Greek Lamb Pitas with Tzatziki Sauce

Val's Version

(Denver, CO)

I have come to terms with the fact that good meat is pricey. And if it's not, it's probably not that good. Oh - I also learned that you should never cut the fat off the meat until it's cooked. The fat tends to add great flavor, therefor, removing it may inhibit it's amazingness. Take all of that into consideration and know that this simple lusciousness is pricey, but explodes with flavor!

Cast of Characters
(most of them)

Boom! Did you notice that my feta is from my 2 for $5 deal last week? Cha ching!

When I say simple, I mean simple. I was able to get this meal prepped and served just under 30 minutes. That included 2 intermissions of me delegating after-school orders to my oldest and putting the littles into highchairs with their "snacky."

Start off by taking 5 and make your creamy goddess!

This little gem - Penzey's Forward - was in a gift box that we received from my sister-in-law over the holidays. I literally put it on everything. It's a combination of bold spices that just enhance whatever it's added to. And it's salt free! I sprinkled this on our fat fries that were baking while I worked the stove top.

Melt your sauté squares and sear your lamb (or desired meat) in a med to high heated skillet. Be ready for the sizzle. Original recipe said 8-10 minutes, but that's if you trim and slice it first. Please refer to my second statement above and agree that you're not supposed to do that if you want maximum flavor. That being said, this part of the process is about 10-12 minutes.

Please note: I did not do but a small taste test prior to taking this picture. That's how much fat I trimmed from 3 lamb steaks. Kinda depressing for $11. But, it stuffed 4 pita pockets and had some extra slices left for the toddler.

I didn't get to thoroughly enjoy my dinner because we were rushing out the door for church, but the combination of seasonings was super delish! The meat was very tender and had just the right amount of juices. Cali kept saying how good it was and she likes lambs. Like, real life baby sheep lambies. The thought of us eating Lamb Chops wasn't forefront, so that's good. She also grew up on "dip-it" with her Mimi, so I think she had a wave of nostalgia sweep over her :)

Jen's Version

(Acworth, GA)

I totally, 100% agree with Val's comment above. With meat - you get what you pay for! That's all - just wanted to agree. 

When Val sent me this recipe, I knew I'd be making modifications. For some reason, I can't find a lot of lamb options near me. There is a lot of ground lamb and lamb that's $25, but that's about it. I've made gyros before where I cooked ground lamb like a meatloaf and I wasn't impressed. I'm sure the $25 lamb would have been delicious BUT chicken will be just find for this thrifty mom :) So I did chicken. I also bought fajita meat - but we won't talk about that...

I cooked this at my mom's and she had gloves! Woo hoo!

The recipe said to "mix" the ingredients for the tzatziki. I am not okay with eating chunky cucumbers so I blended it. This sauce, as much as I try, is NEVER as good as "dip it's". But yet, I continue to try...

I roasted red potatoes, greek style. Really I just seasoned with oregano, salt and pepper. 

I couldn't find the Land O'Lakes thingy, so I used butter with seasonings and garlic. I didn't fall for the Land O'Lakes gimmick. 

The chicken was very tasty though - had a great flavor!

And my lovely toppings bar!

This meal was a quick fix and tasty. I adore Greek food, but I think I will leave it to the professionals :)

Greek Lamb Pita with Tzatziki Sauce

Brought to you by (and adapted from) Elegant Dessert - weird, since it's not dessert :)

Ingredients:

Tzatziki Sauce

6 oz plain Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup cucumber, finely chopped

2 tsp fresh dill, chopped

1 tsp red wine (Jen did not include this - instead she just drank the red wine)

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp onion powder (Jen did not add onion)

dash of dried dill

Lamb

2 Land O Lakes Garlic and Herb Saute Express squares (Jen substituted butter, garlic and seasonings)

1 lb boneless Lamb (Jen substituted chicken because she didn't want to consume Lamb Chops)

4 (6-inch round) flat breads, warmed

Relish

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (Jen used tomatoes on the vine)

1/4 cup feta cheese
(Jen also had Kalamata olives and cucumbers)

Directions:

Combine all tzatziki sauce ingredients into a bowl and set aside (we chilled). (Jen blended in the Ninja)

Melt sauté express squares into a skillet over low heat until bubbles form. 

