A Healthier Chicken Piccata

Its not secret that I love my piccatas. I love my chicken piccata (probably the most), and veal piccata, and even tilapia… but move over because I have a new love. Its a healthier version of my chicken piccata.

Oh yeah, bikinis be ready because this baby only has 2 teaspoons of butter, but all the flavor of the more traditional piccatas that I usually make.

Start by cutting a chicken breast in half and salting one side.

Then salt the other.

And then pepper both sides.

Then add 5 teaspoons of flour to two cups of chicken broth.

This is going to be a part of the sauce eventually.

Meanwhile, Cook some angel hair pasta according to the package. I used whole wheat angel hair pasta and you couldn’t even tell because of the lemony sauce. And hey… if you can get it in there with no one noticing…

Lightly dregde the chicken cutlets in flour.

Mince 3 cloves of garlic.

Heat Canola oil in skillet  over medium high heat. Add chicken to the oil and brown the sides (about 3 minutes each).

Flip chicken over the brown the other side in the oil.

Once chicken has cooked through remove it to a waiting plate and cover with tin foil to keep warm.

At some point, drain the pasta. I always try to time it so that the pasta is finished right around when I need it. This way, it prevents the noodles from getting cold and hard.

Add garlic and wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes.

Then add in the chicken broth and flour mixture. You will see the sauce thicken up around this point.

Blend until smooth.

Add in 1/2 of a lemon, sliced, and 1/2 of a lemon, juiced.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and let the sauce thicken. It should take just about 5 minutes or so.

Stir in parsley…

Stir in butter…. (That’s it! Just a little bit!)

And capers. Gawd, I love capers. I could eat them plain.

Mmmm that looks good.

Once the sauce is thick enough, add the angel hair pasta to the sauce.

Mix in the pasta to make sure that the noodles are coated in sauce.

To me, this is the perfect combination.

Add noodles and sauce to bowl and top with a piece of chicken.

Top with some more sauce (of course!) and a slice of lemon.

Then enjoy this Spring Break friendly Chicken Piccata. It tasted just as good as the original! I swear!

Ingredients

• 6 ounces whole-wheat angel hair pasta
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2-4 chicken cutlets, (3/4-1 pound total), trimmed
• 3 teaspoons Canola oil, divided
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons butte

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.

Meanwhile, whisk 5 teaspoons flour and broth in a small bowl until smooth. Place the remaining flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper and dredge both sides in the flour. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and no longer pink in the middle, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; cover and keep warm.

Add garlic and wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth-flour mixture, lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in parsley, capers, butter and the reserved mushrooms. Toss the pasta in the pan with the remaining sauce. Serve the pasta topped with the chicken and the reserved sauce.

Delicious!

Chickpea and Herb Salad

Remember the dinner party I told you about yesterday? Well, the entire dinner party was “do ahead” including the salad. There was a little chick drama… chickpea drama I mean when it came to the salad.

You remember… Andrew. The guy who hates chickpeas. He apparently especially hates chickpea salads. He happily ate his pork chops but when it came to the salad, he wasn’t going anywhere near it!

He hid it from me. Andrew didn’t want me to see, but they were so repulsive to him that he couldn’t even have them near him while he was eating. So he hid them behind the hurricane in the middle of the table, but not far enough for my watchful eye.

That’s probably not a good intro to the Chickpea salad recipe, but I thought it was good AND the people at Bon Appetit thought it was good too.

Ingredients

• 1 15- to 15 1/2-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, pressed
• 1/3 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Coarse kosher salt

Preparation

Combine rinsed and drained chickpeas, chopped fresh basil, chopped Italian parsley, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and pressed garlic clove in medium bowl. Add grated Parmesan cheese and toss gently to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Season chickpea salad to taste with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD Chickpea salad can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Serve salad chilled or at room temperature.

The salad can be changed to be spicy by adding some Sriracha (my favorite) or changing out the herbs and cheese. I will be trying some variations of this salad over the summer.

