It’s been all Greek to me this week! I’ll be honest I don’t eat a lot of Greek food so when I was asked to come up with some original recipes, I really had to do some research. I also wanted recipes that are simple and without a million ingredients, but still had lots of flavor. This recipe did take a little bit of time and the Tzadziki sauce needs some time to come together in the fridge. I started with the sauce first and everything comes together very simply after that. This was a fresh and flavorful recipe that we really enjoyed. It was definitely a little different from my usual recipes, but very tasty!!
INGREDIENTS
Pizza dough (your recipe or store bought)
1/2 pound ground lamb
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Greek seasoning (found in the spice aisle)
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
4 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 sun dried tomatoes, diced
12 large green olives, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons thinly sliced red onion
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
One big handful of spinach/arugula mix
TZATZIKI SAUCE
1 cup plain Greek yogurt, drained
3 Tablespoons grated cucumber
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped dill
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Starting with the Tzatziki sauce, drain the yogurt. Once drained go ahead and add all of the other ingredients mix well and store in the fridge until ready to use.
For the lamb: in a large fry pan add the ground lamb breaking up as it cooks. When it’s about half way through cooking, drain the fat if needed and add minced garlic, lemon juice, Greek seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix well to combine and finish cooking through. Remove from heat.
Preheat your oven according to your pizza dough (mine baked at 425 degrees for 15 minutes). Spread out your pizza dough on a baking sheet or pizza pan.
In a medium bowl, add the chopped tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, green olives, garlic, red onion, olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes if using. Mix well and spread over your pizza dough. Top with your ground lamb mixture covering your pizza, top with the feta cheese and bake through until your pizza dough is cooked through and everything is warmed through. Remove from oven top with the spinach arugula mix and drizzle with Tzatziki sauce and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
This week to is all about easy Greek recipes. I loved this salad! I shared it with a friend who had never had Halloumi cheese and he was thrilled. He enjoyed the salad as much as I did! You can do the dressing and vegetables ahead of time and pan fry the cheese just before serving to make it a little easier! If you have not tried Halloumi cheese, it is a Greek squeaky cheese that is s great for grilling or pan frying. It does not melt like most cheeses. If we are grilling I will sometimes throw this on the grill for a quick snack before dinner.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons of Greek seasoning (found in your spice aisle)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of fresh cracked pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
12 large green olives, sliced
2 seedless cucumbers, sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onion
8 ounces Halloumi cheese, sliced into one inch sticks
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, Greek seasoning, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and mix well.
Add the sliced olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and red onion, coating with the dressing. Heat a medium fry pan over medium heat and add the Halloumi cheese slices and cook on one side until golden brown, turn the cheese and cook the second side until golden brown. Remove from heat and slice the cheese into bite size pieces and add to the salad and coating with the dressing. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
This is another Taste of Home recipe! I have been finding some super delicious recipes from TOH lately! This is an easy and pretty dessert and would be great for your Fourth of July holiday party! Easy to make with great flavor and how pretty is this dish?! I shared this with friends and they really enjoyed it and loved the fresh fruit on top and I could not agree more!
INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
TOPPING
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups reduced fat whipped topping such as cool whip
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch round baking pan. In a large bowl whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk egg, buttermilk, melted butter, lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moist. Fold in one cup of sliced strawberries and transfer into prepared pan.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. My cooking time was closer to 35 minutes! Cool ten minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. For topping toss berries with lemon juice and sugar. To serve spread whipped topping over cake and top with mixed berries.
Enjoy!
With spring here and warmer weather right around the corner, I love the fresh summer fruits but I also love the fresh tart flavor from lemons! I made this on a dreary, rainy day and all of those tart summer flavors really came through! This is another great recipe from Taste of Home Magazine! Next time the only change I would make is adding a little more lemon zest into the batter. This recipe calls for the loaves to be made in two mini loaves so it’s great to share too!!
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
ICING
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 5 3/5 x 3 x 2 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and extracts. In another bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda. Add to creamed mixture alternating with the sour cream, beating well after each addition. Transfer to prepared baking pans, bake 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (my baking time was slightly longer). Cool in pans for about ten minutes before removing from the pans and cooling completely on a baking rack. In a small bowl mix the icing ingredients together and spoon over loaves when they are cool.
TO MAKE ONE LARGE LOAF
Make batter as directed. Transfer to a greased and floured 8 x 4 inch loaf pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Oven time may vary. Proceed as directed.
Enjoy!
Summer is almost here and what is better than beer and spicy sausage? How about raspberry beer? This is so easy and you can easily double the amount of sausages with the amount of sauce this makes! I love the combination of sweet and spicy and the raspberry beer really brings some sweet flavor to the spicy sausages! This is an easy party dish that uses your slow cooker so you can spend time with your friends and family and not over the stove!
INGREDIENTS
1 bottle raspberry wheat ale
1/2 bottle of honey BBQ sauce (from an 18 ounce bottle)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
6-10 spicy Italian sausage links
Hot dog buns
DIRECTIONS
Place the raspberry wheat ale, BBQ sauce, ketchup, onion, and peppers in a slow cooker and mix well to combine ingredients. Turn slow cooker on low and cook for six hours. In a large skillet add your sausage links and brown over medium- high heat until all sides are browned. Transfer to the slow cooker and continue to cook until fully cooked through. Serve warm in the hot dog buns.
Enjoy!
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