Add lamb (chicken); cook 10-12 minutes (flipping halfway) or until desired doneness. Make sure the outside is seared and there is no red juice (gross) flowing when cut down the middle. 

Spread tzatziki sauce over one side of a warmed pita. Stuff with lamb (chicken) and relish. Add more tzatziki cause it's just that good. Serve with FAT FRIES aka Steak Fries or Roasted Red Potatoes.

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

Jen's Version

(Acworth, GA)

I'm gonna be modest for a minute. I make the best pork tenderloin. I mean I didn't invent the recipe, but my execution is fantastic. I top it with a balsamic reduction sauce and my family just goes nuts for it. I commit to the laborious process for special occasions or to get myself into the good graces of my husband, because it's a job. Pork is easy to mess up. Cook time and temperature is so important, and honestly it stresses me out. I kept seeing a crock pot version of pork tenderloin on Pinterest, and figured the blog could use a nice, new experimental recipe. Mostly, I needed something easy and tasty. I think this was the first dinner I cooked since last week's blog recipe. I'm failing as a housewife :(

I'm going to warn you now; I did not take a lot of pictures of this recipe. I was preparing this the day before I headed out of town for work and was juggling laundry, work and kids so my photo skills lacked. I did take a lovely shot of the hunk of meat that I carefully dropped into the pot without touching. At some point in life I will buy gloves...

I haven't done a cast of characters picture in a while. I finally found a small container of pure maple syrup. I was so excited too, because it was cheap! Also notice my soy sauce bottle. Why it took me this long to buy the fun bottle you get at restaurants, I'll never know.

I could literally just eat this mixture. Soy sauce, balsamic, diced onion, maple syrup, Dijon mustard...mmmh. Next time I cook this, I will triple the sauce, it wasn't near enough.

And my favorite part...

This is my final picture. I actually took one of the final product, but not sure what happened to it. I'm a little OCD and delete photos on my phone often to free up space. It drives my husband nuts! He just doesn't understand me :)

The meal was delicious though. I served the shredded pork on my new fave quinoa/brown rice mixture. The girls ate it all up too! It's not AS good as my normal pork, but it did the job!

Val's Version 

(Denver, CO)

I believe I've stated this before when cooking with chicken, but I am pretty certain I could be a vegetarian after I cook with raw meat. There is just something so repulsive about it. Not to mention, we went to an Urban Farm this past weekend and I was petting a cow and talking to it like it was my baby. Ya know - the high pitched happy voice you use when speaking to infants? Yep. That was me. 

(skip to the next picture if you don't want to hear about what raw pork loin reminds me of)

Raw Pork loin:

 mucus covered alien from a horror film

river monster aka leach

 a newborn animal when squeezed out of its casing

 quite slippery, so make sure your sink is clean

I am so sorry if this turns you off from reading further. Just an honest assessment and if you've never thought it, you may never look at pork loin the same again. Welcome to my world. Now the taste … divine!!!!!!

I seasoned the pork generously with some salt, pepper, garlic powder and dry mustard. Even though the recipe calls for yellow mustard, I thought a few extra dashes seasoned right into the hunk of meat couldn't hurt.

Jen told me that the dish could use more sauce, so I did a bit more. Like 1/4 cup more.

I also came up with this really clever technique in dicing dry onions. 

I hand-crushed them. So, I don't really know how much I used, but I'm guessing 3 tablespoons. Give or take. 

Mix it all up and drown your alien baby in it. I mean succulent pork tenderloin. I also topped it with a little more dry onion straws and made a race track around the perimeter with soy sauce. 

