Greek Salad with Chicken

I realize that salads are typically more of a summer meal, but we eat salads all year at my house (plus it's still very much summer where I live).  I'm not sure if this is because a) I'm too lazy to actually cook something, or b) we don't really have a true winter here (unless you consider lows in the 50s winter).  Salads are also economical as they allow a small amount of meat to go a long way.

One of our favorite salads is a Greek salad that I posted 5 years ago.  It's so good that it really deserves to be mentioned again, but I've tweaked it ever so slightly to make it an entree!  I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner because it's so simple.  Add some chicken to the salad and, BAM, you've got a healthy and affordable entree!  You can use any kind of chicken you want - grilled, sauteed, rotisserie, leftovers, etc.  If I've recently made a whole chicken and have leftover meat, I'll use that for this.  If I don't have any leftovers on hand, I'll typically season boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I can often get these for $1.66-$1.77/lb on sale so I stock up and throw them in the freezer) with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and sautee in butter or throw them on the grill.  And for our family of 5, I can get away with 2 chicken breasts and usually have leftover meat for the lunch the next day.

You can use a bottled salad dressing, but I highly recommend you make the dressing below.  It tastes a-maz-ing (thanks to my sister-in-law for sharing it with me!), and it's healthier and much cheaper than store bought dressings.  My 7-year-old daughter LOVES it and always asks me if we have *that* dressing, even when we're not having a Greek salad.

On an economical note, I realize that Feta can be pricey.  I typically buy a chunk rather than crumbled Feta, because it's cheaper per ounce, and let's face it - it's really not hard to crumble your own Feta.  I've been omitting the olives as half of my family doesn't like olives and not using them also brings the cost down a bit.


Greek Salad
Romaine lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
Tomatoes, diced
Green bell peppers, diced
Red bell peppers, diced
Red onions, sliced
Cucumbers, chopped large
Olives, sliced (either kalamata or black will work)
Feta cheese, crumbled
Greek salad dressing (recipe below)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  You can either toss it all with the dressing or have people put their dressing on individually.  If you choose to toss the salad with the dressing, make sure you add it immediately prior to serving so that the lettuce doesn't get soggy.

Greek Salad Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a salad carafe and shake well.  If the dressing is too tangy for your taste, you can add a little sugar to tone it down a bit.  To help prevent separation, you can put all ingredients except the oil into a blender or food processor.  While the blender or food processor is running, slowly add the oil.  

Note: For those doing Trim Healthy Mama, this is an excellent S!

Independence Day BBQ!

Wednesday is Independence Day, and that means barbecue!  Over the past two years, we've posted a lot of recipes that would make any Fourth of July celebration a hit.

Main Dishes


Treat your friends and family to these delicious burgers or some finger-licking ribs.

Side Dishes


Every BBQ can use some potatoes.  Slice and grill them or wrap them in foil for clean cooking.

Want a green salad?  Try a green salad with strawberries and strawberry vinaigrette or a Caesar salad with homemade dressing.

So summery!!

This corn and black bean salad looks and tastes yummy!

And of course, it's corn season!!

So good!!

Beverages


Cool off with some homemade lemonade!  Add some strawberry puree for strawberry lemonade.

No lemons?  Brew up some homemade iced tea.

Desserts


And you can't have a BBQ without a few sweet endings!  How about cherry pie or cherry crumbles?  Do half cherry and half blueberry for a festive red, white, and blue dessert.

You could use star cut-outs for the top crust!!

For the kiddos, bake up some sugar cookies in the shape of stars.  Finish them off with some royal icing or homemade colored sugar.

Dip some strawberries in white chocolate and add some blue accents!

We hope you all have a great Independence Day!  We'd like to say a special thank you to those of you who fight to keep us free!

Since it is a holiday, we'll be taking Wednesday off, but we'll see you on Friday!

Hamburgers

My husband loves hamburgers.  I've managed to get him to eat (and even enjoy) turkey burgers, but he still prefers burgers made from beef.  Sadly for him, I haven't bought beef (of any kind) for quite some time, due to the price.  However, I checked for clearance meat when I was at the grocery store this week and low-and-behold, there was 90% lean ground sirloin on clearance for 50% off.  The original price was over $7/lb, but they were on sale for $3.70-something/lb.  Pair that with the 50% clearance discount and it's a great deal!  When I told him we were having burgers, he was so thrilled that they were beef!

Hamburgers
1 lb ground beef
1 slice of bread, crust removed (I used whole wheat)
2-3 Tbsp milk
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place bread in a bowl.  Pour just enough milk over it to saturate the bread, but not more than the bread can absorb.  Let sit for 10 minutes.

