rosemary ranch chicken kabobs

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these kabobs produce tender, fragrant chicken. great with a light salad or with rice and steamed broccoli.

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (or dried)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 6-8 skewers

marinade: stir together the olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, pepper, and sugar. let stand for 5 minutes. place chicken in the bowl, and stir to coat with the marinade. cover and refrigerate for an hour.

preheat the grill (i used a george foreman style indoor grill). thread about 5 pieces of chicken onto each skewers and discard marinade.

grill skewers for 8 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear. serves 5-6.  *adapted from allrecipes.com

greek style kabobs

we were looking for a quick meal for a hot summer day, and decided to put together some basic greek ingredients together for an easy marinade. 

greek style chicken kabobs

4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1.5 inch pieces

1 cup olive oil (depending on preference- put in enough to cover the chicken) 

juice of one lemon

1 tbsp oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tbsp pepper

1 tsp salt

vegetables to grill- i used 1 onion and 1 green bell pepper, cut into cubes

skewers

mix the olive oil, lemon juice, and seasonings in a medium bowl. add chicken cubes and let marinate. (we put this together quickly and 10 minutes was great- though an hour will add more flavor). cut the veggies while the chicken marinates. 

heat the grill and brush with a little bit of oil to prevent sticking. alternate threading the veggies and chicken on the skewers. cook about 7 minutes on each side, until cooked through. you can also broil these, a few minutes on each side! enjoy!!

lime paprika chicken kabobs

lime paprika chicken kabobs

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1.5 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
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• 4-5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 white onion, cut into squares
• 1 green pepper, cut into squares

skewers

mix marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl. add chicken, cover, and let marinate in the fridge for an hour. when ready to cook, heat the grill and brush with oil to prevent sticking. 

thread the chicken and veggies on the skewers, alternating. cook for about 7 minutes on each side, until cooked through. these can also be broiled for a few minutes on each side if you don't have a grill! 

goes great with corn and coleslaw for a grill out! serves 4. 

inspired by allrecipes. 

lemon basil tortellini salad

this pasta was a merger of two food experts, italy and greece. tortellini, the great stuffed pasta, hails from italy and is often served with cream sauce or soup. i have always liked tortellini, even by itself, but my love forever deepened when i discovered its comforting properties brought out by a ham and cream sauce on a rainy day in venice. on the other hand, the marinade for the chicken is inspired by a sunny day riding an ATV in santorini, greece, using major greek food ingredients (garlic, oregano, lemon).

how do we put them together? by merging! adding the traditional italian seasoning of basil into the marinade gives the chicken some depth, and sharing some lemony love (and olives) with the pasta brings out tangy flavors alongside the vegetables. and of course, a heaping dose of olive oil, which is adored by both countries.

lemon basil marinade
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2.5 tbsp basil leaves, chopped
1 tsp oregano, chopped
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon

mix ingredients together in a large ziploc bag or plastic tupperware container. shake, and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours before cooking. to cook, drizzle a small amount of olive oil into a skillet on medium heat. cook each chicken breast in the oil for about 7 minutes each side, until lightly brown and fully cooked through. no lie, i threw these things together and this chicken was perfectly delicious!

tortellini salad
1 family size package of 4-cheese tortellini
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of olives, cut into small slices
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp basil, chopped
juice of one lemon

bring a pot of water to boil. add tortellini and cook for about 7 minutes (follow package instructions).

meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. add garlic, and when the garlic sizzles, add the onion and bell pepper pieces. cook for about 6 minutes. pour veggies and oil into a large bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients. stir well. add the cooked/strained tortellini and the chicken from above (cut into bite sized pieces) if you made it earlier.

with the chicken and veggies, this is enough for 6-7 people. i served it with the fruit and nut salad (see following post!) and easy to make what i call "banilla" cups.

banilla cups (aka banana pudding + vanilla wafers)
no-cook banana pudding mix
milk
heavy whipping cream
mini vanilla wafers

follow the instructions on the pudding box, but instead of using all milk, use half milk and half whipping cream. whisk until it reaches a pudding-like consistency. use small clear plastic cups and layer with wafers and pudding! chill in the fridge until ready to serve. one small box of pudding should make enough for 5-6 servings.

greek food night:: chicken pitas, tzatziki, baklava

one of the best meals i ate when i studied abroad was in athens, greece. it was basically a round table of goodness. my fellow travelers and i had been looking for a place to eat (as usual) for a long time and finally came across this cool restaurant, Exapinis. the plate you see below was heaven on earth!

since i try to host dinners from my study abroad friends every so often, one of the first meals we decided to share was a feast of grecian delight, modeled after our experiences in athens and santorini. a basic kebap or souvlaki meal consists of a meat (pork, chicken) marinated with 4 basic ingredients: olive oil, garlic, lemon, and oregano. olive oil, or "liquid gold," as homer called it, is one of THE food items of the mediterranean.

happily, the 4-ingredient combination is pretty much foolproof no matter the ratio! all of those ingredients have been around as staples in the greek diet since, well, ancient times. the seasoned meat goes well with some toasted pita bread and veggies like lettuce, onions, olives, tomatoes, and carrots. it's topped with a wonderful cucumber and yogurt sauce that's called tzatziki. tzatziki sauce is usually served as a side dish with a meal (or sometimes as an appetizer) with pita bread, or inside a kebap. kebaps are usually made with pork meat, but here is a chicken version!


