Greek Greens and Sweet Onion Pie

 A couple of weeks ago, my 10 year old son could not stop saying "I like Pie!".  He said it after almost every sentence. He sang it.  He yelled it.  He repeated it over and over.    He said a couple of friends at school had decided that was their new catch phrase.   The only problem was, he didn't really like pie.  Or at least he thought he didn't like pie.    


After hearing "I like Pie!" a million times at least, I decided that he was going to learn to love pie.  I declared that we would be having Pie Week, where we would eat all sorts of different pies.  Pie for breakfast.  Pie for lunch.  Pie for dinner.  Sweet pie, savory pie.  Any and every kind of pie we could come up with.  I started researching pie recipes and set the menu for the week.  He wasn't too excited to begin with.

This was the first pie we had for dinner.  It has a phyllo dough crust and a filling of swiss chard, spinach, and onion.  It was reminiscent of spanakopita, but mostly greens with a little bit of crust.  We eat swiss chard and spinach all the time, so I didn't have a hard time convincing anyone to eat this for dinner.  It was good and a fun way to start out our pie adventure. 




Greek Greens and Sweet Onion Pie from Cooking Light

• 2 quarts water
• 12 cups torn Swiss chard (about 3/4 pound)
• 8 cups torn spinach (about 1/2 pound)
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 10 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add the chard and spinach; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Place chard mixture on several layers of paper towels; squeeze until barely moist.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add chard mixture, dill, and parsley, stirring well to combine. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat. Combine chard mixture, cheese, eggs, and egg whites, tossing well to combine. Stir in pepper and salt.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board or work surface (cover remaining dough to prevent drying); lightly coat phyllo sheet with cooking spray. Place phyllo sheet in a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray, allowing edges to overlap plate rim. Repeat the procedure with 6 additional phyllo sheets, placing sheets in a crisscross design. Spoon the spinach mixture over phyllo. Lightly coat each of remaining 3 phyllo sheets with cooking spray, and place sheets over spinach mixture in a crisscross design. Roll excess phyllo into the dish to create a decorative edge; press lightly to hold. Cut 4 (2-inch) slits in top of pie; cover with foil. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden.

Cut pie into 8 wedges.

Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers

I always have the hardest time planning a menu when someone is coming over for dinner.  I know I have mentioned this before, but I go back and forth between a million different things and it is enough to drive a person crazy!  We were having some friends over for dinner and I somehow finally decided to make these stuffed peppers.  They caught my eye because they had a different filling than other stuffed pepper recipes that I have seen and I thought they would be part of a fun meal.  

I'm not sure if I like prepping the actual peppers in the microwave, but I followed the recipe and did it anyway.   I'm not really sure if this filling was the best thing to put in a bell pepper, because these were very hard to eat.  They were good, but it was very messy and took a lot of effort to get a bite that had part of the pepper as well as the filling.  Luckily our dinner guests were good sports and they didn't seem to mind too much. 

 The filling was very good and would make a great dish by itself, maybe with some chopped red bell pepper added to the mix.  

Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers adapted from Family Circle magazine

6 medium-size sweet red bell peppers

1 cup whole wheat Israeli couscous

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 seedless cucumber, chopped

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

3 large scallions, trimmed and chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Prepare couscous according to package directions.

2. Trim about 1/2-inch off the tops of the bell peppers. Seed and core peppers.

Place the peppers cut side down in a microwave safe glass baking dish. Pour in 1/2 cup water and cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap, venting one corner. Microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Remove peppers from dish and set aside.

3. In a large bowl combine cooked couscous, chickpeas, cucumber, feta, scallions and parsley.

Add lemon juice and olive oil. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Stuff peppers with an equal amount of couscous mixture, about a scant cup in each. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Mini Key Lime Pies and a Great Summer Lunch Menu

A couple of months ago I was asked to cater a luncheon for the Department Head of one of the schools at UGA. When I started planning my menu, I decided what dessert I wanted to make first and then planned the rest of the menu around that. I saw these adorable Mini Key Lime Pies and I knew they would be the perfect summer treat and a great way to end any summer lunch.
The main dish was this delicious salad which I have made many times before and since this event. It is one of the best tasting salads and I love the cute presentation of each individual serving in mason jars.


I can't ever go wrong with the simple roasted shrimp that my family loves, so I added that to the menu as well.
The last thing I made was this wonderful Red Lentil dip that is served with pita chips. I remember when I first made it a couple years ago and it is seriously one of the best dips ever invented.
The luncheon was an overwhelming success and I got wonderful, positive feedback. It was so much fun to organize, put together and present this meal. I love making delicious food and sharing it with other people.