There was one more part to my “do ahead” dinner party. I also made a delicious Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk cake, which I… guess it… made ahead. I will share the details… and fumbles…. of it soon. Bf called it his favorite dessert. I ate it for breakfast.

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

I love to bake. Its rare that I do though. With cooking, you can’t always tell little mistakes, like mis-measurements and such, but with baking… its oh so clear. See picture below.

Now, maybe its just me, but cake shouldn’t be runny, right? Like bubbly over the sides and foaming bubbly. Major Fail.

I wanted to make a cake. Bf hates sweets, unless they aren’t too sweet and I got my hands on this recipe that I thought he was sure to love. This way, I wouldn’t be the only one eating the cake/making myself feel bad about… well myself. After Fail #1, I kept my chin up, cleaned out my cake pan and tried again and this is what I got:

Thats right. I got a perfect Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk cake and boy… was it good. Bf was cake moaning and I was patting myself on the back. This cake was so light and summery (and PERFECT for Easter) that I even ate a slice for breakfast. 

This was the last slice of cake. It was gone before I could even get my camera out. I swear the lot of them were a lot more substantial and lovely.

I have to share the recipe because it was the best cake I ever made. And the best part, it was simple (as long as you get the measurements right).

Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ½ sticks Butter, Softened
• ⅔ cups Sugar Plus 1 1/2 Tablespoons For Sprinkling On Top
• ¼ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• 1 whole Egg
• ½ cups Buttermilk, Well Shaken
• 5 ounces, weight Fresh Blueberries

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle of oven. Spray an 8-inch round cake pan and line with waxed paper. Spray the waxed paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches, mixing until just combined. Add berries and fold in with a spoon. Pour batter into cake pan, spreading and smoothing the top. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (this makes it a little crispy on the top)

Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate and cut into 8 slices.

Serve plain or with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Recipe from Valery. Thank you Valery. Thank you.

Dinner Party Menu: Pepper Topped Pork Chops

I had a dinner party this weekend. I don’t know if you are like me, but I always struggle with what to make for more than 2 people… ok, if I am being honest, one. Cooking for more than 1 person for me makes me have to think a little. Usually I am the one person I cook for and if I screw up… hey no biggie. If I am cooking for me and Bf and he doesn’t like it… hey no biggie. But if there are more people, I am always searching for a great meal that will “wow” but looks so easy that you’d just think I was born to cook.

Well, I found it in this month’s Bon Appetit. I made a delicious Pork Chop for my group of seven friends. This is a great recipe because all the prep work can be done in advance. I actually did a lot of cooking in advance, so when my guests arrived all I had to do was fire up the grill, reheat my peppers and we were ready to chow down.

The secret to this recipe is in the brining of the Pork Chops.

I had 6 pork chops and I brined them in 8 cups water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, and 1/2 cup sugar for about 8 hours. You could brine them over night as well.

While my pork chops brined, I got to work on a delicious, spicy accoutrements (is that right? who speaks french?).

There are a lot of peppers in this recipe, 2 red, 2 yellow or orange, pickled red peppers, crushed red pepper… and then some pearl onions.

The first thing that I did was slice the bell peppers into chunks and seed them.

And slice and seed!

And slice and seed. It seemed like I was slicing a seeding forever, but I was glad I did it in advance so that I would spend time drinking wine with my guests.

Then it came time to slice and seed my cute lil’ cherry peppers.

First, I seeded…

Then, I sliced. The cherry peppers should be sliced thin.

Then I blanched my pearl onions for about a minute. After that I let them cool in the colander for a few minutes so that I wouldn’t burn my fingers peeling them. Then I peeled them by cutting off the connecting end and popping them out.

I added the onions to a skillet with a little bit of olive oil and cooked them on medium high until they started to brown in places. Once the onions started to brown, I moved them to a waiting dish.

Since I was cooking for seven people, I cooked the peppers in 2 batches. Overcrowding the skillet will steam the peppers and I wanted them to brown if they could.

Here is my other 1/2 of peppers on standby.

