Greek Nachos

Nachos with a Greek twist.  Pita chips topped with lamb, olives, tomatoes, and feta.

I've had this idea in the back of my mind for a while.  When I cooked Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb and had so much left over I finally had the most important component of this dish.  The goal was to make this as much like regular nachos as possible but with a Greek or Mediterranean twist.  Instead of tortilla chips I used pita chips.  Instead of cheddar or Mexican blend cheese I used feta (and a little monterey jack cheese to hold things together). I used lamb, red onions, tomatoes, and olives and topped it all with a dollop of Tzatziki instead of sour cream or guacamole.  It was fantastic.  If you like Greek/Mediterranean dishes this is a different take on nachos that you will love.  These nachos make a great snack or dinner.

Greek Nachos

Ingredients:

Pita chips
Monterey jack cheese
Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb, chopped (or any kind of lamb)
Red onion, sliced
Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Olive slices
Feta crumbles
Tzatziki

Spread a single layer of chips on the bottom of a baking pan.

Top the chips with a thin layer of monterey jack cheese.  Then add  some lamb, onions, tomatoes, and olives.  Top with feta and another layer of chips.  Repeat this step once or twice.

Bake the nachos at 300F for 15-20 minutes then broil until the top layer of cheese is melted (feta doesn't melt but the monterey does).

Remove from oven and top with a large dollop of Tzatzikki.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend, Snickerdoodle, 2 Cup, Lou Lou Girls, Teach Me, Wonderful Wed, Cook Craft Share, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends

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Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb

Delicious lamb leg roast seasoned with herbs and spices.  Makes a great holiday, or romantic, dinner.

I don't care much about Valentines day (except the cute stuffed animal my dad sends every year).   This year I'm more excited about Friday The 13th.  Yep that's today.

I love Friday the 13th's.  I'm a big horror movie fan so Friday the 13th is all about Jason Voorhees.  If I can find any of the movies (I wish I owned them all) it's marathon time.  If not any horror movie will do.  What could go better with a slasher movie marathon than a bloody leg (of lamb).  It's really not that bloody it's about medium rare and oh so good.  This could easily be a romantic dinner too if that's your thing.  But I say turn out the lights and fire up the scary movies.

This was my first time cooking leg of lamb so I googled for instructions.  I found many and used a little bit of all to make this roast.  Most of the recipes I found said to bake in a roasting pan.  I don't have one so I just put it in my largest/deepest baking pan with potatoes and carrots lining the bottom (an easy and delicious side dish).  One of the recipes I really liked suggested broiling the roast on both sides to sear it but the broiler on my oven doesn't work so I just roasted it at a high temperature to start then lowered the heat for the rest of the cooking.

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb

Ingredients:

1 5 pound semi-boneless leg of lamb
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp coarse ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450F

Remove lamb from fridge at least 1 hour before you plan to roast it.

Chop some potatoes and carrots into bite sized pieces, toss in olive oil and spices of choosing (salt, pepper, garlic, thyme).  Place in bottom of your largest baking pan (I used a glass 9x13).

Rinse the lamb and pat dry.  Then, rub all over with the spice mix and place in baking pan on top of the veggies.

Bake in a preheated oven at 450F for 15 minutes.  Then lower the temperature to 325F and continue baking for about 1 hour and 45 minutes or until the roast reaches 130F for medium rare.

Let rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.  Serves a lot. 8 or 10 maybe.  We ate it plain a few nights, then I made some other dishes with it.

Serve with those roasted potatoes and carrots, mint jelly if you have it, or I served it with tzatziki.

Enjoy (stay tuned to see what else I made with the lamb).

For ways to use leftovers check out:  Greek Nachos, Lamb Salad, and Lamb & Guinness Shepherds Pie

Linked to:  Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend, Merry Monday, 2 Cup, Lou Lou Girls, Teach Me,Tasty, Whimsy, Cook Craft Share, Full Plate, Foodie Friends

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Spiced Eggplant & Mushrooms Sandwich

Spiced eggplant & mushrooms wrapped in a warm pita with hummus and veggies.  An easy meatless sandwich with Mediterranean flavor.

I really love Greek gyro sandwiches of lamb, veggies, and tzatziki wrapped in a warm, soft pita.  So, when I had leftover Spiced Eggplant and Mushrooms and fresh pitas I had to try making a sandwich.  This sandwich would have been great with tzatziki and tomatoes but I didn't have any on hand so I used some hummus, cucumbers, and green onions.   It was delicious, flavorful, and very filling and I can't wait to make it again.