Best part of cooking with the crock pot is you tend to have fewer dishes. You can also get those cleaned and put away during the processing time. I've also discovered that no one in my family enjoys doing dishes (have actually yet to meet someone that does), so this makes crock pot nights a little more appealing. 

You want to know what I don't like about slow cooker meals … you have to wait.  You're stuck immersing yourself in the award winning aroma while you wait all day to dive in. Maybe that's why full time working families can appreciate it that much more. They don't resent it come 6pm.

While the pork was doin' its thing, I cooked up some Feta and Spinach Scalloped Potatoes. This could actually be a meal in of itself, but what the heck. Go big or go home. 

I said it once and I'll say it again, divine!!!

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

1.5-2 lb. Pork Tenderloin (the larger - the more liquid)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce, then a few dashes

2 tsp. dry mustard
2 T Yellow Mustard
2-3 T maple syrup
2 T olive oil
3 T Diced dried onions, then a few more pieces
1 1/2 T Garlic Salt or Powder

Mix ingredients above. Pour over Tenderloin in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.

Recipe made better from AllRecipee.

Rice Bowls

Val's Version

(Denver, CO)

I still don't know how to grill. Sometimes I think my husband doesn't teach me because he doesn't want me to dominate all aspects of cooking. So, what do I do? Pick a recipe that requires grilling and just adapt it to a user friendly stove top edition. 

Have you ever had the flourless chewy chocolate cookie from Starbucks? Divine. 

Chicken and sausage. Love these ingredients. I really love sausage. From the last blog post, you may have gathered that. I do not, however, like the process of cooking with raw meat. The more and more I cook, I find this to be a real challenge. I legit use paper towels or utensils to work the meat in a way in which I don't physically touch it. Annoying, but oh so worth it in the end. 

This little indulgence is going to make the menu rotation. I heart the aroma of fresh basil and parsley. Topped with whole veggies and feta, mm mm good! Speaking of feta - I got 2 for $5 at the grocery store, so swapped the blue cheese out. Totally winning. 

Seems like a lot, but the flavor was so bountiful and was overall, simple to concoct. 

Cube and season the poultry. And if you (or your husband) just so happened to grill sausage the night before, use that. Saves time and doesn't waste. 

Gotta love culinary brilliance and the recipe that uses creativity. Why not mix your oil, seasonings and veggies in a Ziploc bag? Now. Know your produce. The recipe calls for zucchini. Not zucchini and cucumber. 

I accidentally cut up cucumber and didn't realize it until I was tossing it in the bag of oil and seasonings. Oops. 

Snapshot of 1 of my 2 for $5 prizes!

Since I wasn't grilling, I sauteed my veggies stove top style. 

While the meat was marinating and the veggies were getting soft and tender, I chopped up my toppings; avocado, tomatoes, lemon and more parsley. I also made Hannah's dinner … pureed avocado. 

So you don't have too many dishes to clean up later, remove the cooked vegetables and cook your meat. This. smells. incredible. 

Hopefully you were smart and boiled your rice on the back burner while you were preparing the rest to assemble your rice bowl. I mean, rice is in the name.

Super delish! Mixed the chicken, grilled sausage (thanks hubs), sauteed veggies and jasmine rice and then decorated with my chosen toppings. Served with some Waldorf Salad I prepared over the weekend. 

Don't forget a dash of Franks!

Eh - she wasn't completely sold on her avocados this week. Maybe next time :)

Chicken and Sausage Rice Bowl

Adapted from the hilarious Half Baked Harvest!!

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 cups jasmine or basmati rice
3 cups water
1 red pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1 cucumber, sliced (if you dare)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt + pepper
1 avocados, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
salt + pepper, to taste
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled 

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the olive oil, garlic, onion powder, pepper, cayenne, paprika, parsley and basil. Add the chicken and toss well. Cover and place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Make the rice. Add the water to a medium size pot. Bring to a low boil and then add the rice. Stir to combine and then place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook ten minutes on low and then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit on the stove, covered for another 20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). After 20 minutes remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Note that rice can cook differently for everyone, this is just what works for me.