Here is the recipe for Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-eyed Peas from epicurious (I made it exactly as the recipes states this time) and here is my adaptation when I made it last time

Here is the basic recipe for the Roasted Shrimp, this time I added a little Greek Seasoning to the shrimp and roasted them at 450 degrees for 7 minutes

Here is the recipe for Garlicky Red Lentil Dal with my changes, originally from Cooking Light

Here is the recipe for Mini Key Lime Pies as seen on Plum Pie
* I doubled the recipe for the crust and made 8 mini pies
*I made a sweetened whipped cream topping, but not with rum- just vanilla and powdered sugar

Eggplant Burgers with Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

Aggie shared this recipe on her Facebook page a few weeks ago and as soon as I saw the recipe, I knew I would be making these for dinner asap. I had picked a couple of eggplant from my garden the day before and couldn't wait to serve these up for dinner.

The burgers contain eggplant in 2 ways- steamed cubes and shredded. A few other ingredients are mixed in and then they are ready to cook.
They are topped with a delicious homemade tzatziki sauce and Aggie suggested serving them on toasted english muffins. I was happy to add a slice of homegrown tomato. Nothing beats a tomato from the garden!

These were a huge hit with my daughters. My 4-year old gobbled hers down and was the first one finished. My son was not a huge fan, but he doesn't really care for eggplant in any way. He still finished his though. I was glad that there was one burger leftover for me to have for lunch the next day!

Here is the recipe for Eggplant Burgers

Here is the recipe for Tzatziki Sauce

Shaved Fennel Salad

Fennel is something that I am really beginning to love. I avoided it for many years because I knew that it had anise/black licorice flavor, but when I first tried it raw in a salad last year, I discovered that it is really delicious, and that the anise flavor is not very pronounced.

When my brother and sister were here we needed a quick salad to enjoy after church. This one fit the bill. Lots of yummy veggies and flavors and the only prep work is slicing a few things.
I added more arugula than the recipe called for, to make sure that this salad would last a couple of days.

It is delicious that day it is made, but it is so good a few days later. I topped it with some canned tuna a few days after my siblings went home and my kids loved it that way. I have made this salad 3 times in the past few weeks because it is so great in the summer time.


Here is the recipe for Shaved Fennel Salad from 101 Cookbooks
* I added some thinly sliced celery
* I used almonds instead of pine nuts
* I didn't measure my lemon juice or olive oil- I just adjusted it by taste
* I added more arugula than called for

Shaved Summer Squash Salad with Crisp Pancetta

I've got summer squash (otherwise known as yellow squash and/or crookneck squash) and zucchini coming out of my ears! Last week alone we picked over 20 zucchini/summer squash from our plants. It's really fun to go out in the morning and see how many there are waiting to be picked and once in awhile to find one that somehow stayed out of sight until it was huge!

Anyway, the whole point is, I have a ton of these green and yellow guys and have been trying lots of different recipes to use them.

This has got to be one of the most delicious ways that I have had summer squash. This salad takes moments to fix and it is amazingly amazing. It is so simple, yet so good.
The summer squash and zucchini are shaved with a vegetable peeler into thin strips and combined with a simple dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, fresh mint, salt and pepper.
Add a little pancetta- which I used because I like it better than prosciutto, and top it with some feta. Delish and ready in minutes, without slaving away in the kitchen on a hot summer day.
Perfection!!


Here is the recipe for Shaved Summer Squash Salad with Prosciutto Crisps
* I used cubed pancetta instead of prosciutto
* I used feta cheese

Spiced Turkey Burgers

So its been about 6 weeks since my Dad started my garden for me. I have been watering and weeding and watching in amazement as the veggies have grown so quickly. So many of my veggies are doing great and when I made these little burgers, we were able to use some of the green leaf lettuce from our own garden to make little wraps! So fun and exciting to harvest your own produce.

I don't know how I found this recipe, but I had a little feta in the fridge and these little patties can be made ahead, so they were the perfect thing to mix up before church and grill as soon as we walked in the door. I used my indoor grill and we were eating lunch within about 15 minutes.
These burgers were flavorful and juicy. I made them into smaller patties, so that we could have wrap them in lettuce leaves. Fun and delicious!


Here is the recipe for Spiced Turkey Burgers from Pinch My Salt
* I used fresh dill, fresh oregano, and fresh Italian parsley
* I omitted the olives
* I made 12 small patties instead of just 6

Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-Eyed Peas

So many things are going on in life right now. We have had a 24 hour stomach bug that is making it's way through our family. The third child had it this morning and had to be checked out of school. Fun times all around! Cross your fingers that it skips over the parents!