Spiced Eggplant & Mushrooms Sandwich

Ingredients:

Spiced Eggplant and Mushrooms
Pita
Hummus
Cucumbers, optional
Green onions, optional
Tzatziki, optional
Tomatoes, optional

Lay out a sheet of aluminum foil long enough to wrap around the sandwich.

Place a warmed pita on top of the aluminum foil, with 1/2 of the pita hanging off the foil.

Spread pitta with hummus then top with the spiced eggplant and any of the optional ingredients you want.

Gently fold up the foil wrapping the end of the sandwich as you go.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Two Cup, Teach me, Lou Lou Girls, Wonderful Wed, TYSH, Eat Create, Best of the Weekend, Sat Night Fver, See ya in the Gumbo

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Best of the Month July 2014

A recap of my most popular posts from July 2014

I'm late getting this written and posted.  I like to try to post these on the last day of the month but the end of August was opening weekend of college foot ball, Bacon Day, and then Labor Day on the 1st of September.  I'm still trying to get my blogging groove back with my weekends being occupied with football (my husband and I love football season).  So this is a little late but oh well...what can I do I like to procrastinate.

I finally broke 1,000 followers on Google Plus this month YAY!

**I've noticed that my "pin it" counter buttons don't always show the correct number of pins.  I know that I have personally pinned each picture at least once and usually more when I pin them to group boards but the counter has a big fat zero.  It also makes me wonder if my pins with a large count are correct.  This is very frustrating because I'd like to know actual counts.  Does anyone else experience this?  Know how to fix it?

Wild Rice Cherry Pecan Salad

A salad of wild rice, dried cherries, and pecans tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette.  It makes a great side dish or lunch. 241 views and 67 +1s.

Pudding Popsicles

A simple way to turn your favorite pudding into a frozen treat.  213 views and 37 +1s.

White Wine Sauce and Shrimp Scampi

A delicious and simple sauce made with white wine and butter.  Used to flavor pastas and many other dishes. 210 views and 37 +1s.

Tzatziki

A deliciously cool and refreshing yogurt dip/sauce made with cucumbers and dill.  176 views and 32 +1s.

Blue Cheese Alfredo

Whole wheat pasta tossed in a creamy, cheesy, blue cheese sauce studded with pistachios.  174 Views and 46 +1s.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Cook Craft Share, Full Plate, Best of the Weekend, See ya in the Gumbo, Merry Mon, Two Cup, Tasty Tues, Tickle my Tastebuds, Wonderful Wed, Wed Roundup, Cook Craft Share


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Tzatziki

A deliciously cool and refreshing yogurt dip/sauce made with cucumbers and dill.

Tzatziki is one of my favorite Greek condiments.  Most often I've had it in gyros or with lamb and pita as a dip.  It is super flavorful and delicious with plenty of cool cucumber and yogurt.  This was my first attempt at making tzatziki and it was very simple and delicious.

One main component of tzatziki is Greek yogurt.  I didn't feel like buying yogurt so I used strained kefir ("a fermented milk drink"-wikipedia).  I always keep kefir on hand and mostly use it in smoothies or as a substitute for buttermilk in baking but it has many uses.  One of these uses is that it makes a great yogurt like substitute when strained.  You just line a mesh colander with a couple layers of cheesecloth or alternatively, I use an old, thin, white t-shirt rag (that's clean).  Then pour in about 3-4 cups of kefir and let it sit and drain until it is thickened to desired consistency.  I place the colander inside a large bowl to catch the liquid being drained off (this is whey and there are many uses for it too so no point in wasting it).  Usually by the time it is the right consistency it has drained off to about 1/2 to 1/3 the original volume and what you are left with is a thickened kefir of yogurt like consistency.  The flavor is a bit different, maybe more sour, but it works in a pinch.  For more information about kefir check out my Tutorial:  How to Make Kefir.

Tzatziki

Ingredients:

2 cups Greek yogurt or strained kefir
2 cucumbers, seeded and shredded
1 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 tsp dried dill
salt

Place the shredded cucumbers into a cloth lined mesh colander.  Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for about 10-15 minutes.  Then gather the sides of the cloth and twist it around the cucumber squeezing out even more liquid.

Stir together the cucumbers and yogurt with the juice of the lemon.  Add the garlic (I ran the cloves over a microplaine to make a very fine grate so you wouldn't bite into a big chunk of raw garlic) and dill and mix thoroughly.

Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.  Pour off any liquid that accumulates on top and serve as a dip or on sandwiches.

Makes about 6-8 servings.  Enjoy.

Linked to:  Two Cup, Teach Me, Lou Lou Girls, Whimsy Wednesday, Wednesday Roundup, Cook Craft Share, Full Plate, Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend, See ya in the Gumbo, Much Ado, Tasty Tues, Yuck Stops Here, Plant Based Potluck


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