Add the red pepper, zucchini and cucumber to a gallon size ziplock bag. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Seal the bag and shake well so the veggies are coated with olive oil.
Remove the chicken from the fridge and sear  until cooked through. Make sure sausage is also cooked/heated.

To assemble the bowls, divide the rice. Top each bowl of rice with equal amounts of chicken, sausage and vegetables. Add your chosen toppings and serve warm.

Jen's Version

(Acworth, GA)

Val sent the recipe for the rice bowl over and I knew instantly my husband would never eat this. He doesn't enjoy anything that includes vegetables as a main ingredient. Since it wasn't even worth trying to modify for him, I made it my own and altered it to strip steak so he could just eat the meat. We were all happy. 

We used his recipe for steaks. We don't grill much, because we have a charcoal grill and it takes a lot of time AND Chris overcooks everything on it. He's not a grill master. So we cook steaks on cast iron skillets. And I'm not sure I ever need to eat a grilled steak again, my husband makes them so good. The beautiful steaks above are seasoned, and set out to reach room temperature. This optimizes even cooking time throughout the steak. We are very good at this step...

I modified this recipe to be a quinoa and brown rice bowl. I really wanted to try out this new boxed version I found and figured if I was gonna have really good steak and veggies mixed in, even if it sucked, I probably wouldn't notice. And I was right :)

I lied in my recipe below, I totally roasted my veggies. This is what happens when you don't update your blog right away. And when you drink and blog...

Chris' method is very methodical. He sets up little bowls for the oil and the butter and the seasonings. You can tell he doesn't cook often. 

A steak off!

I took my pictures before I added the yogurt sauce - but it was all so delicious. This whole process of food blogging with my sister has opened my idea to so many new and different dinner ideas. Seriously, everyone should do this. 

Strip Steak and Quinoa/Brown Rice Bowl with Avocado Greek Yogurt Sauce

Inspired byHalf Baked Harvest!!

Ingredients:

1 strip steak

1 tbls. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 tbls. butter

1 box quinoa/brown rice (prepared)

1 red pepper, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 avocado, divided

Avocado Greek Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt + pepper, to taste

1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

juice of 1 lime

1/2 cup goat cheese

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped; divided

1 clove garlic, minced or grated

Directions:

Pull your steak from the refrigerator, thaw for 1 hour. 

Prepare the quinoa/brown rice mix and set aside.

Take 1/2 avocado and put in food processor with olive oil, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, goat cheese, 1/4 cup of parsley, garlic and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, and refrigerate.

Take cast iron skillet and put on high heat burner. After heating for 2 minutes, pour in olive oil. Drop your steak in and let cook 2 minutes on high heat. Turn and cook another 2 minutes. Take butter, garlic and thyme and add to skillet. Turn and coat steak for 2 more minutes, on low heat. Remove steak and let sit 10 minutes. Add sliced peppers and zucchini to skillet, until softened.

To assemble the bowls, divide the quinoa mixutre. Top each bowl with sliced steak, vegtables and sauce, topping with chopped parsley. .

Breakfast Casserole and Crockpot Hashbrown Casserole

*** SPECIAL GUEST CHEF: JENNIFER KENNY :) ***

Val AND Jen's Version

(Denver, CO)

Boom!!!! That's right - we were finally able to cook a meal together. Like, same house, ingredients, pots and pans together. Jen came out (with my other 2 siblings) to celebrate my sons 2nd birthday and youngest daughter's Dedication, so we thought we'd spice it up a bit and do a meal together. Cute, huh? I (Val) will do most of the blogging. Since it was my house. And my kids celebration weekend. Jen can comment when needed. I mean, when she wants!

Being that we had an early morning on Sunday, we had to come up with something quick and practical. And obviously, ah-maz-ing! So, why not throw together a breakfast egg and sausage casserole with yummy hashbrowns (crockin' style)?

