Greek Turkey Burgers

Even though it's officially been Spring for the last two weeks it didn't feel like it here in New Jersey until the other day. Finally the flowers are starting to come out of the ground and the leaves are beginning to come back. I am certainly ready to welcome the warmer weather and I think after the winter we've had most people would agree with me!!

 This recipes makes 4 large or 6 slider sized burgers. These burgers are full of flavor, the feta cheese and tzatiki sauce keeps them nice and moist and the cucumber topping gives it a fresh crunch. They also pair nicely with some homemade roasted sweet potato fries. Hopefully these Greek turkey burgers will give you the perfect reason to get outside and fire up the grill for the first time this season!! If you aren't quite ready to head outdoors to use your gas or charcoal grill a counter top sandwich press or stove top grill pan works just as well.

Ingredients for Burgers:

1.25lb Ground Turkey

1 Egg

3 oz Frozen Chopped Spinach - thawed & squeezed

8-10 Sun-dried Tomatoes - Diced

1 1/2 Tsp Garlic - Minced

1/3 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

1 Tsp Oregano

1/4 Tsp Cumin

1/4 Tsp Coriander

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Pepper

Ingredients for Tzatziki:

5oz Container Plain Low Fat Greek Yogurt

1/2 Fresh Lemon - Squeezed

1/2 Tsp Garlic - Minced

3 Tbsp Cucumber - Peeled, Seeded and Minced

1/2 Tsp Oregano

S&P

Burger Garnishes:

More Feta Cheese

Sliced Cucumber

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

Burger or Slider Rolls

Adapted from: http://www.budgetbytes.com/

Preheat and grease your grill. Thaw some of the frozen chopped spinach and squeeze out as much liquid out of it as you can. In a large bowl combine the ground turkey meat, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, egg, feta cheese and spices.

Using your hands mix all of the ingredients together until you feel that all of the spices are mixed in and the cheese, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes are spread out evenly. You can score the meat and try to divide it in equal parts as best you can. I got 4 large burgers ready to grill but I realized that I had purchased slider sized rolls so after taking all of these pictures I reformed my patties to make smaller ones.

When you are forming the patties make sure that they are thinner in the middle and a little bit thicker towards the outside. This will help the burger cook evenly and keep your patties flat. Grill your burgers for about 10 minutes, flipping once. Since it is turkey you don't want any raw meat in the center. 

While your burgers are grilling it's time to make your tzatiki sauce. In a small bowl combine the Greek yogurt with the garlic, lemon juice, oregano, cucumber, salt and pepper. When the burgers are ready to serve put them on the rolls. top them with the sauce, some extra cheese and a few slices of cucumber. The cucumber will bring some freshness and crunch to the creaminess of the other toppings. 

Enjoy!!

Mediterranean Chicken with Tomatoes and Cannelloni Beans

This recipe is adapted from A Spoonful of Thyme.  As soon as we got our assignment from the Secret Recipe Club last month I picked this as the dish I wanted to make and then Nicole said it was her turn to pick so I put the recipe aside. The other day Sam and I were in the mood for a new chicken dish so we decided to make this one. It was delicious with the lemon and oregano flavors and the longer it sat and the flavors got together the more delicious it was.  The first night my husband said it was okay.  The second time he had it as a leftover he said it was much better and he really enjoyed it.  Just like stew or chili or spaghetti sauce.  The longer it sits the better it gets so its perfect for a make-ahead meal.  
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
2 medium lemons, very thinly sliced
2 - 15 oz cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
2 pints cherry tomatoes, red and yellow
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Mix together the olive oil and all the spices in a small bowl.  Rub each piece of chicken with about 2 tsp of the olive oil/spice mixture.  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan.  Place the chicken in a heated pan and saute for several minutes until golden brown.  Remove from pan and place in a large oven safe dish.

In a large bowl combine the remaining olive oil and spice mixture with the beans, tomatoes, lemon slices and 1/2 of the parsley.  Stir gently to coat.  Add this mixture to the baking dish with the chicken.  

Roast until the chicken is cooked through, about 30-35 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining parsley.

Enjoy!!