You want your bread to be nice and soggy so you don't end up with chunks of bread in your burgers!

Preheat grill to medium-high or high heat.

In a large bowl, combine beef, soggy bread, yolk, worcestershire, cayenne, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.  The best way to mix it is with your hands!  Just be sure to wash your hands really well with warm/hot water and soap before touching anything else!  Form into 4 patties.  When forming patties, make them a bit larger (in diameter) than want them to end up.  They will shrink when they're cooked.  Also, make them thinner in the center than around the edges.  Sprinkle each side of all burgers with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Grill for approximately 5 minutes per side, or until burgers are cooked through.  If you want a cheeseburger, add cheese during last couple minutes of grilling.

For an extra yummy burger, slice onions into discs (don't separate the rings).  Drizzle with vegetable oil and place on grill with burgers (but don't place the onions directly over the heat).  Instead of using raw onions on burgers, use the grilled ones!

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Wraps

It's been pretty hot here recently (not summer hot, yet, but hot nonetheless), and I've been reminded of how much I dislike using my stove and oven in the summer.  So we're having more salads, sandwiches, and food cooked outside on the grill.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try with a few modifications.  The results were wonderful and my family enjoyed it!  The best part was that it didn't heat up my house at all because it's all cooked out on the grill!

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Wraps
Chicken breasts
Red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
Red bell pepper, sliced into rings
1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Garlic powder
Ground black pepper
Hummus
Wraps, pitas, or tortillas (we used whole wheat lavash bread)
Feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Season chicken breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Place on grill; cook for 4 to 8 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.  While the chicken is cooking, brush or drizzle onions, bell peppers, and zucchini with olive oil; season with salt and pepper.  Place on grill until the first side begins to soften and get grill marks; flip and cook until tender-crisp.

Remove chicken and veggies.  Cut chicken into bite-sized chunks and give veggies a rough chop.  Season veggies with salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Spread wrap, pita, or tortilla with hummus, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges.  Place chicken and veggies in a strip along on edge of wrap.  Top with desired amount of feta and roll up.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Ribs

This summer, I've been brave.  I ventured out of my comfort zone and have been using our grill.  I was actually surprised that it's really not difficult nor is it much different than cooking in the kitchen!  I haven't tried very many things yet, but one thing I did try was pork spareribs.  They were mighty yummy!  Since I don't have much grilling experience, I asked the grill expert (my dad) for advice and tips on making ribs.

First of all, let me say that you don't grill ribs, you barbecue ribs.  Yes, there is a difference (my dad will be the first to correct anyone on this fact).  Grilling is when you cook something over direct heat (the flame is right under the meat).  Barbecuing is when you use indirect heat.  When making ribs, you don't want the flame to be right under the meat.  On our grill, there's a front burner and a back burner.  I simply had only the front burner on and put the meat over the back burner (which was turned off).  Second, the way to barbecue ribs is low and slow.  You want to keep the heat low (mine was hovering between 225 and 250) and slow (my ribs barbecued for almost 5 hours).

I used spareribs, because they were on sale for well under $2 per pound.  However, I think baby back ribs would be even better (but also much more expensive)!  Maybe I'll have to splurge and get baby back ribs for some special occasion!  There are different dry rub recipes, but I use the one found on The Pioneer Woman's blog.  It's simple and delicious! If you go to her blog, she gives a recipe for making these in the oven.

Barbecued Pork Ribs
Slab of pork spareribs or baby back ribs
Dijon mustard (I just used as much as I needed to coat the ribs)
1-2 tsp liquid smoke
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp paprika
1 1/2 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
Vegetable oil
BBQ sauce (optional)

In a small bowl, mix Dijon mustard and liquid smoke.  In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, pepper, garlic powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Remove membrane from the bone side of ribs.

Use a durable butter knife to separate the membrane from the ribs.

Brush mustard mixture onto both sides of the ribs.  Rub the brown sugar mixture over the entire surface of the ribs.

Preheat grill on low.  You want to maintain a temperature between 225 and 250 degrees.  Place ribs, bone side up, on grill, but not over the flame.

Allow the ribs to barbecue for an hour to an hour and a half, then baste with a little vegetable oil and flip.  Baste them with oil every 45 minutes or so until they are done.  You'll know they're done when the meat has shrunk back from the ends of the bones about 1/4 inch.  Once they're done, put barbecue sauce on (if desired) and cook on high until sauce caramelizes, being careful not to burn it. 

The meat has shrunken back from the ends of the bones.

Remove from heat and allow them to rest in foil for 10-15 minutes before cutting.  Enjoy and don't be afraid to get messy!

The ribs on the left have sauce; the ones on the right don't.