Preparing the hashbrowns took all of 5 minutes (possibly less if you're not trying to dance around the kitchen with someone else). I also forgot to mention that we needed to get 5 adults and 3 kids showered, dressed to impress and out of the house in record time. Fast prep was a necessity. 

You literally mix all of the ingredients and dump them into the crockpot. Supes ease. So - that's what we did. Mixed. Dumped. And got the troops out of the house. On time. 

Jen: I literally just went through 20 colors to keep my comments separate. Purple it is. So I just wanted to add here that I didn't know you could do a hashbrown casserole in a crock pot. I mean, it's not rocket science, but it has changed my life. 

This is us after the ceremony. Cute huh? I love this girl. She's in my Top 5, for sure. 

Top 5, I hope so. This is gonna be my new FB profile picture. I'm gonna reach out to Pillsbury for the royalty checks. 

And this was taken after she told me she was having another baby!!!!!

Kidding. I wish. We took a couple to make sure we looked okay and noticed that the way Jen is holding the Crescent can, makes it look like her finger is the buttery biscuit. LOOK - totally does. 

Val, we don't joke about pregnancy announcements! Ever!

The shredded taters were cooking it by our fabulous sous chef (aka crockpot)(note: Jen stirred the dish because it seemed too easy, and was yelled at by Val), so we had time to prep and bake the maple sausage - let me say that again - maple sausage and egg casserole. The smell and not to mention, taste, of maple sausage in bar none that second best ingredient to bacon (and cinnamon rolls). The luscious scent permeates the entire house when it's being browned and tends to make the hungry a bit cranky when there's still time on the clock till they can sit down and eat. Not pointing any fingers or admitting that I was one of them. 

Little did I know that Jen feared flaky fun. Weird. I know. But, she doesn't like popping the can open or touching or something really strange in a very normal process to baking pre-made biscuits. 

I, like many, do not like the surprise pop of the crescent rolls. 

Jen told me (a little too late) that they have seamless rolls for such a thing. Who knew? 

I did!

Mix up the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Tony's if your edgy.    

Carefully line the pastry with your delicious pound of maple sausage. 

Pour the beaten eggs over the sausage and top with shredded cheeeeeeese. Then throw in another pinch, or two, of cheese. 

Once you've put the casserole into the preheated oven, you can enjoy a long overdue mimosa and fresh berries with your rock star of a sister!

Love this picture too. We are so fun.

So, I'm gonna throw myself under the bus and admit to a mistake. When you prepare the egg portion of the dish, do not add milk. You add milk for scrambled eggs. Clearly it fluffs the egg but also tends to prolong the "baking" of the casserole and may add an additional 20 minutes to your cook time. Again, not something you want to do when people are starving and have been swimming in the aroma of maple sausage. ;)

It was delicious! I expect Val to cook this every time I see her now :)

Breakfast Casserole

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Total Time: 25-30 minutes 

Ingredients:

1 lb of Maple Sausage

Crescent Roll

5 Eggs

Salt and Pepper

Tonys

8 oz Shredded Cheese (we used a blend)

Directions: 

Press croissant dough in the bottom and sides of a greased 8x8 pan. Brown 1 lb. of breakfast sausage and layer on top of crescent dough. Whip 5 eggs together and season with salt and pepper. Add Tony's for additional kick. Pour egg mixture over sausage. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake until the eggs are done at 350 degrees (about 15-20 minutes). Cut and enjoy!

Crockpot Hashbrowns

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours and 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 26-32 ounce bag frozen hash browns
1 8 oz container sour cream
1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
¼ cup onion, chopped fine
1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup butter, melted
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 

In a large bowl add the hash browns thawed or frozen, sour cream, soup, onion, shredded cheese and melted butter. Mix to combine. Spoon hash brown mixture in a 4 quart slow cooker that has been sprayed with non stick spray. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top cover, and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until done. The casserole should be crispy on the sides and bubbly throughout. Serve and enjoy!

Thanks Stockpiling Moms!!!