Chicken Parmesan Rice Bowls

Will. It. Rice bowl? Of course! Anything can become a rice bowl! I took a few of our favorite flavors and turned them into a very quick rice bowl. Rice bowls are filling from the rice, with protein from the chicken, and a big veggie serving.

Chicken Parm Rice Bowl - The Three Bite Rule

This would be great with risotto or orzo but I had leftover brown rice so I went with that. If by chance you don’t love arugula as much as I do, sautéed veggies or roasted broccoli or any veg!

Chicken Parmesan Rice Bowls
Ingredients: (for 2)

1 1/2 cups prepared rice (or other grain)
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese
4 chicken tenders or ~8 chicken chunks
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups arugula
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh mozzarella

Directions:
Cook or warm the rice and stir in 1/2 the parmesan.
Cook the chicken (mine was airfried).

Top the chicken with sauce and shredded mozzarella. Return to the oven/airfryer/toaster oven to melt the cheese.
Toss the arugula with Italian dressing or oil & vinegar.
Assemble the bowls with rice in the bottom and top with chicken, fresh mozzarella, arugula, and sprinkle remaining parmesan on top.
Enjoy!

Chicken Parm Rice Bowl - The Three Bite Rule

This is really good and nicely filling. I love the melty cheese with the chicken, and the fresh arugula with a little bit of dressing adds brightness.

Some of our other fav grain bowls are:
Pineapple Coconut Rice Bowls
Winter Veggie Grain Bowls
Chicken, Bacon, & Avocado with Honey Mustard

Sausage & Peppers Hot Wrap

Sausage, peppers, and onions pairs with rice and cheese to be a hot wrap. Go ahead, call it a burrito. That works too. This is the ideal dinner on the go to the ball field! This would be a great way to reinvent some leftovers.

Sausage & Peppers Hot Wrap
Ingredients: (for 2)

1-2 large white onions
1 cup rice + 1 1/4 cup liquid
2 large burritos
2 sausages
1/2 of 2 bell peppers
1/3 cup shredded cheese
optional: mustard, relish

Directions:
Caramelize the onions over low heat – this takes 40 minutes – an hour. Do this in advance and freeze the unused onions for paninis, pizza, omelettes, or anyway you like them!
Cook the rice – can be done ahead of time.
Slice the peppers into strips and the sausages into half moons.
Add to a hot skillet with a splash of olive oil to sear.

Assemble the burritos with the tortilla, a sprinkle of cheese, rice, caramelized onions, a drizzle of mustard, sausage and peppers, and more cheese.

Heat up a pan to medium heat – then roll up the wrap and sear in the hot pan. Using tongs, rotate the wrap to warm throughout and until the outside is crisp.

Enjoy!
This was so delicious. I alllllmost threw in arugula but I tried to hold back this time. I used some honey mustard and some dijon. Relish seemed too sweet for me but go for it. These keep well assembled if all the ingredients are room temp or cool (not at all warm), wrapped in plastic wrap to hold it together, then refrigerate. To serve, warm in the micro on low (I use the defrost button or reheat button) and then into a pan to crisp or into a toaster oven!

Need more hot wraps in your life?
Thanksgiving Hot Wraps
Chicken & Broccoli Hot Wraps
Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Hot Wraps
French Onion Burrito
Burger Burrito

Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Meatballs

These are tried and true flavors in our house so they became meatballs! They’re balanced and not overwhelming in the bacon or ranch flavors.

We had them with mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts. The big guy discovered as mastery in pealing and is ready for anything with a peal-able skin.

Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Meatballs
Ingredients:

16 oz ground chicken
1 egg
~2-3 strips of bacon, cooked, chopped and fully cooled
2 teaspoons ranch powder
1 garlic clove, minced/1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt & pepper
oil for frying

Directions:
Preheat a large skillet to low-medium heat.
Mix together the ground chicken, egg, bacon, ranch, garlic, breadcrumbs, and salt & pepper.

Raise the temperature for the skillet to medium and add vegetable oil.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Form into balls and gently pan fry for about 3 minutes on each side.
Keep warm in the oven to finish cooking, check that the internal temperature gets to >165 degrees.

Enjoy!