Then I added about 1 1/2 tsp of sugar to the peppers. Who has time to measure, eh? A small handful will do ya just right.

Then I added my sugar to the mixture to give it some sweetness.

Once my peppers began to soften, I added in my blanched and peeled pearl onions.

I added a little crushed red pepper for some spiciness.

Last, I added in my finely sliced cherry peppers. They are so pretty.

To finish my topping off, I added some pepper….

… and some kosher salt. Then I reduced the heat to low and let the veggies cook for about another 10 minutes to get more tender.

I threw the pepper topping into a tupperware container and did the second batch of pepper mixture.

Once both of my batches were tender and dumped into my tupperware dish, I set the dish in the refrigerator along with my brining pork chops and set off the shower, clean, go to the mall and get ready for my guests. I said “see you in a few hours” and was on my way.

Once my guests arrived and were good and hungry, Bf fired up the grill and cooked the pork chops (which we seasoned with a little olive oil and pepper) for about 5 minutes on each side over high heat. While he did that, I added my pepper topping back into a skillet and heated it until it was good and hot.

He brought me the pork chops, while I laughed with my friends and talked about how messy boys were, and drizzled them with about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and topped with the pepper mixture.

And they were ready! I couldn’t believe how a little prep work really spared me from the pain of sweating over a hot stove while my guests were having fun. I always want to be a part of that fun-right before we eat-partiness, and finally I was.

I served the pork chops with a chickpea salad. I thought that it was so fresh and springy. I’ll post the recipe this week because you have to try it!

Then, my friends and I ate, talked, ate, talked, made fun of each other, talked, joked, and ate.

I love a night spent with good friends, good food, and a dumb boyfriend who thinks its funny to pose in the background of pictures. Thao and I are used to it.

The pork chops were awesome. I have never had brined pork chops before and they were wonderful. The brine helped the pork chops stay juicy and it absolutely worked. They were the best pork chops I have ever had.

And then… I noticed something. Everyone was eating and murmuring… and then I noticed a plate that had been pushed behind the glass hurricane on my dining room table.

It was hidden so I couldn’t see it, but oh, I saw it alright. Then Andrew admitted that he hates chickpeas. Gasp. At least he was nice enough to pretend. Then he ate one. And gagged.

This is a great recipe for a dinner party, because it allows you to still be interactive with your guests. No guest likes a hostess who is sweating and shouting directions at people.

Pepper Topped Pork Chops

serves 6

1/2 cup Kosher salt

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

6 pork chops (with the rib bone attached)

2 pounds cipolline or pearl onions

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil

4 bell peppers (2 red 2 yellow or orange)

1 small red onion finely chopped

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

12 pickled cherry tomatoes from jar, seeded and sliced thin

balsamic vinegar

Whisk 1/2 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup sugar into 8 cups of water (may need to be divided into two bowls) until salt and sugar dissolve. Add pork chops and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, could be as long as overnight.

Blanch pearl onions in large saucepan of boiling water for 1 minute. Drain. Allow to cool slightly and peel. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until tender and browned in spots, turning occasionally (8-10 minutes). Move onions and oil to medium bowl. Increase heat to high and heat 1 tblspoon oil in same skillet and add 1/2 red onion and 1/2 peppers and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add crushed red pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar. Season to taste wit salt and pepper and turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in 1/2 reserved onions and 1/2 pickled cherry peppers. Add to tupperware if you plan on serving later. Repeat with the second half of peppers and onions. Add to tupperware with the first 1/2 and refrigerate if made in advance.

When ready to serve, prepare barbecue to high heat. Remove pork chops from brine and pat dry. Brush with oil and season with pepper. Grill about 5 minutes per side.

Place one pork chop on a plate and spoon bell pepper mixture over. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve!

Enjoy your dinner party!

Squirrel Stew

No no… I am not kidding.

I wish I was.

Traumatized is what I am. Sickened and a tad creeped out… more than a tad. A lot.

Yesterday, bf went turkey hunting. He didn’t get any turkey. Guess what he got? I’ll give you one guess.