Anyway, I wanted to share this salad really quickly. This was something that I saw on epicurious and I thought it was so cute because they served it in little mason jars.
Greek salad is a serious favorite around here and I loved this take with black-eyed peas. I made a couple of changes to the recipe which are noted below.

This salad turned out really great. The first night I served it on top of romaine. There were enough leftovers that a few nights later I mixed in a can of tuna and a little more lemon juice and we were able to eat it again. Very good. I have to say that the peperoncini really made this delicious. They are definitely becoming a favorite of mine.

Recipe for Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-Eyed Peas
* I reduced the amount of feta cheese
* I used black olives instead of kalamata
*I omitted the red onion
*I didn't mix the tomatoes into the salad because some people don't care for them. I placed them on top for those of us who do like them

Turkey-Hummus Sliders

I saw this recipe in Food Network Magazine and thought it was such a fun idea. It was an out-of the ordinary way to use hummus (hummus is mixed into the ground turkey mixture) and perfect for little hands.

I can usually always find mini whole wheat pitas at my local grocery store, but as soon as I put these sliders on the menu, the mini pitas were nowhere to be found. At first I thought I would just turn this into a pita creation, putting all the ingredients into a pita half and eating it that way, but that kinda takes away the fun and cute part of this slider.

So, I just got full size whole wheat pitas and cut out small circles with a biscuit cutter, making sure that I kept the closed edge at the bottom, so the two sides would still stay together. It may not be as cute as the original idea, but it worked!

My husband really raved about this one, which kinda surprised me. (I left the tomato slice off of his). He loved the combination of the pita, hummus, little burger and the cucumber-feta mixture. He said it tasted great and reminded him of something that would be served in a restaurant. My kids really liked it too.

I think it is essential that all the parts of this slider be served together. I don't think that it would taste as good with just the sliders. The cucumber-feta mixture, whole wheat pita, and hummus spread on the bottom of the pita are must-dos. All of the components work together to make this a really tasty, bite-size winner of a meal/snack.

Recipe for Turkey-Hummus Sliders From Food Network Magazine
* I used 94% lean ground turkey
* I used roasted red pepper hummus
* I used dried oregano in the feta-cucumber mixture because I didn't have dried mint
* I used less oil to cook my sliders

Greek Night- 2 dips, soup, salad, appetizer, main dish, drink and dessert

A couple of weeks ago my son studied Ancient Greece at school. He had multiple options for his final project and we decided to have a "Greek Cafe" as part of the experience.

When I was a kid, I used to love to do restaurants to surprise my dad when he would come home from work, so I knew this would be really fun for all of us.
The kids dressed up and placed all the appropriate signs annoucing our cafe. The cutest part was how they thought that someone driving down our street might just be hungry and stop in to join us.
My son made the signs and came up with the name for our cafe. I asked for his input on the menu and spent the afternoon getting all the dishes ready for our Greek Night.

We started with a drink called "The Greek Lantern". I have absolutely no idea if it is really a Greek drink, but it sounded really interesting, combining a large amount of fresh parsley leaves, lime juice, lime zest, club soda, water and ice. It actually was quite refreshing and surprisingly yummy.
Next we had a Roasted Red Pepper with Feta dip and Lemony-Garlic Hummus with homemade pita chips. Both of these were really good, although the red pepper one was deemed "spicy" by my youngest child.

Then we had mini spanakopita, which were really delicious and not as time consuming as I thought they would be.
The soup was everybody's favorite. I have had it at Greek restaurants before and it was very simple to recreate at home. It is called Avgolemono Soup- which just means Egg, Lemon and Rice soup. You have to temper eggs to make it, but boy was it delicious. My kids loved it.
I made a light version of Baklava that I found from Cooking Light. It was also much easier than I thought it was going to be to make. It turned out good, but was quite sweet, so could only be enjoyed in small portions. I actually had some leftover baklava mixed into this lemon ice cream a few days later and that was an amazing dessert.

What Greek menu would be complete without some sort of Greek salad? I actually made 2 versions of this salad since we have two people in our house who don't like tomatoes. The second version I made with chopped red pepper to replace the tomato. These leftovers were delicious on a green salad and also in a pita sandwich.
We had Chicken Souvlaki skewers, which my son loved. The Tzatziki sauce that went along with this was my youngest child's favorite thing. She was eating it plain and dipping all sorts of veggies in it.

Here's a closer look at the Baklava. We had lots of fun on Greek Night!

