Light Lemon Dip for Fruit

On my quest for more appetizers up my sleeve, I went lemon-y for a dessert/fruit/brunch-ish dip and it couldn’t be easier. I love that it can be prepped ahead of time, or mix it up and eat it immediately! I wanted to go all-out and make a huge board overflowing with dippers for it, but then again, I’m 36 weeks pregnant, hot, always tired, and I wasn’t feeding a huge crowd. This hit the spot with just strawberries and some graham crackers to dip.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Fruit Dip
Lemon Fruit Dip (serves ~8-10)
6 oz cream cheese (softened is helpful, not required)
4 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
4 oz Cool Whip
1 pkg lemon pudding mix
1 tablespoon lemon juice
lemon zest from half a lemon
2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
dippers: fruit slices; vanilla wafers; graham crackers/animal crackers; fruit as kebabs; cookies; etc

Directions:
Add all the dip ingredients into a bowl.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Fruit Dip
Whip with a mixer (or food processor or blender).
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Fruit Dip
Taste and add more fresh lemon juice if desired, or thin it a bit more with additional yogurt/cool whip if desired.
Enjoy! Or refrigerate until serving.

This totally hit the spot for being fresh and bright but creamy and very dip-able. I didn’t think of it fast enough, but any leftovers would be great between graham crackers like an ice cream sandwich then wrapped individually in plastic. Leftovers of everything would make fun individual trifles!
The Three Bite Rule - Lemon Fruit Dip
I added the yellow since the lemon powder isn’t all that yellow and I wanted it to pop. This is an easy one to prep the night before and bring to a summer gathering or to serve when guests arrive! My little one was napping when I served this but he tasted when I made it and liked it. I think it’d be an easy excuse for a dessert!

Go all out and make a huge & beautiful board of fruit, cookies, and treats and share with me!

June 2018 Recap

Countdown is ON. I’m now 35 weeks pregnant, with about 5 weeks left. Woah. June felt speedy probably also because it is the end of work’s fiscal year so there’s a lot happening. Everything I cooked this month was pretty quick without a ton of ingredients…perfect for summer, right?!

This month I made Mr. J’s birthday burger as a Garlic Lovers Burger which was fun. I also used a Beyond Meat one for mine and was really impressed!
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Lovers Burger

I’ve been into smoothies so I re-did, and healthify a Chocolate Cherry Smoothie. The little one likes to have some when I do.
The Three Bite Rule - Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
This Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp was so perfect to balance the juicy shrimp with sweet and tartness.
The Three Bite Rule - Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp
I expect blogging to slow down a bit in my final stretch these next 5 weeks until my due date. Stay tuned for a few summer-y things- possibly with wider stretches between posts! Next week I have some extra days off so we’ll see if I can get some wish-list items made and I will likely post again after the holiday. Happy Independence day!

The Little One:

He’s all about the yard work right now- rakes, his mower or trailing daddy who is mulching/planting/and making a green house. He and I have been enjoying my summer Fridays with an early release. We’ve gone to new playgrounds, the library, and just been home for extra playtime outside. We did a joint bday & father’s day which was so perfect for swimming and grilling. He loved the big pool again this year and I was grateful he ate some of everything since celebratory meals aren’t when he can usually focus on eating his normal amount. Our town really loves Flag Day and the parade was fun. The amount of pasta and of rice/grains he can put away continues to astound us. He out-ate both of us the other night with pasta with pesto on it was quickly made before heading to a concert outside.

Bump Update:

I’m really feelin’ it and can tell I’m slowing down. Everything is getting hard to do. I often wake up around 4 which is not. fun. It does mean I am reading a lot. Food-wise I am super into smoothies- my fav right now is a green-based version of this PB & J smoothie. I re-do it soon with the healthier tweaks I’ve made. I made a Trader Joe’s run which I think will greatly expedite and simplify dinners. Hallelujah! While at TJ’s, I found individual serving packs of Chocolate & Cashew Trek Mix which is life-changing right now. I’m getting more full and wanted smaller but more frequent meals spaced out a bit more. Sometimes meals feel like a means to an end and I’m not super interested or passionate about the actual food. Baby girl is a mover & shaker…much like her big brother.

This Year’s Goals:

Year of the candle: I pulled out one I hadn’t tried yet that somebody gave me forever ago. It is sweet and quite fragrant. It is a good one since I smell so much while pregnant.   
Cook more appetizers/snacks: 
I made Breakfast-Inspired Deviled Eggs
Taking time to blog thoughtfully: 
ehh, this wasn’t really something I focused on.
Journal the cute moments of my little one: He tells us he was “dreaming about ____” which is means there’s something he wants to do. 
What I’m reading: 
 I read Big Little Lies & Sunshine Sisters and I’m almost done with another. 
What I’m watching: 
we watched Game Night which was so so funny. I started a binge list for maternity leave.

Bacon, Cheddar & Ranch Garlic Bread

This delicious dish skates the line of garlic bread or maybe even a flatbread. This is so good and so easy. Share with others – everyone will love this. We ate it for dinner with some salad but I can definitely see it being a fun app or side.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon, Cheddar, Ranch Garlic Bread
The garlic cooks in the bacon drippings and butter meaning the full flavor of the bacony-tidbits goes onto this. It mean the crunchy brown bits from the pan soak into the bread.

