May 2017 Recap

Happy spring! May was a delicious month in the kitchen here! I’ve had more chances to cook in daylight, hallelujah. Also, the end of car-sharing logistics has finally come to a close. Phew! I just picked up my new car and I’m thrilled to wrap things up a super annoying car people. The first go-round was surprisingly great and since my accident, the dealership was sold. This time was super frustrating.

Bring on the burger season: this Bahn Mi Burger was so fun made with seasoned ground pork and topped with cucumbers, avocado, and sriracha cilantro mayo. Yummm.
The Three Bite Rule - Bahn Mi Burger
Another fav this month was a little #restaurantrecreation Breakfast Hash brunch dish with tots, poached egg, and cheese sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Hash
I made Cheeseburger Potato Skins as dinner, but they’re a great app too. Ground meat, ketchup, mustard, cheese, and pickles!
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins
June will bring Mr. J’s birthday burger, and a fun little bfast series. Many of our herbs have come back and are flourishing so I’m sure those will have a June highlight. There are 2 get togethers coming up so I’ll have captive audiences to feed! Muhhhahaha! 😉 I’ve recently become obsessed with defrosting our big spare freezer. You know how I freeze all the things, well, I’m going to just have the refrigerator’s freezer until getting to the bottom and defrosting. Get ready for a week of freezer food inspired meals. I’m so inspired! Follow on insta-stories if you’re interested.

The Little One:

His new phrase is “so excited”! I love it. I had a few days off which was fun for weekday adventures to the Zoo and storytime at the library. He LOVES helping. We’ve been cooking together with the stool to the island, and he planted flowers and herbs. When we see bunnies in the yard he says “don’t eat herbs”. Jelly is still a fav, but it was so funny how into feta he was.

2017 Goals:

Year of the seasonal decor: gahhh. I missed it again. Well, I have one more day to make May happen…
do more dinner prep more in advance: I’ve done some. I’m all over the quick dinners to allow playtime outside or a walk before it gets dark.
read more (and always carry my book on me): I’m reading A Man Called Ove.
watch more movies: we watched Hidden Figures
cook more fish: nahh. Maybe in spring this will actually happen?
focus on clothes that I really like: I returned 3 dress options I got for my event. All were busts. I just ordered some steals from a Loft Memorial Day sale.

Strawberry Cucumber Cocktail

Strawberries have been suuuper cheap lately so I brought a huuuuge container and boozed some up. This takes a bit of lead time to flavor the vodka but throw it in a jar a few hours (or a few days before) and cocktail time will be here soon enough.
The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Cucumber Cocktail

Strawberry Cucumber Vodka Cocktail

Ingredients (for 4):

~4 oz vodka
1/4 cucumber, sliced
1 1/2 cups strawberries
3/4 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
simple syrup: 1/2 cup water + 1/4 cup sugar
~8 oz tonic or soda water

Directions:

Add the vodka and cucumber slices to a glass jar and give a shake and let refrigerate for 4+ hours (mine were in there 48 hours!).
Over medium heat, cook the strawberries, 3/4 cups water, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Allow to cool, and blend or combine in a food processor. Refrigerate.
In the strawberry pot, cook the 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup until the sugar dissolves. Let cool and refrigerate. (This saves you an extra pot to wash, and “scents” the simple syrup with strawberry flavor from the remnants on the pot.)
When serving, shake together the the strawberry “juice”, 4 shots of cucumber vodka, and ice.
The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Cucumber Cocktail
Add some ice to each glass, and ~2 oz tonic per glass, then pour in the strawberry mix.
The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Cucumber Cocktail
Cheers!

I loved this. The cucumber flavor was there to totally take over the vodka flavor. If cuke is your jam, you could even make cucumber simple syrup! This is drink is cool, sweet, refreshing, and delightful. I’ll totally make this again! Make a big batch in a pitcher or pour a tray of glasses for your next party!

Restaurant Recreation: Bfast Tots Hash

Lulu’s Allston has this so decadent White Trash Hash that is tots, topped with braised short ribs, hollandaise, with poached eggs. It came in a close 2nd place at a brunch battle event and I totally thought it should have won. I recreated at home during my mini stay-cation. A day home alone calls for brunch, with a 2nd cup of coffee. The pups watched me take my plate out and must have been thinking: ‘what, the heck is going on?’ or ‘can I have some?’. I made a cheesy sauce since it is easy to make a small amount.