Yes. You are correct. Squirrel. He got 2 squirrels to be precise. He brought them home to me and asked me to cook them for him.

I was at a loss. I have no clue (or desire for that matter) how to cook squirrel meat. All that I could think of was squirrel stew.

Ingredients (yes, I really am serious):

2 squirrels, gutted and skinned (gag)

2 white onions chopped and diced

4 carrots sliced into rings

2 garlic cloves

2 cups coleslaw mixture

4 yukon potatoes

1 cup of Beef Broth

1 cup of water

After the squirrels have been skinned and gutted, chop the squirrel up. Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 8-10 hours.

Serve. I really don’t know what else to say here.

Here is a close up of the “Stew” about 1/2 way through. I was glad that the squirrel wasn’t raw anymore, but the more it cooked, the more the tiny broken bones popped out and gave me the heebeegeebs.

And then here is the final product.

Now, we all know that this post isn’t about the recipe… it’s all about who ate it. And how he ate it.

He ate it. He devoured every last drop in the bowl. Bf said it tasted like dark meat chicken. I will have to take his word for it.

Gross. Did you see how that meat was just dangling off the bone?

While he was eating he got a call from a friend. It went like this:

Bf: What’s up man?

Friend: Not much brah. What’s happenin’?

Bf: Just eating my squirrel.

Friend: Sweet. How is it?

Um… if I called a friend and she was eating squirrel, I think I would act a little more dramatically than that.

Even the dogs seemed to think it was a tasty dish. But then again, instead of chasing them around the yard praying for a bite, here they are in a bowl with some carrots. A dog dream come true.

My Favorite Meal

My favorite meal requires no cooking. It just takes a little blending and placing. No, its not a filet. No, its not even a piccata. It’s…. dun dun dun… meat and cheese. I don’t know what it is about meat and cheese. I order charcuteries at every restaurant where they are available. I pour over which cheeses and which meats I will pick and there is nary a meat or cheese that I have turned down. I don’t think that there is even a meat or cheese that I have disliked.

I love to sit back with my treats and taste. Maybe that is what I like so much about meat and cheese. The quantity can be small but the flavor is big.

I never make charcuteries at home because I don’t need 10 hunks of expensive cheese in my fridge begging to be eaten. But, I just couldn’t resist the temptation any longer. So I narrowed down my choices and kept it simple.

A little Danish Blue Cheese:

A little proscuitto:

A little summer sausage:

A homemade olive tapenade:

And a rich, lemony caesar salad (recipe found here):

Oh, and don’t forget a tiny bit of honey:

And definitely some crunchy bread:

Mmm… I am going to graze and catch up on my DVR for sure.

I have some great recipes for this week if you need some inspiration or some ideas for next week.

Monday: Charcuterie (see above)

Tuesday: Find a Salmon recipe attempt #2

Wednesday: Korean Style Chicken and Noodle bowl (I never ended up making it last week)

Thursday: Bacon, Mushroom, and lentils.

I am especially excited about Thursday’s meal. And Wednesdays too. I am not looking forward to Tuesdays salmon though. Last weeks was good, but… well, I’m nervous. This week’s salmon recipe is not as “my style” as last week’s. I am going to be having some kitchen fun!

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 tablespoon capers

2 garlic cloves

1-2 anchovy filets

olive oil

Add olives, capers, garlic and anchovies to food processor and blend until roughly chopped. Wipe down the sides of the food processor and blend again. Drizzle in olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) until mixture is smooth. Serve. Tapenade can be chilled and eat within 3 days. Enjoy!

The Best Sauce Ever

I had this recipe for a burger on my phone for years. I would look at it bookmarked on my Blackberry every time I went online. It was a mental note to make that dang burger. And I made it. Last week.

I was the hungriest I could remember being in a very long time. I was hand-shaking, underarm sweating, pale-looking hungry. I rarely ever get that hungry. I couldn’t even steady my hands enough to take decent pictures.

