Sheet Pan Greek Chicken and Vegetables

This was super good AND it was easy to make for a week night!!!  You could put on a pita too!!!  Boys liked just making it bowl style!!

OBB - Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper cut into 1" squares
• 1 medium onion red or yellow, cut into 1/2"-1" squares
• 1 small-medium zucchini sliced into 1/3" pieces
• 1 cup cherry/grape tomatoes sliced in half, optional- see instructions
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs about 6 thighs
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon lemon pepper or sub 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon freshly minced rosemary leaves, optional
• 1 lemon
• ⅓ cup feta cheese

Topping options

• additional feta Cheese
• Chopped Parsley
• Tzatziki, recommended
• Hummus
• Greek Salsa

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Prepare pan: If desired, line pan with foil for easy clean up. Note- I like to use an extra large sheet pan for this recipe, but you can also make it on a standard sheet pan (which is what I'm using in the photos). The more crowded your food, the more moisture in the pan so it tends to have a bit more liquid. Sometimes depending on the size of your vegetables, this can get a bit crowded on a single standard pan, but if that's what you've got, it will work great!
• Place cut vegetables on the prepared baking sheet. You can include your small tomatoes whole, or if you have the time, I like to cut them in half and press the seeds and pulp into the sink just to get rid of a little more liquid.
• Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Use a clean pair of kitchen sheers to trim off any excess pieces of large fat (no need to remove ALL fat). Slice chicken into ½-inch slices and add it to the vegetables on the pan.
• Drizzle with 4 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle on the salt, lemon pepper, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, and rosemary if using.
• Toss to evenly distribute all oil and spices over chicken and vegetables.  *I use food-safe gloves and do this with my hands massaging everything together.
• Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes.  Use a spatula to toss mixture and then return to oven for an additional 15 minutes. Finally, turn on the broiler and cook (watching carefully) until vegetables are slightly browned and caramelized and chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees or more. 
• Remove pan from oven and immediately toss with 1/3 cup feta cheese and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Add additional salt if needed. Serve in a grain bowl or in a wrap with desired condiments.

Some topping options:

• Tzatziki - tzatziki is a simple condiment sauce made from yogurt, cucumber, and some spices. It's super easy to make at home, or you can find some ready-made versions. If you don't use any other condiment, I recommend at the very least having this one.
• Feta - crumbled feta adds both a creaminess and a tanginess
• Lemon wedges - squeeze on a little fresh lemon juice before serving.
• Hummus - I love a little smear of hummus on a flatbread or a dollop in a bowl.
• Greek Salsa - If you want something cold and crunchy, this greek inspired salsa is a great choice.

Greek Steak and Rice

Y-U-M-M-Y!!!!  I would have cooked my steak a lot more...to be like medium well, BUT I comprised with my grill master and tried to eat it like this.  This was soooo good!!!!  Yum -- all 3 of us ate this right up!

Serves 4: Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients
Marinade & Dressing
zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup olive oil

Steak and Rice
1 1/2 – 2 lb flank steak
non-stick spray or drizzle of olive oil
10-12 ounce pack grape tomatoes
6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
2 cups cooked  brown rice (or quinoa, cous cous, or white rice)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup reduced fat or fat free feta cheese

Rinse steak in cool water and pat dry with paper towels.  With a sharp knife, very lightly score the top in a diamond pattern.  Place steak in a zip-lock bag or a shallow pan.

Place all marinade ingredients, except oil, in a blender.  Blend for a few seconds and then with the blender on low, slowly drizzle in olive oil.  Set aside 1/4 cup of marinade and store in fridge.  Place remaining marinade in bag with steak and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 6 hours (longer is fine).  Rotate bag occasionally to evenly distribute marinade.

When ready to cook, remove steak and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  You may cook steak in one of 3 ways:
1.  Broil:  Preheat broiler and place steak on a broiler pan.  Cook for about 5-8 minutes on each side, or until top is slightly browned and internal temperature reaches about 135 degrees.
2.  Outdoor grill:  Heat grill to high heat.  Lightly oil grill grates and place steak on grill.  Decrease heat to medium-high.  Sear 5-8 minutes per side or until internal temp reaches 135 degrees.
3.  Indoor grill pan:  Heat indoor grill pan to medium high heat.  Once pan is hot (water droplets should sizzle when dropped on pan) brush pan with canola/vegetable oil.  Place steak on pan and cook for 5-8 minutes.  Flip steak and cook until internal temp reaches about 135 degrees.

When steak is done cooking, place on cutting board and tent with foil.  Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

While steak is cooking, heat a small sauté pan to medium heat.  When hot, add a small drizzle of olive oil and add tomatoes.  Stir/toss often, cooking for 4-5 minutes or so, until skins are slightly blackened in spots and tomatoes start to burst.  Remove from heat and add rice, artichokes, parsley, and feta.  Add 2 tablespoons reserved marinade/dressing and toss to combine.  Slice steak thinly across the grain and serve over rice mixture.

