Tag Archives: greek

Greek Sliders

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Not so surprisingly I decided to come up with another Greek inspired recipe this week 🙂 We were coming off of an awful eight day rainy spell and were itching to get out and grill and since I usually always have feta and frozen spinach on hand, these Greek style sliders were easy to throw together. While I love a good, juicy burger when we’re out, I almost prefer to prepare them at home to both ensure that they are fresh (not frozen) and to save on our fat intake by using a leaner ground beef. I love these little sliders, once I get around to posting my Dad’s Greek meatball recipe you’ll see that the two recipes are very similar, however, since the meatballs are baked it’s nice to have a grilled variation in the form of a recipe so that we can switch it up! Additionally, I love a “fun” burger (I’d say “gourmet” but my use of cost saving ingredients somewhat prevents me from doing so, lol), so if you like these check out my recipe for Kitty’s Mediterranean Turkey Burgers (I use the same Lemon Dill Sauce on these burgers!) and keep an eye out for more burger recipes to come 🙂

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Squishy baby wishing he could try one of the yummy sliders! Actually, I’m not even sure if this picture is from that day but he is just so cute I had to share it anyway 😛

GREEK SLIDERS (makes 12)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef (I used 93% lean)
  • 5 oz. chopped frozen spinach
  • 3/4 cup feta crumbled feta cheese
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped Italian Parsley
  • 1/2 onion, finely diced (yellow, white or red is fine)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper 
  • Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Prepare frozen spinach according to package directions. Once spinach has cooked squeeze out any excess water by either wrapping it in a clean dish towel and squeezing out the excess liquid or placing the spinach in a strainer and pressing with a dish towel or large spoon. 

Step 2: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix by hand until just combined, do not over mix. slid1

Step 3: Form 12 small patties of equal size (or 6 regular sized burgers if you prefer not to do sliders) and brush with olive oil. Grill to desired degree of doneness (is that a word? lol) and enjoy! I serve mine up on mini buns with Lemon Dill Sauce (this time I didn’t have any fresh dill on hand so I just used dry, no big dill lol).

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Skinny Tzatziki

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Having grown up around Greek food and flavors, and now having come up with a lot of my own Greek-style recipes, it is no wonder that traditional Greek tzatziki is one of my favorite condiments. While I enjoy the thick yogurt-consistency tzatziki the way it is served in Greek restaurants, it sadly doesn’t cater to the “skinny” style of home cooking that we try to stick to here at casa de Schulze 🙂 Since tzatziki is something we whip up quite often to go with our Greek inspired dishes, I have come up with a “skinny” tzatziki that I’d like to share with you, that packs the same flavor punch as traditional tzatziki but at 0 grams of fat! Try this one out soon, it’s great to go with just about any Mediterranean style dish and even makes a great salad dressing. Sorry that I don’t have a pic to post, I will get one up just as soon as I whip up another batch which I’m sure will be very soon! 🙂

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups fat-free plain Greek yogurt 
  • 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp. dried dill (or fresh, but I make this so often that I always just keep dried on hand)
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper (or to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
  • 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

 DIRECTIONS

Begin by peeling your cucumber and removing the seeds (I do so by cutting it in half length-wise and running a spoon down the middle to easily scoop out the seeds), then use a box or hand-held grater to grate the cucumber over a bowl. Once your cucumber is grated, use a paper towel to blot any excess water from your grated cucumber, then add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine. Refrigerate your tzatziki for at least 20 minutes before serving to allow your flavors to develop. Enjoy!

Skinny Gyro Pizza

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Who doesn’t love a good gyro? I know I sure do and boy have I been missing gyros and authentic Greek food in general since I moved down south. Back home I was spoiled with an abundance of great Greek dining options (including my Dad’s cooking, lol) and am sure to get my fix whenever I visit, however, since the closest Greek restaurant that I know of locally is about an hour away, I’m always needing to find ways to get my Greek fix at home via my own recipes.