Here is what (little) I have of that Blue Cheese Burger on Ciabatta:

Then, here is the best part….

Yes, that is Sriracha + mayo and it = wow. For real.

That’s all I got from my Blue Cheese Burger with Sriracha Mayo night.

From the first drooling bite, I knew that I was on to something here. You know I love my Tabasco Mayo, but this shiz is on a whole new level.

Like I said, this was a week ago and I have been thinking about it ever since. Thank goodness I am not going to the grocery store this week. Who knows what I would have bought. I decided to test out this Sriracha Mayo and see if it was a fluke or if it was as good as I remembered.

So I made a leftover Turkey Burger + Sriracha Mayo.

Ingredients include (you may want to get a pen): Mayo. This is my favorite kind. I don’t even like mayonnaise. But, there are some cases where it just must be used. If I’m using it, I am using this one.

and Sriracha.

Yep, that’s it. Just those two.

Directions (keep that pen handy):

Squeeze 2 parts mayo into a ramekin.

Squeeze 1 part Sriracha into said ramekin.

And mix these two together.

TA DA! It’s that easy. Now, I added mine to a Blue Cheese Turkey burger. What is it about hot and spicy + cool and creamy? Whatever it is… it works.

I spread it, thickly, on my top bun.

Mmmm… look at that color! I bet it would be good on the top and bottom bun. Hmmm… food for thought.

Then I smooshed that burger together. It looks simple enough, but that sucka is jam-packed full of spicy flavor.

Seriously. You have to try this. Talk about jazzing things up! I would suggest serving it with something with blue cheese as well, but I swear it could go with anything. I was dipping my fries in it also. So if you have some Sriracha lying around…. and some mayonnaise… mix ’em together. You just gotta.

Easy Peasy Nachos

Ok, I have a goal for this week. You won’t believe it. My goal is to not go to the grocery store at all this week.

Gasp. I’ll give you a minute……. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……..

Ok, It’s true. Although I have started being much better about my grocery spending, I still need to save more. Yesterday, I happened to look around my kitchen and realize that while I think I have nothing to eat, I actually have plenty. Usually when I cook, since its mostly just for me, I have leftovers. I either cook them for bf to eat later or I freeze them. So I have a frozen turkey burger, another beef burger, two pieces of chicken, some veal, some shrimp and some other things in my freezer. I also have plenty of veggies and some pantry items.

My problem is that I freeze things so often that they live in the freezer abyss until I eventually get “nervous” about them and throw them out. My freezer is like Purgatory. You know you’re going…. it’s just a matter of when.

So with no grocery store list, I made Easy Peasy Nachos with things I already had lying around the house.

Here we go (try no to be too impressed):

I started out with a piece of chicken. And I preheated the broiler on my oven to high.

I cut up the chicken into bite sized cubes.

Then I added the chicken to a lightly oiled skillet. I let the chicken cook all the way through.

While the chicken cooked I mixed together the seasoning for my chicken. You know taco seasoning? Well, you never have to buy it again. I have cracked the code. You’re welcome.

I mixed together chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, pepper, and about 1/2 tsp. of corn starch. Oh and cumin.

Then mix the spices together. I poured the spices over my chicken once it was cooked. You can tell from my blurry picture that I did not mix my spices well. Woops.

Then I added 1/2 cup of water and stirred it all together.

I let the sauce thicken up and bubble.

While all that was going down, I got my nachos ready. I added chips (duh), cheese (double duh), banana peppers, and jalapeno peppers.

And topped it all off with the finished chicken. Oooo… that looks gud.

Then I placed the nachos under the broiler so that the cheese could get all melty.

Voila. Nachos.

I served my nachos up with a side of sour cream and salsa. I like my condiments on the side so I don’t get any soggy nachos.

A free meal. Well, I paid for it already… I guess then its technically not free. It feels free though and that’s all that matters. In the real world, if I ever made nachos, I would get avocado…maybe some beans… maybe some ground beef…. but in money saver mode I use what I already have.