The Greek Lantern

Ingredients

• 1 cup (packed) Parsley Sprigs
• ½ tsp Lime Zest, grated
• 1 cup Cold Water
• ½ cup Fresh Lime Juice
• ½ cup Sugar
• 1 (10 ounce) bottle Club Soda

Instructions

• Blend all the ingredients, except club soda, in a blender, for about one minute.
• Take a large glass measure and strain the preparation through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Put ice into tall glasses and pour the prepared drink.
• Top with club soda and serve

Lemony-Garlic Hummus

Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

2 16 oz cans of chickpeas (Bush’s is my canned bean of choice!)
1/2 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
juice and zest from 3 lemons
3 TB tahini
4 cloves garlic, crushed
big pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper
5 TB olive oil

Combine first 6 ingredients into bowl of food processor. Blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Slowly stream in olive oil until combined and smooth. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Serve with fresh cut veggies, crackers, chips, pita chips or crostini for a nice appetizer platter.

Note: this recipe makes a large batch. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to a week.

Recipe for Roasted Red Pepper with Feta Dip


Recipe for Greek Salad
* I drastically reduced the amount of olive oil and feta cheese that this recipe called for. I just drizzled the mixture with a little olive oil and then used more lemon juice. I only added a couple of oz of feta cheese.


Recipe for Mini-Spanakopitas
* the egg white/olive oil mixture they said to brush the phyllo dough with, didn't work for me.
I used cooking spray instead.

Recipe for Avgolemono Soupo (Egg, Lemon, and Rice Soup)

Recipe for Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce
* I used greek yogurt

Recipe for Baklava with Wildflower Honey
* I used orange blossom honey

Soba Salad with Feta and Peas

I came across this recipe somehow, when I was looking at one of my favorite blogs, The Way the Cookie Crumbles. I kept it in the back of my mind for a night that would require a fast dinner.
We enjoyed this when my sister was here visiting with her kids. I threw it together after a long day of swimming and playing and all the kids were really happy about eating it.

I didn't get a great picture, but once again, with that many hungry mouths to feed it makes doing so very difficult.

I don't use frozen peas very often, but they went really well with the soba noodles in this dish. The soba noodles are dressed with a simple lemon juice & olive oil mixture, that also contains a dash of soy sauce. It makes for a great combination.

The best thing about this recipe was how quickly it came together and at the same time, it was very flavorful and delicious.
Recipe for Soba Salad with Feta and Peas
* I used less olive oil than the recipe called for

Roasted Eggplant Salad

My sister was here visiting this past week and we were able to share some dinners together.
We both love eggplant, so I saved these recipes that I had spotted a couple of weeks earlier, for her visit.

Preparing dinner for starving children doesn't provide the best opportunity for taking photos, so excuse the bad picture of this one. Don't let it stop you from trying this recipe.

This particular night, we had this delicious eggplant salad over quinoa and steamed broccoli and cauliflower on the side.
We had 6 hungry kids between the 2 of us and everyone enjoyed this yummy salad.

Eggplant is one of my favorite things to roast in the oven. It takes on whatever flavor you want it too and it becomes brown, crunchy on the edges and melt-in-your-mouth smooth, all at the same time.

There were three salad variations that went along with the basic roasted eggplant and this time we went with the chickpea & feta version. I threw in some halved cherry tomatoes because tomatoes go well with the other ingredients and then I snipped some fresh herbs from outside my front door and added them to the mix.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

Recipe for Basic Roasted Eggplant
* I used less oil

Recipe for Eggplant Salad with Chickpeas and Feta
* I used less oil and less feta than the recipe called for
* I added halved cherry tomatoes
* I added equal amounts of Italian parsley, mint and basil

Beet Carpaccio

I absolutely love going to the Farmer's Market.
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get one of the participants' last bunch of chioggia beets. I was so excited, I could hardly stand it.
It was the day before father's day, so I knew that I would be working these beets into the menu somehow.

I love beets cold or warm, raw or cooked, so I was looking for a interesting, new way to serve them.
I don't remember exactly how I found this recipe for Beet Carpaccio, but it looked delicious and I knew it would be a fun way to enjoy our beautiful beets.
This dish has you boil the beets until slightly tender, then the beets are thinly sliced and layered on toasted baguette slices. Cheese, herbs and olive oil are sprinkled/drizzled on top to finish them off.

I used feta cheese instead of blue cheese since that is what I had in my fridge and I knew that beets taste really good with feta.
I also used fresh thyme as the herb for seasoning.

This turned out to be a beautiful and very yummy appetizer. A perfect choice.

(Carpaccio refers to the slicing the beets thinly in this dish. Traditionally carpaccio is a dish of raw meat or fish, thinly sliced, but it is sometimes seen now to mean thinly sliced, and can be used to describe fruits, vegetables, etc.)



