Spanikopita Meatballs with Tzatziki

Greek food is one of my favorite things to eat. I love the fresh flavors that are associated with Mediterranean cooking. I also really love meatballs :) So they are a natural combination! For this meal I just combined the meatballs with some tzatziki and roasted vegetables.

Meatball recipe:
1 lb. ground chicken breast
1 box frozen spinach (defrosted and squeezed dry)
8 oz feta cheese cubed
1 small onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
salt and pepper
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and form into balls about the size of a golf ball. Place them on a greased baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes on each side. You can broil them for an extra 2 minutes at the end to get some browning on top.

Tzatziki recipe:
1 cup greek yogurt
1 cup shredded cucumber
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp fresh dill chopped
pinch of salt
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

For the roasted vegetables I cut up a red bellpepper, mushrooms, onion, zuchini, and squash. I seasoned them with garlic salt, pepper, and EVOO. Then baked them in the oven with the meatballs for about 20 minutes

Shrimp Tacos

I love mexican food and Matt loves shrimp so I decided to make shrimp tacos. I just marinated the shrimp in olive oil and cajun seasoning for a few hours. Then cooked them in the oven for about 12 minutes. I like to cook them in the oven instead of grilling the shrimp because I think the grill can dry them out. Whereas in the oven they are able to steam in their own juices. I wanted to try a new topping instead of lettuce so I used red cabbage. The cabbage gave the taco a nice crunch. Then I finished it off with a pineapple salsa. For the salsa I just combined a bottle of salsa from the store and crushed pineapple. Then I used a little monterey jack cheese that is melted into the corn tortilla.

Portabello and Arugula Salad

Originally I had wanted to make this meal with steak but I thought using a portabello mushroom instead of steak would be a nice change. I like to avoid eating meat a couple days a week so this was an easy way to do that. Since portabello mushrooms are really meaty they make a good subsititute for steak. For this meal all I did was season the mushroom with EVOO, pepper, and garlic salt. Then I grilled it for about 10 minutes. The salad is pretty basic and consists of arugula, tomato, french fried onion strings, and a balsamic viniagrette. This is a nice healthy weeknight meal.

Reinstating the Blog

Now that I have finished school I have a little more time on my hands. I have decided to reinstate this blog but with a different purpose. I want to be more adventurous with my cooking. So hopefully this blog can give you ideas on new things to try. Enjoy!

Pulled Pork, Baked Beans, and Collard Greens - Southern Style!

I have always wanted to make my own Collard Greens. I have only had them once in Georgia about 8 years ago. I can still remember how good they were. For the Collards, I started with 2 fresh bunches and washed them thoroughly, stripped the stems, and cut them into strips. I added these to a pot of half chicken broth and half water that I had been boiling with a ham hock for about an hour. I liberally salted and peppered the leaves and let them soften for another hour. They turned out pretty good but not as tasty as I remembered, they were a little bitter. I have a new recipe from a Southern Cook that I am trying out next time. For the Pulled Pork and Baked Beans I made a homemade BBQ sauce. It consisted of bacon, onions, tomato sauce, ketchup, cayenne pepper, cider vinegar, brown sugar, and worcestershire. I simmered all these ingredients together for about an hour. Then I put half the sauce in the crock pot for the Pulled Pork. I added a 1.5 lb pork tenderloin to the crock pot as well and cooked on high about 4 hours. At the end the pork was melt in your mouth delicious and just fell right apart. For the baked beans I had soaked some dried red beans overnight and boiled them for about 2 hours to soften. I added these beans to the BBQ sauce then I baked them in a 325 degree oven for an hour. The result was a tangy baked bean dish with a nice crust on the top from baking. I think the Pork was the most successful part of this whole meal and I will definitely be making it again! So Yummy!

Bucatini Pasta with Meat Sauce

We went to AJ's on Friday (specialty food store) and got some gourmet pasta and sauce to make. The pasta we chose was "Bucatini" I have never had this before. It was like a really thick spaghetti noodle. It was actually really good. You get a nice bite because it's thicker than spaghetti but you still get those long strands that I love. For the sauce we got some ground sirloin from the butcher and I browned this in a pan with onions and garlic. Then I poured a bottle of gourmet pasta sauce over it and simmered for about 10 mins. I combined this with the Bucatini and garnished with Fresh Basil. It was very delicious. You can always tell a difference when you cook with high quality ingredients. This is a really easy meal and we make it a lot. I always love to doctor up a plain jar a pasta sauce to make it my own.

Basil Garlic Pesto with Parmesan Crusted Cod and Veggie Pasta Salad

My Uncle gave me a huge bag of Fresh Basil from his garden when I was at Oktoberfest. I was so excited because I love fresh basil. I decided to make a really nice Basil Garlic Pesto sauce with it. Pesto is so easy to make. Just add Basil, Garlic, Pine nuts, Parmesan Cheese,Olive Oil, and salt to a food processor and blend. The result is a rich and flavorful sauce that can be served with just about anything. I chose to serve this over a Parmesan crusted piece of Cod. Just follow my instructions for Chicken Parmesan in an earlier post. It works really well with a firm white fish and the cooking time is about the same (18 mins). On the side I made some whole wheat pasta with steamed broccoli, spinach, and fresh tomatoes. I mixed this all together with the Basil Pesto. I served the Parmesan crusted Cod along side with a nice spoonful of Pesto on top. This was a great quick meal and the pasta is great for lunch the next day. Thanks Uncle Steve for the Basil!