Linked up at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Baklava Cookies

A Spoonful of Thyme was the blog we were assigned for this month's edition of Secret Recipe Club. Kate who lives out in beautiful California has quite an extensive recipe index. I have really been in the mood for India food lately so originally I through I was going to make Chicken Tikka Masala but the sauce has a ton of different spices that I don't keep in the house. So instead I couldn't resist these Baklava Cookies. Baklava is one of my all time favorite desserts and my mom has actually made a whole tray of it for a previous month of Secret Recipe Club but working with phyllo dough is difficult and time consuming. These cookies are quick, easy and taste surprisingly similar to baklava because of the honey glaze topping with the sprinkled walnuts and cinnamon.

Ingredients for Cookies:
2 3/4 Cups Flour
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
2 Cups Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg
2 1/2 Sticks I Can't Believe it's not Butter - Softened
11/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Ingredients for Glaze;
2/3 Cup Honey
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Tbsp I Can't Believe it's not Butter
1 Tsp Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

Top with more cinnamon & finely chopped walnuts

Makes 4 dozen cookie

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside. In your stand mixers bowl combine the softened margarine and sugar until creamy and smooth. Then add your egg and vanilla extract. 

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixing on low in between additions until it is completely combined.

Using a spatula mix in the walnuts pieces. Using your hands or a Tbsp form the cookie dough into small balls. Place the balls about 2 inches a part on a cookie sheet and lightly press down to flatten them. 

Bake about 10 minutes or until the cookies appear firm and the edges are slightly browned. Remove from the baking sheet after 2 or 3 minutes of cooling and allow to cool completely on a baking rack.

While the cookies are baking and cooling you can make the glaze. In a small pot on the stove combine the honey, lemon juice, margarine, vanilla extract and cinnamon over low heat. Mix occasionally, allowing the margarine to melt. It will take about 10-15 minutes for this glaze to come together and thicken to syrup constancy. Let it slightly begin to bubble then remove it from the heat. Drizzle it over the cookies once it has thicken and cooled a bit. Top the cookies with the walnut pieces and cinnamon while the glaze is still sticky so everything will stay on the cookie.

Enjoy!!

Greek Orzo Salad

I love the Greek flavor profile and always need my fix regularly. Luckily a few weeks ago our local Greek Orthodox church had a festival which I attended to get us food two days in a row. Last week, I decided it was again time to ind luge in some classic Greek flavors so I threw together this orzo salad. I always love how the perfect bite has all different tastes and textures. The cool cucumber with the juicy tomato, the saltiness from the olives and the creaminess from the Feta cheese!! John and I had it for dinner with some grilled shrimp and chicken which made for a light and summery dinner. It also would be great as a side dish for a BBQ with your burgers and dogs.

Ingredients:
1/2 Box Orzo (About 1 1/4 cups)
1 Large Red Pepper - Diced
1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes - Halved
1 Large Cucumber - Peeled, Seeded & Diced
1 Cup Kalamata Olives - Pitted & Halved
12 oz Reduced Fat Crumbled Feta Cheese
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Minced Fresh Oregano
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper

Adapted from www.food.com - Christine's Yellow Kitchen

Start by bringing a pot of salted water up to a boil for the orzo and cook it according to the package. Drain the pasta and let it cool. While the pasta is cooking and cooling you can prep your veggies. Peel, seed and dice your cucumber, dice your tomatoes and dice up your peppers. The olives I bought were already pitted and sliced, I rinsed them off a bit so they wouldn't be overly salty. Put all of the vegetables in a very large bowl. Set aside.

Now it's time to make your dressing for the salad which is just a basic red wine vinaigrette. In a small bowl combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. If you don't have fresh oregano on hand it is perfectly fine to use dried oregano instead, use 3/4 Tsp. Set aside.

Once the pasta has cooled completely add it to the big bowl of vegetables and stir to combine. Pour the vinaigrette over top and toss so that it has covered everything completely. Allow the salad to sit in the in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Since we had this for dinner with grilled shrimp and chicken we just topped our bowls with the crumbled feta cheese before we ate but if I was serving this as a salad I would mix in the feta right before serving and leave a little to sprinkle on the top.

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Baklava

It's that time of the month again....Secret Recipe Club.  This time we have been assigned Sids Sea Palm Cooking. I love that she takes pictures as shes going along like we do. She has such a wide variety of foods to pick from but I love Greek food so it was a very easy choice when I saw that she had made Baklava. Baklava has always been on my list of foods to make and I thought it was much harder to make than it actually was. There is no question that phyllo dough can be a little tricky to work with.  I ended up throwing one roll away as it was half frozen and broke everywhere was I was unrolling it.  It's good I had extras in the freezer. Even if the layer ended up not being in one piece brushing the butter the layers made everything come together. The hardest part was waiting 24 hours to eat it.  We only waited about 18 but that was enough for all the syrup to soak into the layers of dough.

