My Amazing Greek Meal !!!!!

So for dinner, I let myself go, and the result was an amazing greek meal that I really enjoyed (as did the guys) So we had greek salad, chicken souvlaki with taziki sauce, rice, veg, hummus and pita. yyyyyuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!

Greek Salad

VE Greek salad dressing (recipe from the side of the dressing mix bottle)
2 Tbsp Greek salad dressing mix
1/2 c olive oil
1/3 c red wine vinegar
Romaine lettuce clean and preped for salad
cucumber chopped rough
tomato sliced largish
red/yellow/orange/green pepper chopped
red onion
feta
black olives

or whatever you have in your fridge for salad

Toss lettuce and veg, olives and feta with dressing

Chicken Souvlaki (from the VE Greek with Gusto recipe selection cookbook)

1/4 c VE Chicken stock
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp VE Greek Seasoning
1 Tbsp VE Souvlaki Seasoning
4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into strips or cubes
baboo skewers, pre-soaked to prevent scorching

1. wisk the first 5 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
2. add chicken and toss to coat. Can be marinated in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 12 hrs.
3. Thread chicken on skewer (with red/yellow/orange/green peppers) Grill over medium heat - we BBQ'ed them.

Tzaziki Sauce (on the side of the Tzaziki seasoning mix jar)

1 C plain (thick) yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp VE Tzaziki Seasoning
1/2 c grated cucumbers - drained
VE sea salt to taste

mix all together in bowl and let stand 1/2 hour before serving.

Hummus (from the side of the dip mix jar)

1 can (19 oz) chickpeas
2 - 3 Tbsp VE Hummus dip mix
3 Tbsp each hot water, lemon juice and olive oil
1/4 c tahini optional - I usually add this but was out tonight - I missed it.

Mix it all up in a food processor and let stand for 1/2 hour before serving with pita.


I also served rice and steamed mixed veg (green and yellow beans and carrots with some peas thrown in for good measure)

All easy and super tasty!!!

Tzatziki Salmon

Okay, here it is - my first post!

Tzatziki Salmon

Mix 1 Tbsp margarine with 1 Tbsp white flour in a glass measuring cup.
Heat in microwave until melted, stir and heat again to cook a little.
Add 1 cup milk, and 1 tsp Epicure Tzaziki dip mix, and salt to taste (not a lot). Stir well and nuke again for about 2 minutes, whisking from time to time.
When it has thickened, almost boiling, remove and pour over salmon fillets in a glass baking dish.
Microwave for ten minutes if thawed, 20 if frozen, or bake in a 400F oven a similar amount of time.
Serve with rice (parboiled, with 1/2 tsp of Louisiana Hot'n'Spicy dip mix) and steamed broccoli.

A family favourite.

Greek Pasta

This one is similar to my earlier all-oval meal with mushrooms. Instead, I replaced the mushrooms with black olives, ditched the garlic, and had feta instead of Parmesan cheese. Also, I cut things in half, so it wasn't quite as oval.

Some black olives cut in half
Some grape tomatoes cut in half
Olive oil
Feta Cheese
Pasta

Cook in olives and tomatoes in olive oil. Toss with pasta, and add feta at the end. Pretty simple, though possibly more advanced than bachelor chow.

I Think I've Killed My Tastebuds

Everything tastes really bland to me lately. I bought this ground lamb a while back with some vague idea about Shepherds Pie but it sat in the back of my freezer until the Epicure Greek With Gusto cookbook came along.

Gyro Burgers with Tzaziki

Made the tzaziki the night before with a grated and drained cucumber, about 2 cups of Balkan yogurt and a couple or three tablespoons of Epicure Tzaziki Dip Mix. Even this seemed a little bland to me, I added a little more tonight and I'll see how it tastes in the morning. Anyway, on to the burgers.

1 cup soft white breadcrumbs (I ran a crusty roll through the food processor)
2 T lemon juice
2 T water
2 tsp VE Hummus Dip Mix
1 tsp VE Lamb Seasoning
1 T VE Toasted Onion (I used a quarter of a red onion chopped up).
1/2 t VE Cinnamon (I used Non-VE Cinnamon)
1 lb lean ground lamb

These are supposed to be served in pita pockets with tomato and red onion. I served them on crusty buns topped with Tzaziki and chopped tomato. I totally forgot about the onion.

Oh yeah, my FGF moment was when I thought to chop up a bunch of feta and stuff it into the middle of the burger before putting them in the George Foreman Grill (yeah, really. Hey, I live in an apartment, I can't have a barbecue!).

Final vote? I would make them again. I think with a little tweaking, this might be a damned fine little meal.

Hot Greek Dip

I know, I know, it just sounds dirty. It was Hors d'oeuvres Night in the apartment (a somewhat impromptu feast that occurs when all the stars are in the right alignment.) This was one of the Epicure recipes from Erin's party. I'm going to have to get a hold of some of the spices because I liked it and Meag ate about a cup and a half of it with pita bread wedges and Wheat Snacks (see above, the best cracker that I've ever tasted. It's so tasty that I'm afraid to look at the nutritional information.)

Hot Greek Dip

1 package cream cheese
1 cup mayo
1 cup feta
2 tsp VE Tapanade
1/4 cup olives
1/2 T each of VE Red Bell Peppers, VE Green Bell Peppers, VE Minced Garlic, VE Toasted Onion.

Put it all in the food processor. Microwave or put in the over at 350 F for 20 to 30 or bubbly.

Okay, I used the Tapanade seasoning and the dried onion because Erin had some but instead of the dehydrated peppers and garlic I used about a tablespoon of minced garlic and I threw in some roasted red pepper. I also kept the cover on the casserole dish while it was in the oven.