Turkish Shepherd Salad, by Diane

This was AMAZING and I cannot believe how simple it was to make! I found this recipe from Zestful Kitchen and although I could not find the urfa pepper it was awesome without it. I made it for some Greek hummus bowls, but wound up eating it on it's own because it was that good! I also think this would be good with chicken. YUM!

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

1 english cucumber, diced

red and yellow grape tomatoes, halved

1 anaheim pepper, diced (I omitted this)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3 tbsp chopped mint

2 tbsp chopped dill

1.5 tsp sumac

1 tsp urfa pepper (can sub aleppo pepper)

1/2 cup cubed feta cheese

3 tbsp EVOO

1 lemon, juiced

kosher salt

Directions:

Mix all and combine, adjust to taste. 

Juicy Oven-baked Kebabs, by Diane

 

This recipe came from Simple Home Edit but I've been seeing it trending online for a while. Apparently this is an easy and legit way to make kubideh, my favorite Persian kabobs! This could not have been any easier to make, and while I think I'd adjust the spices a bit next time this was so juicy and amazing served with my Tzatziki sauce! Yum. 

Although I scored the beef as instructed it still came out in one layer, which was fine as I just recut them once cooled. Also, the recipe called to brush the beef with 2 tbsp EVOO before cooking which I forgot but it definitely didn't need this so it's omitted below. Finally, when I took the kebabs out of the oven they were in a pool of juice, but in one minute flat it was completely reabsorbed- so don't drain these!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef or lamb (I used beef this time)

1/2 yellow onion, grated

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp sweet paprika

1 tsp chili flakes

1 tsp Balti seasoning (this adds some dimension but can be skipped if not found)

2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

1/2 tsp baking soda

Sumac Onions: 1 small red onion (I used the other half of the white onion), 1.5 tbsp sumac, 1/2 lemon juiced, 1 tsp EVOO, 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and preheat oven to 425. 

2. Mix all the kebab ingredients together until firmly held, then spread onto the baking tray in an even layer. Try to make it into a rectangle shape so all the kebabs are the same size. (if short on time you can put onion, garlic and parsley into a food processor until finely chopped)

3. Cut the kebabs into 1 inch wide strips down to the parchment paper vertically, then score horizontally just about halfway through to make the kebabs cook more evenly.

4. Cook for 15 minutes, remove and let cool. The juices should reabsorb here and it will come out nice and juicy!

5. For air fryer: Make into 9 meatballs and cook at 400 for 12 min, flip and cook another 4 or so until internal temp is 145-150.

Tzatziki Sauce, by Diane

 

This recipe comes from Love and Lemons, and I adjusted some things a bit (including throwing everything into a food processor rather than grating or mincing). I wouldn't change a thing because this was outstanding and I could like this off a shoe!! I made this to go with my sheet pan kebabs, and it was SO good together. It whips up super quick, too! 

Ingredients:

1/2 cucumber, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 cup full fat plain greek yogurt

1/2 lemon, squeezed (about 1 tbsp fresh juice)

1/2 tbsp EVOO

2 garlic cloves

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp dill mix (or 1 tbsp fresh dill)

1 tbsp fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

Add everything to a food processor and whiz until combined and still chunky. 

Greek Style Layered Meat and Potatoes, by Diane

This week's dinners for week 2 of Whole30 was also found on Instagram from @thenourishinghome. Instead of using a traditional meat sauce, I used my recipe (well, our Greek friend's recipe) for Greek Meat Sauce because I have had a traditional Greek dish similar to this as a version of moussaka with potatoes instead of eggplant and I loved it. Also, this sauce could be served in a shoe and I would still eat it all, so really you can't go wrong with it. I used a mandolin for slicing the potatoes which made this come together fairly quickly. THIS WAS AWESOME. Just a good, hearty, awesome can't wait for leftovers kinda meal. Like if Cheryl and I still lived close by and had another round of Best Of this would be the entree. Make it!!

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups meaty marinara sauce
8-10 medium Yukon gold potatoes
Dried parsley, garlic powder and sea salt for sprinkling
Extra virgin olive oil


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 9"x9" baking dish (I used a 9x13). Set aside.

2. Thinly slice the potatoes using a food processor with slicing blade attachment, or carefully use a mandoline.

3. Add 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce to the bottom of the baking dish. Layer with potato slices in a single layer with the edges overlapping.

4. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt, dried parsley and garlic powder. Repeat these steps (sauce, potatoes, seasonings) to form a total of 3 layers, making sure to sprinkle each layer of potatoes with seasonings.

5. Lightly brush olive oil evenly across the final (top) layer of potato slices. Then lightly sprinkle with the seasonings.

