Tag Archives: grilled

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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Grilled Thai Tacos with Peanut Sauce

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So the weather has been getting progressively nicer, creeping into the high seventies and finally into the eighties today! Southern summer is in full swing (must have blinked and missed spring, lol). Needless to say with the exception of rainy days (and even on some of those too lol), I plan to prepare most of our meals on the grill. As I’ve said before I like to switch up our protein intake during the week (chicken and beef get boring), so I always keep frozen shrimp on hand. Since the nearest Thai restaurant is about 35 mins away (not to mention, the nearest payday is about a week away lol) I decided to satisfy my craving for some Thai with a little homemade Asian fusion in the form of Thai tacos! After a busy day of baby-birthday-partying and errands, us Schulzes reconvened at home to throw together a quick marinate for our shrimp before heading to the park so J could see baby P swinging on the swings like a big boy for the first time (awwwww!). Upon arriving back home we shuffled P off to bed (6 pm sharp lol am I a lucky mom or what!?) then J and I fired up the grill and whipped up a quick peanut sauce for these DELICIOUS Thai tacos, which were ready in 15 mins flat! These were another winner, and like so many of my other recipes, made with mostly pantry ingredients. If you like Thai/Asian inspired food, definitely throw these on the menu, they are quick and easy, can be made with any form of protein and like my hubby says “anything with peanut sauce is good!”.

First things first, how cute is baby P on the swings!?

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Okay, now that you’ve had your squishy baby fill, here’s the recipe 🙂

GRILLED THAI TACOS WITH PEANUT SAUCE

TIPS 

  • Use a store bought peanut sauce if you are in a rush.
  • Switch it up: use the sweet chili marinade as the sauce and the peanut sauce as the marinade.
  • The recipe for the peanut sauce makes quite a few servings, freeze the other helpings in smaller portions and thaw in the fridge the night before making this recipe the next time (because there will be MANY next times 🙂 ) or use with other Thai dishes (satay anyone? yummmm).

For Thai Tacos:

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb. frozen shrimp (feel free to use fresh shrimp or any other protein for that matter)
  • 2 Tbsp. Chili Garlic Sauce (available in oriental section of most grocery stores, feel free to use any chili paste or sauce or if you prefer a non-spicy dish use red curry paste instead)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
  • 2 cups shredded napa or other cabbage
  • 1/2 cup green onions, sliced (for garnish, optional)
  • 6-8 flour tortillas
  • 1/2 cup peanut sauce (store bought or see recipe below)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Defrost your shrimp by placing in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes, then remove shells and tails (if not already cleaned). If you are using another protein disregard this step.
  2. Meanwhile, combine chili sauce, honey, lime juice and sesame oil in a freezer bag.thai
  3. Add shrimp or other protein to bag and allow to marinate 30 mins or overnight (for shrimp or fish marinate only about 30 mins).
  4. Preheat grill or grill pan.
  5. Skewer your shrimp and grill for about 4 mins on each side or until pink.thai1thai2
  6. Heat your tortillas on the grill or for a few seconds in the microwave, then assemble your tacos by placing a few grilled shrimp topped with cabbage and a drizzle of peanut sauce with green onions for garnish. Enjoy!thai3

For Peanut Sauce:

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk (about 1/2 can)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. Rice Wine Vinegar (or white vinegar)
  • 2 tsp. chili sauce or siracha sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk to combine.
  2. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer.
  3. Allow to simmer for about 10 mins until slightly reduced and thickened.
  4. Serve with above recipe or any other thai dish! Note: this will make several servings, I divide them and freeze in small sandwich bags for later use.