Marsala Mushroom Toasts

I’m back! I had a few dishes I wanted to make and blog last week but I didn’t quite get to them. Now they’re all ready so buckle up! Today’s toasts were such a fantastic and balanced lunch and would also be great on little toasts for an appetizer.
The Three Bite Rule - Marsala Mushroom Toasts

Marsala Mushroom Toasts

Ingredients: (for 2)

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons marsala wine
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 slices of thickly sliced bread
1 cup greens, chopped (I used a spinach & kale “juicing blend”)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3 teaspoons ricotta (or cream cheese)
salt & pepper

Directions:

Heat a pan to medium heat and melt the butter. Add in the mushrooms and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Stir to caramelize on each side for about 3 minutes. Add in the marsala and worcestershire sauce. Stir until evaporated, about 2 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Marsala Mushroom Toasts
Toast the bread, ensuring it gets brown but soft enough to bite through. Bake in the oven if making a whole batch.
While the bread toasts, remove the mushrooms from the pan and use the same one for the greens. Saute the greens in a drizzle of oil for about 2-3 minutes with the garlic and some salt until just wilted then remove from the heat.
Spread the ricotta onto the toast, then add greens, then add mushrooms.
The Three Bite Rule - Marsala Mushroom Toasts
Finish with kosher salt, sea salt, or a drizzle of oil. I had truffle sea salt.
Enjoy!

The marsala flavor here was so great with garlicky greens, and creamy ricotta. I liiiiive for ricotta but if it isn’t your jam, go for cream cheese, or goat cheese, or whatever you like. Any kind of mushrooms would be great here. Marsala could get swapped with cooking sherry or a touch of balsamic vinegar- go for big flavor, the mushrooms will soak it up with the butter. Yum! I had this for lunch but would also go for a little more subtle flavors to be a fun savory breakfast too.

This was a great little lunch using a bunch of ingredients I already had around. The greens are a mix I use for smoothies. Once they’re on the verge of hanging out in the fridge too long I pop them into the freezer. Then I break them off in chunks. I found really awesome rosemary olive oil bread in the discount area so I knew it had to be toasts. Earlier I took the little one to the zoo and had a banana and cheese stick at our zoo picnic so when I got home I was ready for something more.

Breakfast Pizza with Sausage Gravy and Eggs

Breakfast and pizza- the best of both worlds! The sausage gravy serves as the sauce on English muffins and then it gets topped with white cheddar, tomato slices, and scrambled eggs. So good.

The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast Pizza with Sausage Gravy and Scrambled Eggs (for 2)

Ingredients:

2 breakfast sausage links
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
2 English muffins
1/4 cup white cheddar
2 eggs
salt & pepper

Directions:

Remove the sausage from the casing and pan fry the sausage until cooked through, about 5 minutes, breaking the sausage into very small pieces. Remove the sausage and leave the drippings in the pan. Add in the butter to melt over low heat. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in the 1/4 cup milk and coffee. Whisk until smooth. Sprinkle in salt and pepper then return the sausage into the pan.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Pizza
Toast the English muffins and spoon the gravy over the English muffins. Top with cheese and return to the toaster oven or oven to melt the cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Pizza
While the cheese is melting, scramble and cook the eggs just until cooked and remove from the heat. Season with salt & pepper.
Slice the tomato and add on top of the cheese, then spoon the eggs onto the top.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Pizza
Enjoy!

I loved the sausage gravy on these breakfast pizzas. It amps them up big time and takes so little to do so! The bigger chunks of sausage were trickier to layer on but the gravy only uses 2 sausage links, for 2 people! For a vegetarian version, mushroom gravy would be delicious! Use good quality white cheddar here, it is so worth it. I found the tomato freshness and acidity necessary.

In the Oven

There’s a bun in the oven over here! I’m due in early August with a baby girl!
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I’ve been feeling well, just exhausted in the beginning, but better now. I only had a few weird feelings about foods. There was a stretch that raw veggies/salad seemed like a bad idea. I haven’t been able to eat my very favorite pizza for takeout – the Chicken Ranchero, so fingers crossed my taste for that comes back! So far my only cravings have been mozzarella sticks and all the peach yogurt. I was non-stop hungry for awhile and now I’m just my normal amount of often hungry.

I am thankful to be past halfway…countdown’s on!

Uses for all the Hard Boiled Eggs from Easter

If you have a whole bunch of dyed eggs around, here are my fav uses for any hard boiled eggs! I eat them plain as a snack, or egg salad, but that may only take you so far. I’ve actually dyed un-boiled eggs when I wanted to play with the color but not have a dozen hard boiled eggs around. That was without a toddler!