6. Bake uncovered about 55-65 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Lamb Giouvetsi, by Cheryl and Diane

We made this as our main course for the menu meal, and we thought it was just pretty good! This dish was inspired by a recent meal Cheryl and I had at a new Mediterranean restaurant, and we knew we wanted to recreate it! We found this recipe and converted the pork to lamb. It would have been greatly improved if we had tasted it before putting it into the oven, and had cooked it for less time because ours got a bit dried out (however, we were dealing with two other dishes and two small children and thus forgot to cover it with foil in the oven, so maybe that's why!!). It made the house smell delicious though!


Ingredients:

Olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 big onion
1 lb lamb (stew meat works best here, cut into bite sized pieces)
Salt and pepper
½ bottle red wine
2 bay leaves
1 clove (or one pinch ground cloves)
1 ½ oz canned chopped tomatoes
1 lb Greek pasta (orzo)
½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup warm chicken stock

Directions:

1. Over medium high heat, add the olive oil to a pan. Add in the garlic and onion, cook for 4-5 minutes.

2. Add in the lamb, salt and pepper and sear each side about 4-5 minutes.

3. Add in 1/2 of the red wine (1/4 of the bottle), bay leaves, and cloves. Cook for 1 minute.

4. Add in the chopped tomatoes, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for one hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 (we think 350 might have been better here). Check the mixture for taste, and adjust seasonings. The pasta will absorb a lot of flavor so make sure to add in some extra!

6. Add in the cinnamon, chicken stock, and orzo and stir well. Transfer into a baking dish and bake for another hour, covered with foil. You want the end result to be a thick tomato sauce so watch it in the oven!

Spanakopita (Greece), by Cheryl

As you can see I had trouble. But the middle one looks good! 

Mmm... these were quite tasty. But I do have to say that I refuse to work with phyllo dough for a very very long time. What a pain, haha. If I ever do make these again I will use more layers than just one when folding the triangles. I did this for a few at the end because I was frustrated and they turned out better than my earlier tries. Nonetheless, they were really tasty and if someone else folds them then I will gladly make them again! Yum!

Ingredients (recipe from the Food Network :

1/3 cup olive oil
2 pounds spinach, drained and washed (I did half kale, half spinach)
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 sticks butter, melted (didn't use anywhere close to that, maybe 1/4 stick?)
filo pastry sheets

Directions:

1) Heat some oil in a pan and saute spinach until it wilts. Remove spinach and get rid of excess water. Chop roughly.

2) Cook scallions with a tablespoon of oil, and saute until soft, maybe 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach, parsley, salt, and pepper, and cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

3) Stir the feta and as much of the beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture.

4) Preheat the oven to 350. Brush a baking sheet with some melted butter.

5) Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.

6) Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot. 

Greek Meat Sauce, by Diane

We have family friends who are Greek and own a thriving Greek restaurant in Maryland, and one of the things they make best is this Greek meat sauce. It's the same idea as spaghetti sauce except the awesome anti-inflammatory spices cinnamon and cloves or allspice, as well as bay leaf, onions, and garlic. It is delicious over pasta, polenta, or rice! It's very easy to make as well. You can also make this more authentic by using a beef roast that is slow cooked and shredded in the sauce rather than ground beef as I used. I used WAY more of the spices than listed below, but these are good places to start.


Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz tomato sauce
1/2-1 cup beef broth
2 bay leaves
2-3 tsp cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp allspice or cloves
1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Brown the beef in a sauce pot with the onion and garlic. Drain.

2. Add beef mixture back to the pot, and stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes. The longer it simmers the better it gets!

*to use a beef roast, sear it on all sides in a pan then add it to a crockpot with the remaining ingredients except use only 15 oz tomato sauce and 2 cups beef broth.

Baba Ganoush, by Cheryl

I had some leftover eggplant, plus all of the ingredients for falafels so why not make baba ganoush to accompany my Greek feast! This is a really easy recipe... actually, I was surprised at how easy this is. There's a little kick from the tahini and it goes really well with the falafels, pita bread, and tzatziki sauce. I've modified the original recipe which came from here. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
1/4 cup tahini, plus more if needed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pinch ground cumin
salt
1 tablespoon EVOO
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice


Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375. Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places. Bake the eggplant for about 20 - 25 minutes.

2) Remove from oven, let cool slightly, then peel off and discard the skin (surprisingly very easy!)

3) Place eggplant flesh in a bowl and mash with a fork.

4) Add the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and cumin, and mix well.

5) Season with salt, then taste and add more tahini or lemon juice if needed.

6) Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl, and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well.

7) Drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley.

Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant, by Cheryl

This is such a delicious and healthy dish. The eggplant here is so tasty so I went searching for a recipe on Cooking Light's website and found this. When I told Jon what I was making for dinner he said, "Where's the rest of it?" But as he was eating it I knew it would be enough. The flavors of the vegetables make this a scrumptious meal, while the vegetables are quite filling. I've made it twice in one week already. Yum!

Ingredients (serves 6):

• 3 medium eggplants
• Cooking spray
• 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup dry white wine - I didn't use this and it came out fine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 6 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 medium summer squash, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
• Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell, and reserve pulp. Place eggplant halves, skin sides down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
3. Chop the reserved eggplant pulp into 1/2-inch pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add reserved eggplant to pan, and sauté 8 minutes or until eggplant begins to brown. Place eggplant in a bowl. 
4. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. 
5. Stir in red and green bell peppers and the next 7 ingredients (through squash); sauté 6 minutes. Return eggplant to pan. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and black pepper; sauté for 5 minutes. 
6. Remove from heat; stir in feta cheese and 1/4 cup panko. Cool slightly. Spoon about 1 cup eggplant mixture into each eggplant shell.
7. Combine remaining 1 cup panko, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle panko mixture evenly over stuffed eggplants. Lightly coat with cooking spray. 
8. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated and tops begin to brown. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Pita bread, by Cheryl

This post goes along with my falafel post. It's not hard to make these at all, but make sure you have a few hours in order to let the dough rise. The recipe says to let it sit for three hours, but I found that it takes about 1.5 hours. Heat control is important when cooking them. My oven isn't completely accurate so the first time I made the pita bread a lot of them came out too hard. The second time I made them I only kept them in for 3 minutes on one side and then one minute on the other instead of what the recipe calls for and they came out much better. It just depends on the oven and it takes practice to see what works best. This is where I found the recipe: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ss/howtomakepita.htm. It has step by step pictures with directions, which made it much easier. They are very good!!! Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Directions:

1) Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

2) Combine flour and salt in large bowl.

3) Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.

4) Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.

5) Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.

6) Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.

7) Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

8) Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.

9) Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.

10) Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.

11) Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

12) Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Falafels, by Cheryl

When I went to the mall with my friend we stopped for lunch in the food court. 8 out of 10 of the places served either pizza or pasta. We were in the mood for something else so we stopped at the Greek place. Ever since eating there I've had a strong craving for Greek food, which I would then have to make myself since there are no Greek restaurants here. I can't even find pita bread to buy! I decided to make these falafels with homemade pita bread (another post). These falafels were spectacular and I've already made them three times! If you like falafels then you have to try this recipe. Even if you're not sure if you like falafels or not, this recipe will convert you. The recipe is from allrecipes.com. Combined with pita bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, and tzaziki sauce (cucumber sauce - directions below) and you've got yourself quite a meal! Yum!

Falafel ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• oil for frying

Falafel directions:

1. In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
2. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
3. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides.

 Cucumber sauce ingredients:

• 1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Cucumber sauce directions: 

1) In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Chicken Souvlaki, by Diane

 

The latest Cooking Light recipe... I have been craving souvlaki since munching on it at the Acropolis in Athens. Now this recipe is NOTHING like the actual thing, but it looked like a decent and healthy substitute. I have to say after cooking it exactly as described in the magazine, I really did not like this dish. Maybe because I've had the real thing, because the rest of my family thought it was good. One thing that definitely would have made a difference was marinating the chicken, which the recipe does not call for. I found that the flavor of the chicken could have been a lot stronger, and marinating it would have definitely helped. I may try this again in the summer on the grill with grilled veggies too, but overall I'm sorry to say I was not too impressed.

Ingredients:

6  tablespoons  plain fat-free Greek yogurt
2  tablespoons  shredded cucumber
1 1/2  tablespoons  tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)
5  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice, divided
5  garlic cloves, minced
1  tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil
1  teaspoon  dried oregano
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
1  pound  skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooking spray
4  (6-inch) pitas, cut in half
1  cup  shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2  cup  thinly sliced red onion
16  (1/4-inch-thick) slices cucumber
16  (1/4-inch-thick) slices plum tomato

Directions:

1. Combine yogurt, shredded cucumber, tahini, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and garlic in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Combine remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, olive oil, and next 4 ingredients (through chicken) in a small bowl. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Thread chicken pieces evenly onto 4 (8-inch) skewers. Coat grill pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 10 minutes or until done, turning every 2 minutes. Remove chicken from skewers.
3. Divide chicken evenly among pita halves. Fill each pita half with 2 tablespoons lettuce, 1 tablespoon onion, 2 cucumber slices, 2 tomato slices, and 1 tablespoon sauce.