Thursday night madness

Thursday night is always a crazy night to get dinner on the table. My daughter has ballet that runs right over the dinner hour. Needless to say, if I am not organized prior to leaving for ballet, it is a take out night...

All week I have been craving Greek food, so here is what we had. I prepared all of this ahead of time so it was ready to put together upon our return.

Greek 'salsa'



1 red pepper - chopped
1/2 long English cucumber - chopped
1 clove garlic - minced
Olive Oil (I just dumped, but if I am guessing...) 3 TBSP
1 TBSP Greek Seasoning (I buy the big container of it at Costco)
Feta Cheese - crumbled - as much as desired

Mix all ingredients together and cover with saran and let marinade in the fridge. Serve either in a pita with hummus and chicken or alongside your souvlaki.

Souvlaki





Bamboo Skewers (about 8)
Store Bought tzatziki

3 Chicken Breasts (You can use steak, lamb or shrimp too)- cut into 1-1 1/2 inch cubes
Sea Salt (enough to lightly season chicken)
After cutting the chicken, season with the salt and let rest while you mix up the marinade.

About 4 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP Lemon Juice
2 TBSP Greek Seasoning
Mix these three ingredients together in a bowl. Add salted chicken cubes and coat. Put 6 cubes onto each skewer. Place in a container or on a plate (with saran) and let them rest in the fridge until ready to cook. This will allow the flavors to really get into the chicken

Cooking them on the BBQ gives them a nice char-broiled taste. But you can cook them in the oven by broiling them. Simply place them on a broiling pan and broil at 450 degrees for about 10-15 mins (or until cooked through). I would suggest rotating them half way through to get them cooked evenly. Serve hot with tzatziki.

Pita & Hummus





Nothing fancy here... I have made my own hummus at times, but honestly, I have not found a recipe that compares to the store bought kind (let me know if you have one I can try). I cut the pita into 6 pieces and lightly cover with butter. I then heat them in the oven until butter is melted and the pita is heated through (a toaster oven works great for this). I then serve with hummus.

LEFTOVER IDEA - I use leftovers to make a stuffed pita. Simply cut open one side of the pita, spread hummus and tzatziki on the pita, add chicken and Greek salsa and close to enjoy for lunch or dinner. You can have this cold or hot. Add a bit of extra feta for some more flavor.