1) Use hard boiled eggs for all the deviled eggs!
They are such a hit at a party…often vegetarian (I made my bacon ones obvious by topping them with bacon so there weren’t surprises), often dairy-free, often gluten free…depending on the variety! They’re a small bite without silverware and don’t require reheating! Make just a few and serve them with dinner or lunch at home. You don’t even have to wait for a party! Are you surprised I have more variation ideas I just haven’t made yet??
Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs
Bacon Ranch Deviled Eggs
Taco Spiced Deviled Eggs
Greek Deviled Eggs
Caesar Deviled Eggs
French Onion Deviled Eggs

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Deviled Egg


2) Use hard boiled eggs for the to-go option where you might have another egg!

Breakfast Risotto I made had white cheddar, bacon, everything bagel seasoning and was served with an egg for the runny yolk. When I packed leftovers for work, I heated the risotto and chopped a cold hard boiled egg to go on top just before eating (with extra everything bagel seasoning).
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Risotto
Avo & Egg Toast with Everything Bagel Seasoning would speed up immensely if the egg was a chopped hard boiled one!


3) Use hard boiled eggs to amp up the protein on a veggie side dish!

Caesar Asparagus was a springy feeling side that was just so easy: roasted asparagus, MYO caesar dressing, and top with some hard boiled eggs and plenty of salt & pepper!
The Three Bite Rule - Caesar Asparagus

4) Use hard boiled eggs for Cobb Salad themed anything! 
I made a cobb salad inspired burger. I’ve made a Cobb Salad Dip! Make a cobb salad chicken sandwich! Make it a regular cobb salad! Make it a cobb salad crostini appetizer! Bacon, chicken/turkey, eggs, lettuce/cucumbers/tomato, and blue cheese is always a welcome combo!
The Three Bite Rule - Cobb Salad Burger

5) Use hard boiled eggs for topping on a breakfast pizza!
This breakfast pizza from back in the day had cream cheese with chives spread onto the crust then topped with shredded cheddar, breakfast sausage, hard boiled eggs, and everything bagel seasoning. This is the foolproof way to do eggs on breakfast pizza if you are cooking for a crowd and don’t want to test the baking time needed for an egg cracked onto a pizza!
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Flatbread

March 2018 Recap

Wooo! March wrapping up makes me think spring must be coming. Right? I’m pretty over the snow and I’m itching for local produce. Our chives are peeping through so let’s go! My birthday month was fun, and delicious. I redeemed a free birthday sundae just in time even though it hardly felt like ice cream weather! I’m excited for a quick Easter trip to Maine. Stay tuned for a post I prepped for your Easter leftover uses…you might need it!

My fav this month was this sausage burger with peppers and mustard. The pretzel bun makes it.
The Three Bite Rule - Sausage Pretzel Burger
I made a 15 minute, 5 ingredient flatbread with pesto and roasted tomatoes.
The Three Bite Rule - Pesto Flatbread
Everything Bagel seasoning is sold in stores…or maybe just Trader Joe’s, but I make my own. I sprinkled it onto over easy eggs. Day. Made.
The Three Bite Rule - Everything Bagel Seasoning

The Little One:

He’s seeming so big! Sometimes listening the first time isn’t happening, but we’re working on it. He’s still eating pretty much anything. He loved a take on these Peanut Noodles with Purple Cabbage & Edamame. Gnocchi has been a hit. We’re loving a few minutes to play outside when we get home. I’ve been totally on the dinner-prep-in-advance game so we can get out just for a few minutes. We have done a lot of play-doh and magna-tiles this month and boots crunching in the snow is his fav. We all built a snowman together during the last big storm and check on the melting process regularly. He got to spend a sleepover into a snow-day at the grandparents’ house so that was pretty exciting. We got a new kitchen table and chairs so we swapped him out of the high chair and into a booster on a real chair. Life in the crib is going strong 😉

This year’s goals: 

Year of the candle: This Salted Grapefruit one is so amazing!  I saved another birthday one for April. Stay tuned! 
Cook more appetizers/snacks: 
I whipped up just a few French Onion Deviled Eggs. Yum! 
Taking time to blog thoughtfully:
this speedy Pesto Flatbread was a chance to take-over the train table for some natural light.
Journal the cute moments of my little one: I realized jotting them into my phone was handier and getting them into the cute journal later is the way to go. He was adorably mystified when we lost power for a half hour. 
What I’m reading: 
 Ordinary Grace was so-so, and I’m onto my next. 
What I’m watching: 
American Crime Story Gianni Versace was fascinating, though the timeline was confusing. Project Runway All-stars is wrapping up soon and I’ve loved this bunch of designers.