Bacon, Cheddar & Ranch Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

~6 strips of bacon
1 loaf Italian bread or baguette
4 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons dried Ranch seasoning
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon chopped chives or parsley (optional)

Directions:

Chop then pan fry the bacon until crisp. Spoon onto paper towels to drain, but reserve the grease in the pan.
Preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Slice the bread and pop it into the oven while the oven preheats- just to start to warm through.
Add the butter and garlic to the pan with the bacon drippings. Cook over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes.
Spoon over the bread and then top with ranch seasoning, cheese, and bacon.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon, Cheddar, Ranch Garlic Bread
Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese melts and the bread gets golden around the edge. Optional: Sprinkle chives over the top.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon, Cheddar, Ranch Garlic BreadSlice into 1 inch slices. Enjoy!

This was a really fun one. We had it for dinner with some salad and it totally hit the spot. I loaded up the bacon because, well, it is bacon! The little one ate all the bacon off his pieces first, then ate the rest.
The Three Bite Rule - Bacon, Cheddar, Ranch Garlic Bread
I had the bread in the freezer and always freeze bacon, so this was easy to pull together.

#Meatless Monday Recap #2

Back in January I instituted #MeatlessMondays into our weekly menu plan, though it isn’t always on Mondays. Since the last update, the name of the game is speed and ease. The little one is more into grains, veggies, pasta, and cheese than he is into meat at the moment so meatless is never a challenge for him.

Some of my favs have been the no-brainers, because that’s helpful for speed now that I’m verrrrry pregnant. I followed a few recipes that were great! I made a Roasted Veggie Lasagna from What’s Gaby Cooking with a cream sauce and I roasted butternut squash, zucchini, and grape tomatoes as the veggies.  Another recipe we loved was Peanut Rice Noodle Bowls with Curried Peanut Sauce from Eats Well With Others.

I made Tomato Basil Polenta Bowls with White Beans and it was so good!
The Three Bite Rule - Tomato Basil Polenta Bowls

We had a white french bread pizza and risotto and ravioli which are all fan favorites here.

This Tart with Potatoes, Gruyere, and Caramelized Onions was a hit for me, less so for everyone else.
The Three Bite Rule - Potato Tart
I put chopped veggie burgers into tacos with a little taco seasoning and voila, veggie & filling taco!

We had a few soups: Broccoli & Cheddar Soup  and grilled cheese with tomato soup.

One of the most fun meatless meals I made was waffle fry nachos with queso, avocado, shredded cheddar, peppers & onions, and salsa. So fun!

I’m fully willing to admit that my meatless meals are also serving us as the no-brainers I really appreciate to keep it easy. I’m 34 weeks pregnant and through my entire pregnancy I’m not “glowing” or whatever people say who enjoy this. I’m glad to get meals together quickly so we can all eat together, and keep it varied. They might not all be my most creative moments, but it is a good way to keep us varied.

Garlic Lovers Burger

I keep a running list of burger themes to be sure I save a good one to be Mr. J’s birthday burger tradition. I actually used a McDonald’s-trying-to-be-fancy burger as my inspiration! Ours had brioche rolls seared in garlic butter, with white cheddar, garlic aoli, and chips.
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Lovers Burger

There is a fun blog post critiquing McDonald’s attempt at this garlic burger. I thought it sounded like it could be amazing…if made with care.

Garlic Lovers Burger (for 2)

Ingredients:

2 burger patties (mine was a Beyond Meat one)
2 slices of sharp white cheddar
2 brioche rolls
3-4 garlic cloves, grated
2 teaspoons butter
3 tablespoons mayo
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper
lettuce
kettle chips

Directions:

Grill the burgers.
While the burgers are cooking, slice the rolls, and grate the garlic cloves.
Mix half the garlic with butter and melt it in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
Mix the other half of the garlic with the mayo, also adding the garlic powder, salt & pepper.
Melt the cheese over the burgers.
Sear the buns in the garlic butter pan.
Assemble them with lettuce, the burger, chips, and garlic aoili on the top bun.
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Lovers Burger
Enjoy!

I loved the zip of the garlic in the aoli and the chips on there. Tomato would have been good but we only had little grape tomatoes. I definitely thought this was a good one!
The Three Bite Rule - Garlic Lovers Burger

I used a Beyond Meat burger for mine. I don’t eat red meat, but I do eat other poultry/pork/etc so I was really jazzed to try it since I can definitely compare to meat in general! I usually use ground pork or ground chicken. Turkey is just cra-zy dry. I thought the Beyond Meat one was great! It has the exact texture and color of ground beef. Meatless ones usually have beans/rice/lentils/mushrooms for that meaty texture. I’d guess this could fool anyone. I definitely recommend (#notsponsored).

Here’s the history of the Birthday Burgers for Mr. J:
2017 it was an Ultimate Mexican Burger with queso, guac, and beans.
2016 it was a Mac & Cheese Stuffed Burger topped with bacon, onions, and tomato.
2015 it was a Picnic Burger with slaw & potato sticks
2014 it was a German Burger with horseradish, caramelized onions, pickles and a pretzel roll
2013 it was a Vermont Burger with maple mayo, cheddar, bacon, and spinach
2012 it was a Bacon Wrapped Burger – enough said
2011 it was a Stuffed Burger stuffed with bacon & cheddar or bacon & blue cheese