I may be Irish, but throwing a little Greek in the mix never hurt . . . :)
So I decided to try a few new recipes tonight. I wanted to go Greek! Let me tell you, they turned out awesome!
The recipes were Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Salsa and Tsatsiki, and Spanakopita. Yummm. Yumm.
Chicken Gyros:
Ingredients: 1 Cucumber, a cup of Greek Yogurt, fresh lemon juice, 2 garlic cloves, 1 medium sized tomato, mint, olive oil, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp rosemary, pocketless pita rounds, 1/2 roast chicken, chopped lettuce.
Start by pulling off the chicken breast into shredded pieces.
You don't have to use a Rotisserie Chicken but it cuts down on time and effort! :) Set that chicken aside and then make the Tsatsiki sauce.
I made this recipe for just two people so I cut down on all the ingredients. I bought a yogurt cup of Greek Yogurt instead of the big tub. I grated half a cucumber then squeezed it with my hands to remove the excess water. Stir together with the yogurt, add a squirt of lemon juice, a clove of minced garlic, a pinch of salt, and some pepper. Stir it together, and Tada! Tsatsiki sauce. It was scared about trying this sauce but it is absolutely delicious on the Chicken Gyros.
Next we'll make the cucumber salsa. Chop up the remaining cucumber and add to a bowl.
Then chop up one of those medium tomatoes and add to bowl.
Then mix together with another squirt of lemon juice, a dash of mint, a pinch of salt, and some pepper. Then set aside.
Once those items are made, saute the chicken in oil, with oregano, rosemary, a clove of minced garlic, and 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.
Heat up some pocketless pita rounds on the stop top and add all together!
Talk about delicious! We enjoyed them very much!
Spanakopita:
Ingredients: 1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, 1 lb baby spinach, 2 cups crumbled feta cheese, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and some phyllo sheets.
First thing I did was melt some of the butter in a pan and add the 1 lb baby spinach. It all wouldn't even fit in this big pan at first, but this is what it ended up like! You want to stir the spinach until wilted and tender, about 4 minutes.
The it's time to get messy. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible. After that you want to coarsely chop the spinach. I forgot! And yes it makes a big difference!
Then transfer to a bowl and stir in feta, nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375. Melt the remaining stick of butter in the microwave, then let it cool. Next take out your phyllo sheets and make sure you keep them covered with plastic wrap and a moist towel when they are not in use.
Take 1 phyllo sheet from the stack, lay out and brush with some butter. Then take another phyllo sheet and add it to the top and add some more butter.
Then cut long pieces into the phyllo sheets. Add about a tsp of the spinach mixture and starting folding it into a triangle. The trick here. . . fold very loosely. If you fold them too tight they tend to break when cooking.
Then arrange on your baking sheet and brush top with butter. I tried big ones and small ones, and I think the small ones turned out better. These are good, but you can't eat a lot, they are very flavorful and the big ones are just a little much.
Cook in the oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
They turned out great!
So that was our adventure into some Greek food for tonight! We will definitely be adding these recipes to our list. :)
Daryl also brought the cake I made into work and it went over very well! He took a picture of the inside of the cake since he cut it at work. He brought me home a piece though. :) It was sooo good. Look at those beautiful raspberry layers. So excited to make my next cake!