We liked this meal. With 3 items it usually is safe to assume the kids will like 2 out of 3, which is good enough. The little girl always likes meatballs so she was into those the most. The big guy was the one who asked for brussels sprouts and he made the mashed potatoes so those two were his fav!

French Onion Burrito

Think of french onion soup but make it hand-held and form it into a burrito! Caramelized onions and melty fontina cheese become a meal with mushrooms, some arugula for freshness, and a grain.

This lunch is brought to you by the color: brown.

French Onion Burrito
Ingredients: (for 2-3 burritos)

1 large white onion
1 cup cooked grain (I used farro but rice/couscous/orzo would be good)
~6 mushrooms
1 cup gruyere or fontina cheese
2 tablespoons fried onions
1 cup arugula (or parsley or thyme)
2 tortillas

Directions:
Caramelize the onions – slice and cook over low heat for ~30 minutes, stirring frequently. This is helpful to do in advance, or freeze leftovers!
Cook the grain – I used farro which cooks for ~30 minutes.
Slice and sautee the mushrooms.

Lay out the tortillas and layer on 1/4 of the cheese, then the grain, then onions, arugula, and crispy onions.

Top with remaining cheese and warm a skillet.
Roll up the burrito by tucking the sides in, then rolling away from you and don’t let go. Carefully griddle the burrito with the seam side down first. Rotate to grill each side.
Enjoy!

I used farro but go for rice/cracked wheat/orzo/couscous/pilaf – whatever you have. No tortillas? No problem! Make this into a bowl!

This non-traditional burrito/hot wrap joins the others I’ve made like:
Cheeseburger burrito
Chicken, Bacon, & Ranch burrito
Thanksgiving Hot Wraps
Chicken & Broccoli Hot Wrap


Fast 5-Ingredient Meals

The countdown to Christmas is on and now’s the time for fast dinners that that are crowd pleasers and most importantly, take minimal thought. I assume you have takeout and regular freezer favorites and pasta covered. These may help bridge the gap of some balance but not magic.

1. Grilled cheese & tomato soup
1 can tomato soup + 1 (28 oz) can of kitchen ready tomatoes + 2 tablespoons cream/half & half
sliced bread + cheese
One can of basic tomato soup and one large can of kitchen-ready tomatoes. Blend it if your eaters want it smooth (like mine!) and a drizzle of milk or cream at the end and it will be perfect. Add anything you like to the grilled cheese. Cut into sticks for easy dipping if you’re feeling fancy.

The Three Bite Rule - French Grilled Cheese

2. Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Biscuits/Crescents
Rotisserie chicken + ranch dressing + bacon + tube of biscuits or crescents
serve with salad/veggies with more ranch
Chicken, bacon and ranch can take a bunch of formats – as crescents, they’ll assemble & go into the oven. The last time we had them, I tossed the shredded chicken in ranch and put onto biscuits like a sandwich. The kids were both into it! Or serve as loaded fries. Or make a Greek turnover.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Turnovers

3. Pizza Beans
2 cans of white beans + tomato sauce + cheese + any other pizza toppings you like
We have pizza beans regularly – anyone can top as they’d like and it comes together in 10 minutes. These are a good way to use some small amounts of ingredients or sauce from the freezer. Or give a Mexican twist for Taco Beans!

The Three Bite Rule - Pizza Beans

4. Corn Quesadillas in Herb Butter
Tortillas + corn + butter + herbs
These corn and cilantro butter quesadillas are so good and anything added to a quesadilla will turn dinner into a meal. Swap the corn for black beans or butternut squash or mushrooms or chorizo, or any-thing. Serve with black beans or corn (whichever isn’t inside!) and poof! Dinner!

The Three Bite Rule - Corn Quesadilla in Cilantro Butter

5. Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Popcorn chicken + pasta + blue cheese or ranch dressing + hot sauce + greens
I most often have this buffalo chicken pasta as a cold salad but it’s fun hot too! Use crispy chicken or rotisserie chicken. I go with arugula but spinach works too!

The Three Bite Rule - Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

Need one extra? Breakfast for dinner is perfect. Pigs in Sleeping bags (maple sausage in crescents) is a hit here and pairs well with some eggs.

Fed is best, regardless of what’s on the menu in a busy season. You’ve got this.