I wonder what I am going to make the rest of the week. I definitely see some sandwiches in my future.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 or 2 boneless chicken breasts

tortilla chips

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

a pinch of cumin

a pinch of corn starch

extra nachos fixin’s

Heat the broiler to high. Cube chicken into bite size pieces. Heat olive oil in skillet. Add chicken to skillet and cook until no longer pink. Mix spices and corn starch in a bowl. Add spice mixture to chicken in skillet once the chicken is cooked. Add 1/2 cup of water. Let the mixture bubble until the chicken in coated in sauce. Create nachos and top with the chicken. Place under the broiler until cheese melts. Serve it your way! Enjoy!

“Year”os… a.k.a. Gyros

I know that some people say “Guy”ros for “Jy”ros… but I say “Year”os. That’s how I was taught…. by the Greeks. I have had 2 restaurant jobs in my life and both were working for Greeks. The first was Sugar ‘n Spice in good ol’ Sparkle City and the second was at a Greek Restaurant in Charleston, SC called Old Towne.

I worked at Sugar ‘n Spice in high school and worked at Old Towne for 5 years in college (yes, I know I said 5 years). While at Old Towne, I lived on Greek Food. My staples were pita bread, greek dressing, feta cheese, spanakopita, dolmadaki/dolmades, kalamata olives, gyro meat, and avgolemono soup. Oh yes. For fiiiive years, this was the bulk of my diet. Hmmm… diet seems like the wrong word here. Anyway, because of years of Greek food overload, I haven’t been able to really eat it since my move to Atlanta four years ago. I mean, I’ve had it here and there, but I have never wanted it, had-to-have-it. Until now.

I got a crazy hankering for a gyro. I love a gyro for the pita bread, the gyro meat, the tzatziki sauce, the lettuce, the onion, and the feta. All of the ingredients work together in perfect harmony.

My first concern was the meat. The gyro is cooked on a spit and then shaved into thin slices:

I have a lot of kitchen equipment, but that is one thing I do not have. Also, gyro meat is typically a ground beef and lamb mixture and in some cases pork. I was not about the hunt down any ground lamb. I’ve got things to do. So I went with my gut and used ground turkey.

To the ground turkey I added:

…which made my meat look like this:

I didn’t measure. It was crazy.

I sprinkled to my hearts content. I made sure I added lots of dry oregano. So Greek.

Then, I hand-mixed all of the ingredients together. Then I worked the meat into 1 inch x 3 inch thin pieces of gyro.

Then on to the tzatziki. I started with about 10 oz of plain Greek yogurt. I used Chobani. It was perfect.

I added 1/2 a diced and seeded cucumber.

I also added about 1/3 a diced onion, 3 diced garlic cloves, and a teaspoon of sugar.

Then I refrigerated the sauce until I was ready to use it. You could even make it a day ahead of time if you wanted.

I swirled (technical term) some Olive Oil in a large skillet and place meat slices in the pan. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side over medium to medium high heat.

Then, flip and do the other side. My goal was to get a nice, brown crust on each piece of meat.

After the gyro meat was cooked I sliced it up on my cutting board. You don’t have to slice the meat, but I like my pieces thin. Once the meat slivers cooked, they kind of puffed up. So cutting them made them less puffy thinner.

Here is how I layed it all down: bread, meat, diced tomatoes and lettuce, tzatziki, and topped with a sprinkle of feta cheese.

You can eat it open faced or rolled. Mine started out rolled and then ended open faced. I had trouble committing.

This tasted exactly like the gyros of my college days. The healthier version of the meat was just as delicious. Bf even said that it tasted exactly like Old Towne’s. I guess all of that hanging out in the dish room with the cooks and dishwasher did teach me something.

Here is a picture of me and bf from my Old Towne days. I remember that I had just gotten off work to meet him to watch 24 (I miss you Kiefer). I always knew an Old Towne night because I was in head to toe black…. and reeking of gyro meat.