Ingredients:
1 lb. walnuts, finely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 sticks unsalted butter
1 package phyllo dough (16 oz.) thawed
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
10 oz. honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Melt the 3 sticks of butter in the microwave.  Set aside until a little cool.  Finely chop the walnuts in a food processor.  Add sugar and cinnamon and pulse.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Brush the bottom of the pan with some melted butter to start with.  Put phyllo dough to cover the bottom of the pan.  Brush all over with melted butter.  Put another layer down. Do the same with the butter.  Do eight layers total of dough brushing with butter each time.

Put 1/3 of the nut mixture on top of the 8 layers of dough.

Now do another 8 layers of dough again brushing with melted butter in between each layer.  Add another 3rd of the nut mixture and now another 8 layers of the dough with the melted butter. Then add the last of the nut mixture. Top with 8 more layers of dough with the butter.  Now before it bakes you need to cut it into your squares or triangles because it won't work if you cut it after it bakes.  This can be a little messy but make your cuts with a sharp knife carefully.  After its cut into pieces put in the preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes until the top is brown.

While the baklava is cooking in the oven its time to make the syrup.  In a saucepan add 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon.  Bring to a boil and then cook for another 10 minutes stirring once in a while to make the mixture into syrup.

Take off the heat and add the honey and vanilla extract to the syrup mixture.

When the baklava comes out of the oven pour over the top making sure to pour the syrup everywhere.

It will look like too much syrup but it will soak in.  Now let it sit overnight on the counter covered with foil so that the syrup gets into all the layers.

Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

An InLinkz Link-up

Slow Cooker Beef Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

I love Greek food and it's a shame we don't get to enjoy it more often. We have a Greek Orthodox church in our neighborhood that has a festival twice a year and I always am excited to get myself a gyro or any of their other delicious foods. I found this recipe to make Gyros in a slow cooker and I have to say it comes pretty close to the real thing. I haven't done it yet but I'm sure the same recipe would be adaptable to chicken as well. Give it a try as an easy weeknight dinner with some oven roasted potatoes!!

We are back from our vacation to Disney World!! As expected it was full of memories and I am so glad we got to share Owen's first trip with my parents!! We were so lucky to have some beautiful warm weather, Owen loved meeting the characters and Samantha and I had ran an impressive 1st Half Marathon!! We couldn't have asked for a better week :) I couldn't resist sharing a few of my favorite pictures with all of you!!

Ingredients:

2 lbs Chuck Roast - Cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 Large Onion - Thinly Sliced

1 Clove of Garlic - Minced

1/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Tsp Oregano

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Pepper

Whole Wheat Pitas

Iceberg Lettuce

Diced Tomato

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 Container Plain Greek Yogurt

1/4 Cup Cucumber - Peeled & Finely Diced 

1 Garlic Clove - Minced

1 Tsp Oregano

1/2 Tsp Dill

1/4 Tsp Salt

Pepper

Adapted from: http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/

In a large skillet warm 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil over medium-high heat. Slice the beef into 1/2 inch cubes and pat them dry to remove any moisture. Brown the beef in the skillet in a single layer for about 7 minutes each side, using tongs to move the cubes around. You may need to do this in two shifts or use two separate pans. Transfer the browned beef cubes to a plate with paper towels to absorb any extra oil. Add the beef and your sliced onion into the slow cooker bowl.

Now it is time to make the marinade the meat and onions are going to cook in. In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt & pepper. Pour the marinade over top of the beef and onions, stir to make sure it has coated everything. 

Set your slow cooker to low and cook 6-8 hours. When it is done the meat should be very tender so you can shred it into smaller pieces if desired. You can always pick up pre-made Tzatziki sauce in the refrigerator section of your food store near where they keep the hummus but I like to make ours fresh. Mix all the Tzatziki ingredients together in a small bowl and let it sit in the fridge so the yogurt has a chance to absorb all of the flavors for a few hours.  

When you meat is done you can set up your gyros. The traditional topping are Tzatziki, raw onion, lettuce and tomato but you can obviously top them with whatever combination you'd like. I usually serve them with some oven roasted potatoes which makes a great Greek style meal without having to go to a restaurant or street fair.

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/