Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs

Summertime is for grilling.

I was surfing the net one day (Do they even still use that term? "Surf the net?") and an article came up with this recipe from Once Upon a Chef. I'm always up for trying a great new recipe and I love, love, love kebabs. So I decided to dust off the cobwebs off my grill and give this recipe a try. And boy were these kebabs delicious. It tastes exactly like the kebabs I buy at many of the local Mediterranean/Armenian restaurants in our area. I normally eat kebabs with my homemade Tzatziki sauce, but these kebabs do not need any accompaniment because they are so good and so flavorful all by themselves. I did, however, serve it with my new found favorite Basmati Rice Pilaf and my Mediterranean meal was complete.

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (less if you don't like it spicy)
zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (trimmed of any fat and cut into large pieces)
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
oil for greasing the grill
bamboo skewers, soaked in water for about an hour

1) In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, olive oil, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, zest and juice of lemon, salt black pepper and garlic. Stir until thoroughly combined.

2) Thread chicken pieces onto the skewers, alternating occasionally with the red onion pieces. Be sure not to cram the skewers. Place the kebabs on a tray lined with aluminum foil. Brush or spoon the marinade all over the meat and onions coating well. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

3) Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Grease the grill by dipping some paper towel in oil and wiping down the grill with it. Grill chicken until golden brown and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes on each side. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with rice and/or tzatziki sauce.

Pastitsio

I was in the mood to make lasagna the other day. But I didn't want just a plain ordinary lasagna. Then I remembered that I had saved up a great casserole recipe from Martha Stewart that I've been dying to make. Pastitsio is a Greek casserole dish. I learned of this dish when I was watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network and was curious about how different this dish was from my Baked Ziti recipe.

When I was looking for recipes last week, I came upon this recipe from Martha Stewart and I realized the only difference with this recipe from my Baked Ziti is the cinnamon. Its actually an easier recipe because the sauce base is just tomato paste and wine. I loved the hint of cinnamon in this dish. This is a great make-ahead recipe as well. Just prepare and assemble the casserole and bake when you're ready. I'll definitely be making this new comfort food again.

1 lb. pasta (preferably penne), cooked and drained
oil for cooking
2 lbs. ground meat (beef, turkey, lamb)
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cup water
salt & pepper to taste
6 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups milk
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1) In a large sauce pan, heat about 3 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add ground meat and cook until no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes. Break up meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.

2) Transfer meat mixture to a colander to drain the fat. Return meat mixture to the pan and add the wine. Cover and allow to cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cinnamon and  water. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

4) In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until incorporated. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue whisking until there are no more lumps. Cook, whisking often, until mixture is thick and bubbly, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and set aside.

5) Add pasta to the meat mixture and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Transfer to a 9x13 inch pan. Pour white sauce over the pasta mixture, smoothing it out until leveled. Bake until tops begin to brown in spots, about 30-40 minutes (40-50 minutes if you've made the casserole ahead and have placed in the refrigerator). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Greek Turkey Burgers with Spiced Yogurt Sauce

This is a recipe I found from one of my Costco cookbooks. It was the NBA All-Star weekend yesterday and I was planning on grilling these. But it was a rainy weekend and, as much as I used to love cooking on my grill pan, I didn't want to do the cleaning for the grill pan. So I opted to make soup yesterday instead.

Well, I finally made these today and decided to fry them in a pan. Even though it was a beautiful day to barbecue. However you decided to cook these (whether you grill or fry them) these burgers will be delicious. It has so much flavor in it and its quite healthy. I'm definitely making these again.

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 cup feta cheese (I used shredded cheese because its all I had)

2 tsp. dry oregano leaves

1/2 tsp. dry thyme leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper, plus more to taste

2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

ground cumin

salt & pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. olive oil

4 hamburger rolls, toasted

lettuce

tomato slices

cucumber slices

1) In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, cheese, oregano, thyme, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Shape into 4 patties.

2) Heat oil in a frying pan (or heat grill). Cook patties for 4-5 minutes on each side or until burgers are cooked through and has an internal temperature of 165 deg F.

3) To prepare sauce, season yogurt to taste with cumin, salt and pepper.

4) Serve burgers on toasted rolls. Top each burger with 1 Tbsp. of the yogurt mixture. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber slices.

Chicken Kabobs

I love chicken kabobs. I especially love eating it with rice pilaf, tzatziki sauce and pita bread. I found this recipe from a monthly Costco magazine that I received in the mail probably 2 years ago. Its really easy. I used fresh oregano from my herb garden that has been growing wildly now. I still don't have an outdoor grill to cook in, so I used my grill pan and cooked the kabobs indoors for dinner tonight.

1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
zest of 1 lemon
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
bamboo skewers, soaked in water overnight to prevent burning
salt and pepper to taste

1) Combine oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and lemon zest in a large bowl. Mix well. Add chicken and marinade for at least an hour.

2) Thread the chicken on skewers, making sure that there is space in between the pieces so that they cook evenly. Season chicken with a little salt and pepper.

3) Grill chicken on both sides until done, about 8 minutes.

Tzatziki sauce

In an attempt to see if I can save money by making my own (plus I forgot to buy some), I decided to try to make Tzatziki sauce for my get together with the girls tonight. You'll see Tzatziki sauce in a lot of Mediterranean menus and has many different names for it. Tzatziki sauce is actually the Greek name for this awesome cucumber yogurt sauce. This turned out awesome with the Kabobs and rice pilaf I bought for dinner. This recipe calls for thick Greek yogurt, but you can also use plain yogurt that you strain the liquid out of. It turns into the consistency of soft cream cheese. Which is what I did.

48 oz plain yogurt, strained out of its liquid

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 cucumber, seeded and finely chopped

1 Tbsp. dill

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. lemon juice

salt to taste

1) Combine lemon juice and oil in a medium bowl. Fold in yogurt and mix well.

2) Add garlic according to your taste, cucumber and dill. Mix well. Add salt to taste.

Moussaka

Moussaka is basically a Greek lasagna-type dish made with either eggplant or zucchini instead of pasta. I'm not a huge fan of eggplant, so I use zucchini, which I absolutely LOVE. I learned about this dish while watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. I saw how it was made, and looked pretty easy like lasagna, so I decided to do my own version. I made this with my bolognese sauce with ground turkey. But this can totally be a vegetarian dish if your sauce doesn't have any meat. I especially like the topping, which is basically a white gravy/beschamel sauce that I make. This is another one of my signature potluck dishes. Its a great way to sneak in a little vegetable into someone's diet. I did with my daughter!

4-6 zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 3 pieces
5 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used my bolognese sauce)
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Topping:
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grill zucchini slices until half-way done. Spread bread crumbs on the bottom of a casserole dish.

2) Place a layer of grilled zucchini slices on top of the bread crumbs. Pour 1/3 of spaghetti sauce on top of zucchini. Place another layer of grilled zucchini and then spaghetti sauce. Repeat procedure until you have used up your zucchini slices or until you have made 3 layers.

3) TOPPING: In a saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. When butter begins to bubble, add flour and whisk for about a minute to make a roux. Gently pour in milk while vigorously whisking, to avoid lumps. Cook mixture until it begins to boil, stirring occassionally to avoid burning. When mixture begins to boil, remove from heat. Add nutmeg, salt & pepper to taste.

4) Pour topping over prepared zucchini layers. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.