Turkey Gyros

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey meat

garlic powder

onion powder

dry oregano

8-10 oz greek yogurt

diced and seeded cucumber (1/2)

minced onion

sugar

3 garlic cloves

pita bread

feta cheese

tomato and lettuce

Directions:

Cover turkey meat in oregano, garlic and onion powder, and salt and pepper. Mix together. Form meat into 1 inch x 3 inch strips. Meanwhile, mix yogurt, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and sugar together for tzatziki sauce. Place meat in skillet and cook on each side for 4 minutes or until brown, flip over and do the other side. Place meat on top of pita bread and top with tzatziki, tomatoes, lettuce, and feta. Enjoy! Opa!

Tilapia with Lemon Caper Sauce

Hi.

I don’t think that I even explained my Goal Setting Time post from yesterday (seen here). I decided that I need to get a grip (again) on my spending. Uh. I hate it. I wish that I just had mizillions of dollars and could just willy-nilly at the grocery store. Well, I have been willy-nillying at the grocery store, hence my current state.

My goal was to spend $50 on ingredients at the grocery store for the week. And I hit it just below at $49. Way to cut it close, Natalie. I got ingredients for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Monday through Thursday for $49. Go me.

Up first was a classic: Tilapia with Lemon Caper Sauce. One of my favorite restaurants in Dunwoody, GA served a similar dish. When I first got into cooking, I made this allllll the time. It has a special place in my heart (cheesy). Its super simple and almost impossible to mess up…. but I still managed. Don’t worry. I’ll warn you before it happens.

Here is what you need:

Lets start with the Lemon Caper sauce. I am a sauce-sucker. That sounds gross. I am a sucker for sauce. Much better. You know how much I love lemon + capers. Remember Veal Piccata? Remember Chicken Piccata? Mmm… there is nothing better.

First add 1/4 c. chicken broth to a small sauce pot.

Then add 4 tbls capers (I go a little nuts and add more. I’m crazy. I know).

Squeeze a whole lemon into the small sauce pot.

And then add 2 tablespoons of margarine. You could use butter. I have just always used margarine for this…. and come to think of it only this recipe. This is where I made my mistake. If you look at the picture that looks like waaaay more than 2 tablespoons. It is. It’s 4. Uh. You can always add more later if you think 2 just isn’t quite enough. But, to me, 4 is overload. So I had to double the rest of the sauce… nightmare.

Then add in 2 tablespoons of flour.

And whisk all together over medium to medium high heat. Let sauce simmer on low while you do the rest of the work.

Add a heap of flour to a bowl and stir in salt and pepper. I like Kosher salt. It’s special.

Heat up 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan (you can add a little pad of butter to it as well if you want)

Dredge filets of Tilapia in the flour, salt, and pepper mixture…

And add to the hot oil.

After 2 minutes or so, flip the filets over and let the other side pan-fry.

Then, that easily, the fish is ready. So simple. I like mine over a bed of sauteed spinach and usually I have it with mashed potatoes, but…. I already had these Yukon tatoes at my house so it made sense to try to save a few bones.

Oops. I almost forgot the most important part! Pour the lemon caper sauce over your fish (and get a little on the spinach) and enjoy!

Its a quick, easy meal, that just has a little bit of “special” to it. Definitely a forever favorite.

On a side note, thank the Lord that ol’ Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow today. I am going crazy with all this cold weather!!!! Come on spring. Let’s do this.

Ingredients
• 2 Tilapia fillets
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 4 teaspoons drained capers
• 1  lemon juiced
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 tablespoons flour and a heap for dredging
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2-3 teaspoons olive oil

Directions
In a small saucepan over low heat combine broth, capers, lemon juice, margarine and 2 tablespoons of flour. Simmer sauce.

In a shallow dish season a heap of flour with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Rinse fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Dredge fish in flour mixture to coat all surfaces.

Heat 2 teaspoons in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

When oil is hot, cook fish until lightly browned on bottom about 2 to 3 minutes, turn fish and cook 2 to 3 minutes more until fish flakes with a fork.

Pour sauce over fish and serve.