Recipe for Beet Carpaccio
* I used fresh thyme to top my beets
* I used feta cheese instead of blue cheese

Watermelon-Cucumber Salad

Watermelon. There is nothing better.
I love it so much. It might be a big part of the reason that summer is my favorite season.

I discovered a yellow watermelon and decided to try it in this salad, along with a red one.

I found the recipe in The Food Network Magazine and thought it would be a beautiful + delicious side dish to round out our Father's Day feast.

I really like the ingredients in this salad. Watermelon, cucumber, cashews, feta, lemon juice, mint. They all come together and make a very tasty combination. The sweetness of the watermelon is balanced by the crunch and salty flavors that the other ingredients add.

Other family members weren't so sure about this salad. Some people in my family are a little bit fussy about mixing certain foods, but everyone gave it a try and it was victorious in a couple of mouths.

I was fine with it not being the most popular dish of the day because that just meant that I got to enjoy the leftovers a different day.

Recipe for Watermelon-Cucumber Salad
* I reduced the amount of red onion
* I reduced the amount of olive oil to 1 Tbls
* I used feta cheese instead of goat cheese

Couscous with Swiss Chard, Raisins, and Feta

I think swiss chard is my favorite vegetable right now. I love the flavor of the leaves and stems.
The color is so pretty too.
I saw this recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine and immediately tore it out. I knew it would be delicious just by looking at the combination of ingredients. Dark greens, beans, pasta and a little cheese- great meal right there.

This was the first time that I have ever cooked Israeli couscous, which I found in the bulk section of Earthfare. It is just a little bit larger than normal couscous, but I think I like it better.

I was unsure how my family would react to the golden raisins in this dish, but they really complimented the other flavors and textures, adding just the right amount of sweet.
My husband was really curious as to what they were, but once I told them he just kept on eating.

This is definitely my favorite type of dinner-lots of fabulous ingredients combined in a simple, delicious way.

Recipe for Couscous with Swiss Chard, Raisins, and Feta

Greek Meatballs and Greek Roasted Vegetables

I first made this meal last summer. I had clipped the recipe for the roasted vegetables out of Family Circle Magazine and decided to make meatballs to round out the meal.
I had some ground turkey and I just added ingredients that I thought would make a tasty meatball and hoped for the best.

They turned out great and everyone was very excited about this dinner. I quickly wrote down the estimates of what I used for the meatballs, so I could make them again because I didn't take a picture of them that first time we ate them.

I don't like repeating recipes over and over again, because I like to try new things all the time, but I knew that I wanted to make this particular meal again sometime.
I recently made the meatballs and roasted vegetables again, this time using ground turkey breast for the meatballs and the results were great.

The key to keeping the meatballs moist is browning them first in a little bit of oil, then adding liquid- I prefer chicken broth- and then covering them, to let them cook completely.

I really love the combination of eggplant, green pepper, and red potatoes, that the recipe uses in the roasted vegetables. Chickpeas are added to these veggies, near the end of the roasting time and really enhance the whole dish. Top it off with fresh lemon juice, fresh herbs and a little feta, and you have got a real winner.

Both times that I have made this meal, I have prepared the veggies first, and started roasting them, then made the meatballs while the veggies are in the oven. That way everything is ready at about the same time.


Greek Meatballs by Mary Ann
20 oz ground turkey, 93% lean or ground turkey breast
1 egg
2-3 oz feta cheese crumbles, flavored with basil and tomato
1 1/2 Tbls chopped fresh oregano
3 Tbls chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
garlic powder
salt
black pepper
2 Tbls skim milk

Mix all meatball ingredients with a fork.
Form meat mixture into balls about the size of golf balls.
Heat 1 Tbls olive oil in a saute pan over med-high heat. Add 1/2 of the meatballs and brown on all sides. Add 1/3 cup chicken broth or water. cover with a lid and cook until meat is no longer pink in the middle, about 6-8 minutes.
Repeat with remaining meatballs.

Greek-style Roasted Vegetables adapted from Family Circle magazine

• 1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
• 2 small eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch half-moons
• 1 medium-size sweet onion, sliced
• 1 medium-size green bell pepper, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint
• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degree F. In a large roasting pan, toss together the potatoes, eggplants, onion, green pepper, 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the garlic salt and pepper. Peel off the lemon zest with a peeler and add to mixture. Reserve lemon. Roast vegetables at 425 degree F for 30 minutes, stirring twice.

2. Add chickpeas and roast an additional 15 minutes.

3. Stir in juice from lemon, oregano and mint. Top with feta crumbles.