Greek Stuffed Chicken

Greek night at cookbook tonight, and we had a BIG group - and it was so much fun!!!  We had 2 newbies - hope you guys come back :)


We started our night off with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus....then had the stuffed chicken with Greek Salad.  I think we are "Greeked" out!  It was all really yummy - these chicken breasts esp!! Feel free to make many varieties of this....we did some without olives....some without cheese....you can really stuff with whatever you like :)

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

1/2 cup of sundried tomato (drained)

1 pkg. spinach

1 cup feta cheese

4 green onions

1/4 cup greek olives chopped (I used kalamata olives)

1 garlic clove

Salt and pepper to taste

Greek seasoning

Pound the chicken breasts with a meat mallet to about 1/8 inch thickness.

Combine all of the other ingredients in a bowl. (you could put the ingredients in a food processor to fully chop and blend all the ingredients together, but I don't have a big one....YET!)

Cover the flattened chicken breasts with the greek ingredients and roll the chicken breasts to make a pinwheel and place toothpicks in to keep the chicken in place.

Wrap each chicken breast in tinfoil and grill until the chicken is cooked through. If you'd prefer to not grill the chicken, you can place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for 40 minutes. (No need to use tinfoil if you are putting them in the oven.)


Note: Chicken is a little juicy - so put on a high baking sheet...or beware of basting :)

Greek Salad

It's crazy over here at cookbook.....I was trying to come up with a menu for our April Showers theme, and apparently that was Greek!  haha  so yeah - we made this with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Greek Stuffed Chicken.  This was really good - I mean it's a salad - how can it not be!  But the dressing....hmmmm yummmmmm!!

Ingredients
1 large head Romaine Lettuce
1/2 half red onion, sliced
1 English Cucumber, sliced
1 cup Kalamata olives
1 cup Greek Feta, crumbled

1 tomato, chopped

dash dry dill


Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper


Place lettuce in a large bowl.


Mix dressing ingredients in a bottle and give it a good shake.  Toss lettuce with about 1/2 the dressing.


Place remaining salad ingredients on top of lettuce, and drizzle with some more dressing.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Cookbook club in the house and it's GREEK night, so why not make our own hummus!!   This was actually really good - I prefer it to store bought hummus actually!!  I couldn't find tahini at Rainbow - they said they didn't carry it....so this had a little bit of a PB taste to it...which is probably why I liked it better :)  Tahini I hear is kinda pricey - so the natural PB is an alternative to this!


AND I used a blender instead of a food processor and it worked great!  (yup....I still don't have a food processor cookbook clubers....)  :)

Makes 2 cups: OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
15 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup drained and chopped roasted red bell peppers
1/3 cup tahini (or natural PB)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (or 1/4 heaping teaspoon of red pepper flakes)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish

Serve with: pita chips, veggies, bagel....

Place all ingredients except for the oil and cilantro in the work bowl of a food processor or in the jar of a heavy-duty blender. Process until smooth, then add the oil in a steady stream and process until desired consistency is reached.  Add the cilantro and pulse a few times until the cilantro is evenly distributed.

Grilled Greek Tacos

Apparently it's GREEK NIGHT at the Sodahls!  P-Ron in the house too :)  I decided to get all fancy with this meal!  You could totally make this really quick by using store bought everything - but I marinaded my own chicken, made up some yummy tzatziki, and cut up all the ingredients (pretty much so I could use my cutie serving platter....hehe)

But yeah - this was really good!!  Very tasty and really easy to make :)  I would make it with flank steak next time - cause the marinade is the bomb!

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or white fish like cod or tilapia
Greek Vinaigrette

Your choice of toppings:

Chopped or shredded Romaine lettuce
Crumbled Feta cheese
Tzatziki
Hummus
Chopped or sliced pepperoncinis

Kalamata Olives, sliced
Greek-ish Tomato Salad (recipe below)
Small whole-grain tortillas

Marinate chicken or fish in Greek Vinaigrette for at least 4 hours. Grill and then cut into slices for serving. Fill warmed tortillas with desired toppings and enjoy!


Greek-ish Tomato Salad
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 c. (total) of any combination of fresh, chopped basil, oregano, and/or parsley
Greek Vinaigrette to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Toss the diced tomatoes, diced onions, and chopped herbs together until combined. Toss with the Greek Vinaigrette (to taste) and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on top of the tacos or add Kalamata olives and feta cheese for a side-dish.  

Greek Vinaigrette Dressing & Marinade

Ross was at an offsite a couple days this week, so I invited my dad over for dinner (since my mom is out of town too) - and figured we would do up some yummy Greek Tacos.....marinaded those bad boys in this awesome dressing....but you could totally use this on a Greek salad too!!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this will not make the dressing spicy, just flavorful)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 cup canola oil (or other salad oil)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dry oregano

In the jar of a blender, combine all the ingredients through the garlic. Blend until smooth.

While the blender is running, add the oil in a steady stream. Turn off the blender and add the feta and pulse the blender a few times (more if you want a creamier consistency).

Whisk in the herbs. If possible, refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Use as a marinade for chicken, lamb, or flank steak or drizzle over a Greek salad.