than the salmon was the night before. Condiments can make such a difference. An extra special BLT is a great dinner too. Warming the salmon a bit in bacon drippings is definitely a good choice.