Now, back to my love of gyros, I am obsessed, like if there was a cheap way for me to get that metal spinn-y thing in my home with an endless supply of gyro meat I would seriously consider it, lol. Luckily for me and my waistline that will more than likely never happen, lol, so instead, I’ve come up with a healthy and super easy alternative to a traditional gyro – a “gyro pizza”. This idea actually came to me while I was preparing slow cooker chicken gyros (great recipe I found on Pinterest!) last week and was going to have a ton of my Skinny Tzatziki left over and was determined to use it in this week’s recipe line-up before it went bad. I think that the standard lamb or beef gyro (you know, the one that they slice off the spinning thing, lol) is something that people don’t typically think to try and replicate at home because of the spinning thing (what the hell is that called!? lol), however, while the cooking and serving process may not be home-cook friendly, the flavors certainly are. Having adapted several Greek meals to “skinny” versions I knew that I could very easily create another (I will eventually create an “It’s all Greek to Me” collective post of all of my Greek inspired skinny dishes), I wanted the “pizza” part of it to be my creative spin on a traditional gyro, although after I made it I realized that it’s more of a flatbread than a pizza. It’s also worth mentioning that when I went to cut them into quarters J grabbed his up, folded it like a gyro and started eating it that way, lol, so much for my pizza idea! That being said this recipe can be enjoyed in the “pizza” for as it was originally intended or as a traditional gyro or over a Greek salad, so if you’re looking to get your gyro fix without the guilt or extra time in the kitchen, give this recipe a try 🙂  

SKINNY GYRO PIZZA (makes 6 pizzas)

TIP: If you buy in bulk this is a great money-saving meal to get rid of your freezer stock of ground beef! Beef not your thangg? No problem, just substitute ground turkey or chicken.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lbs. lean ground beef (93% or 97% lean)
  • 1/2 large onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 tsp. marjoram
  • 1/2 tsp. ground dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp. ground dried rosemary (this one is not imperative, if you are missing it feel free to skip it)
  • 1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper (or to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1 head romaine or 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 cup tzatziki (use my skinny recipe found here or purchase ready made)
  • 6 whole wheat pitas 

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add diced onion. Cook onion until it just begins to soften (about 4 minutes or so) then add garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes.

Step 2: To the onion and garlic add ground beef, using a wooden spoon to break it into small pieces and cook until it is no longer pink. Drain any liquid from pan and return pan to stove.

Step 3: To the meat mixture add oregano, cumin, pepper, salt, marjoram, rosemary and thyme and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes longer, stirring constantly.

Step 4:  Heat pitas in a skillet or in a pre-heated oven for a few minutes (this is optional, pitas do not need to be heated I just enjoy mine that way). Taking one pita at a time, spread about 3 tablespoons of tzatziki on each (depending on how much you like) then topping with ground beef, lettuce, tomato and finally a bit of feta. Cut into quarters and enjoy! 

These make great leftovers! Another fun take on this might be “gyro tacos”, using the pita in place of the tortilla.

Easy Slow Cooker Lamb Roast

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Given that my father is from Greece, my love for Greek food and flavors come as no surprise. Lamb is a big part of Greek cuisine and every one in a while, usually on special occasions my father would make the most amazing lamb roast. Preparing the roast was always a very specific (and weird) process, which involved seasoning the lamb then wrapping it in wax paper, newspaper (yes, newspaper lol), tying it together with thread and putting it in a paper bag before finally roasting it in the oven for several hours. Strange as the cooking process was, it always came out amazing and I had always wanted to attempt it myself but it was too involved for my liking so I would resort to grilling up some little lamb lollipops instead, a much quicker and easier dish to prepare. This year with Easter upon us I figured it would be a great opportunity to keep the lamb roast tradition going and attempt to make one for J and myself. I decided I would make it in the slow cooker, because whatever magic occurs in the crockpot always ensures a tasty, tender roast which was key since I was going to cry if I messed up a piece of meat that cost almost $40.00, haha. I followed my Dad’s steps for seasoning the roast but stopped there, because I’m pretty sure that cooking your food in newspaper can’t be good for you, lol. It came out amazing!!! I served it up with my Lemon and Herb Roasted Potatoes and could not have been more thrilled with this delicious meal! Sadly our grocery budget won’t allow for us to make this often but I am super excited to make my next slow cooker lamb dish. So if  you love lamb and are looking for a simple (emphasis on simple – this has only 4 ingredients!!!) recipe that is absolutely delicious and will make you look like a superstar chef, this is it!!! Καλό Πάσχα (Happy Easter)! 