The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Hash
Sooo good! Using the toaster oven made it surprisingly quick. My eggs weren’t 100% perfect but a bit runny. They’re the most testy part of putting this together. Mr. J is suuuper skilled at pealing soft boiled eggs. I am not. I use a metal insert for poaching eggs- which takes a bit of practice. I’m getting there.

Bfast Tot Hash (for 2)

Ingredients:

2 cups tator tots
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon butter
2 eggs

Directions:

Bake the tots until very crispy. (I popped mine in the toaster oven on broil so they only took 15 minutes.)
In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, mix together the milk and cream cheese until melted and whisks smoothly – about 5 minutes. Then whisk in the cheese and butter.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Hash
While the cheese sauce cooks, poach or soft boil the eggs.  (poach in water = ~3 minutes; poach in insert= ~4 minutes; soft boil= ~5 minutes)
Lay the tots on plates, then drizzle cheese sauce, top with the egg, another drizzle of cheese sauce, and salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Hash
Poke that yolk and enjoy!

What I Ate: Burrito Bowl

I know, you can totally figure this out on your own, but here are a few ways to amp up your burrito bowl. Mexican Street Corn and a quick dressing makes this so. much. better than just leftover taco filling…which is where I started. Taco night leftovers are the best leftovers out there but I love them in a completely different format.

The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl

Burrito Bowl (for 2)

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/3 cup ranch dressing
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 cup corn, cooked and cooled
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tablespoon mayo
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup ground turkey/chicken/pork/beef spiced with taco seasoning
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup black beans

Directions:

Cook the rice.
In a small food processor, mix together the ranch, cilantro, and taco seasoning. Blend well and chill until serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Mix together the corn, feta, mayo, lime juice, and chili powder. Chill until serving, or make in advance.
The Three Bite Rule - Mexican Street Corn
Assemble together the rice on the bottom then top with ground meat, beans, lettuce, and street corn.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Drizzle with the dressing.
The Three Bite Rule - Burrito Bowl
Serve and enjoy! I wish I’d had tomatoes, but we ate them all the night before. I had avocados but totally forgot! I started eating and then remembered salsa! Add whatever you have: tortilla chips; cheese; sour cream; queso; jalepenos…whatever you like!

Cheeseburger Potato Skins

These cheeseburger potato skins were so fun, especially for a drizzly evening when grilling wouldn’t have been ideal. Mark these down for the next time you have just a liiiitle ground meat and want to make a meal for three out of one burger’s worth. The little one is obsessed with “helping cook” so we made these together. Plus, I taught him to say garnish, so there’s that.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins

Cheeseburger Potato Skins (meal for 3, or appetizer for 5-6)

Ingredients:

3 potatoes
1/4 pound ground beef/turkey/chicken
1 tablespoon hamburger seasoning (don’t buy this, I had a packet to use up, otherwise it is: onion powder; paprika; garlic powder; black pepper; dried basil)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
pickle slices for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees, and preheat a medium skillet.
Cook the potatoes until cooked through. (I microwaved mine for 5 minutes.)
Scoop out the insides of the potatoes, leaving about a 1/4 inch thick edge from the skin to the inside.
Brush with the olive oil & spices, then broil for 5 minutes (until crisp).
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins
Whisk together the ketchup, mustard, and worcestershire sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins
Cook the ground meat until no-longer pink in the skillet, then add in the sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 3 minutes or so.
Remove the tray of potato skins and sprinkle in a little cheese, then spoon the meat mixture in.
The Three Bite Rule - Cheeseburger Potato Skins
Top with more cheese & bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with pickles.
cheeseburg_pot_plate_590_390
Serve & enjoy!

These were fun bun-less burger, fit for inside eating. It is a tricky line of cooking food we’re all going to eat together while the little one’s has time to cool (usually a turbo cool in the freezer) while ours remains hot. Serve with a salad and poof, dinner’s done.

I’m looooving cooking with the little one. I did have to send him to tell Daddy “5 minutes” so I could quiiiiickly snap a pic before getting the hot pan out of reach. He loves spoons, spatulas, and the like. Sometimes his “helping cook” is to hold this unused, uncooked potato while I’m yielding a knife, but whatevs. He ate all the tomato out of our salad bowl which was kind of funny.