greek chicken marinade
6 tbsp lemon juice (i squeezed real lemons, much better)
2 tsp oregano
7 tsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper

mix all ingredients and marinate boneless, skinless chicken breasts for at least an hour (half a day if you want to really bring out the flavors) in the fridge. i usually put it in a large plastic baggie and stop by the fridge every once in a while to shake the bag around.

when ready to cook, heat oven to 350 and slice up an onion and some bell pepper and mix with the chicken and leftover marinade in a baking pan. bake for about 30 minutes (or until fully cooked). you can also cut the chicken into cubes, and alternate onion and bell pepper with chicken on wooden skewers and cook in a grill! this marinade is good for enough chicken for 4 people.


tzatziki sauce
--> you can buy tzatziki at the grocery store, but it is so much better and more rewarding when you make it yourself!

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
8 oz greek plain yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
pinch pepper
1 tsp dill (if you have some, if not it will still be tasty!)
olive oil (up to you how much, just don't let the sauce get runny)

dice or shred the cucumber (so that it is in small, small pieces). squeeze excess juice out of the cucumber (i set it in paper towels and let the towel soak up the moisture. you don't want the cucumber to be juicy because you are already adding juices to the yogurt and you want the sauce to be kind of thick).

combine the cucumber and rest of the ingredients in a bowl, adding the olive oil last (just add a teaspoon, stir and taste-- keep adding until you like the taste and before it gets runny). stir well and set in fridge for at least an hour until you want to use it, this lets the flavors really come out. (one time it was too runny for me so i tried to set it in the freezer for a little while...i don't recommend that haha, but it works if you don't have the right kind of yogurt!)

--> feasting facts - GREEK YOGURT:
greek yogurt is basically an unflavored, thicker version of plain regular yogurt. if you only have regular you can run it through a cheesecloth over a bowl to thicken it, but it will take a while (hours). you can usually find greek yogurt in the specialty or international food areas at the grocery store. or, one brand i have used is "oikos," which has about 3 products at my local walmart at the top of the yogurt section. as a side note, greek yogurt is also good mixed with honey and walnuts for a dessert! mmmmm. :)


if you're serving this all together, try toasting some pita bread (just enough to make it crispy) and using tzatziki as a dip. you can also make it into a kepab/kebob/kebab and wrap some chicken, veggies, and tzatziki into a pita wrap. i was surprised to note that fries are often served with this, either actually inside the pita or outside as a side dish. but it's not the same kind of fries you usually find at mcdonalds...they're healthier somehow! i've got to get the recipe for that! :)


to top this all off, a bottle of red wine (opa) and a delicious greek dessert are the perfect companions. baklava seems complicated but actually i have a few tricks to make it easy! i love to wow people with this dessert because it tastes amazing and really doesn't require too much effort!

--> feasting facts - PHYLLO DOUGH:
phyllo dough is an extremely thin pastry. it should be in frozen foods section: the dessert or frozen pastry section of your grocery. the kind i've bought comes with two packages- you should only need one package for this recipe. set the dough out on the counter and let it thaw for a few minutes before you try to unwrap it (you don't want it to be hard. i made this mistake and it all crumbled apart!). however, it's just as bad to let it dry out. so you have to work kind of quickly, because you'll notice after thawing it starts to feel more and more like paper. you can cover the dough with a damp cloth to keep moisture in if this happens.



baklava
9x9 deep baking pan
1 pound chopped nuts (you can use any kind you like. i usually get a package of mixed nuts that includes peanuts and walnuts)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 package (16 oz) phyllo dough
a can of spray butter (this is the "cheat" for this recipe! traditionally, you would spread the butter but this is faster AND easier)
1 c. water
1 c. granulated white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. honey

preheat oven to 350.

PART 1: nuts
put the nuts in a plastic bag and crush them with a hammer or other sufficient crushing device if they aren't chopped enough. mix in the cinnamon and shake.

PART 2: the base
spray the pan with butter and then use this. baklava follows a pattern:
2 sheets of dough
a layer of butter spray
2 sheets of dough (now you have 4)
butter
2 sheets of dough (now you have 6)
butter
2 sheets of dough (now you have 8)
butter
3 tbsp of the crushed, spiced nuts

repeat as many times as will fill your pan or you have ingredients for! i think i had about 3 repeats.

cut the base into diamonds and bake for 50 minutes.

PART 3: the sauce
about 20 minutes in to the baking, boil the sugar and water until the sugar has melted and the liquid is clear again. add vanilla and honey.

simmer on extra low for 20 minutes.

hopefully you will be able to time this so that the baklava is done when the sauce has simmered for long enough. immediately after you take the pan out of the oven, pour the sauce in the pan, covering all of the baklava. it should sizzle, steam, and crackle...cool! leave it out for a while and it will harden and smell deeeelicious. when it's cooled down enough, serve and enjoy!

*both the greek chicken marinade and the tzatziki are a combination of several recipes i found, but i changed up the ratios. like i said, it's pretty much the same basic ingredients, just depends on personal preference how much of each you would like. the baklava recipe is from one of my favorite websites.