SLOW COOKER LAMB ROAST

Ingredients

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Only 4 Ingredients!!!

  • 4-5 lb. lamb roast (bone in or boneless, whatever is cheaper)
  • 1 head of garlic (about 12 cloves)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 cup water

Directions

  1. Peel all of your garlic cloves (I just do so by smashing them with the broad side of the knife, it doesn’t matter if they get broken into smaller pieces).
  2. Combine salt and pepper in a small bowl.
  3. Using a small knife, cut small slits all over your lamb roast (top, bottom and sides), making sure there is one slit per clove of garlic.lamb2
  4. Take a pinch of the salt and pepper mixture and mash it into each of the slits you have made, then stuff a clove of garlic into each individual slit.lamb3lamb4
  5. Rub the remaining salt and pepper mixture all over the roast.
  6. If your roast is boneless, use a piece of kitchen twine to tie the roast together so it does not fall apart as it is roasting.                              lamb5
  7. Place the roast in your slow cooker, fatty side up.                                                                                                                                                               lamb6
  8. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 4-5 hours.                                                                                                                                                                    lamb7lamb8
  9. Enjoy!!! 🙂

 

 

Kitty’s Mediterranean Turkey Burgers with Lemon Dill Sauce

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As I’ve mentioned before, I LOVE Mediterranean food. A few weeks ago while J was out of town, one of my favorite NC gals Kitty, was nice enough to come over and make dinner with me :). We both love to cook and blog, so I suggested we make something that we would be able to blog about later and she came up with the idea for Mediterranean turkey burgers which was perfect since it was beautiful out that day! I’m not usually a fan of turkey burgers but these came out AMAZING and I was so grateful to Kitty for introducing me to this recipe. Needless to say I was super excited to whip these up again, so last night when I was thinking about what to grill for dinner (it was going to be the only nice weather day on our long weekend, blah!), Kitty’s turkey burgers immediately came to mind! Not only are these burgers healthy but they are SUPER delicious and pack tons of flavor. Credit for this recipe of course goes to Kitty (hence the name of the recipe, lol), so be sure to follow her blog, Kitty’s Corner, she has lots of great recipe ideas and her blog is as awesome as she is! 🙂

KITTY’S MEDITERRANEAN TURKEY BURGERS

Ingredients

*this recipe makes 6 burgers, feel free to double or triple for more!

  • 1 lb. lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 of a red onion, diced
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 cup chick peas (about 3/4 of a can)
  • 1/2 cup corn (about 1/2 can)
  • 3 oz. crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions

  1. Heat grill or grill pan.
  2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix by hand to incorporate all ingredients.                                                                                     turkeybur1turkeybur2
  3. Form your burgers. This recipe makes 6 standard size burgers but could also make 12 slider sized burgers or 4 extra large burgers.turkeybur3
  4. Brush both sides of your burgers with olive oil and place on grill.                                                                                                                                turkeybur4
  5. Grill to required temp for poultry, mine took about 8 mins per side.

    I feel like I'm really getting a hang of this grilling thannggg, check out those sweet grill marks lol

    I feel like I’m really getting a hang of this grilling thannggg, check out those sweet grill marks lol

  6. Enjoy! I served mine up on a whole wheat bun with spinach, tomatoes and lemon dill sauce (recipe below). These are also a great low-carb lunch sans bun!turkeybur6

 

LEMON DILL SAUCE

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small dish and mix to combine.
  2. Refrigerate for 10-15 mins before serving to allow flavors to develop.
  3. Enjoy! This sauce is great with an Greek inspired dish as it is a quick alternative to tzatziki sauce!