Tzatziki

Have you ever been to Christos??  It's off highway 7 in Minnetonka - well if you haven't, you should go there OR try this sauce with the recipe for Gyro Burger Pitas.....you can have Greek night right in your own home!!

We made this sauce to go with Greek Tacos - so try that too!!  Then you won't even have any leftover Tzatziki left :)

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (that’s 2 6-oz. containers)

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 teaspoon lemon juice

3 green onions, firm ends finely chopped

1 teaspoon dry dill weed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Store covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Pork Loin Roast

Dinner at the Sodahls household was AMAZING!! Future Mr and Mrs Paula Deen perhaps??   :)  We made this with Apple Brown Rice Dressing and Festive Roasted Veggies... probably the best complete meal yet.  This pork roast was 1. EASY 2. Cooked perfectly and 3. YUMMY!!!  The rub was possibly the best rub I've ever had....ahhh leftovers tomorrow is going to be amazing!!

Makes 6-8 servings: Paula Deen Magazine

Ingredients:
4lb boneless pork loin roast
3 large cloves garlic, pressed
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Garnish: fresh rosemary and sage sprigs

Using kitchen string, tie roast, securing at 1-inch intervals.

In a small bowl, combine garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, Italian seasoning, sea salt and pepper to make a paste.  Rub mixture over all sides of roast.  Place roast in a large, heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; seal and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly spray a roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add roast, and cook for 2-4 minutes per side or until browned on all sides.  Place roast in prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 145 degrees.  Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before slicing.  Garnish with rosemary and sage.

Apple Brown Rice Dressing

YAY!!  I found a rice dish Rossy liked!!  This was super super good!!  The apples mixed in with the brown rice made this AMAZING!!  I can NOT wait for leftovers - and plus, it's healthy...it is made with brown rice :)

Makes 6-8 servings: Paula Deen magazine

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt and pepper
1 red apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

Prepare rice according to package directions, substituting broth for water and omitting salt and butter.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add celery, green onions, sage, sea salt, and pepper; saute for 5 minutes.  Add apple, and saute for 2-3 minutes or just until veggies and apple are tender.  Stir in cooked rice and almonds.

Festive Roasted Veggies

These veggies were so good - and the concept was soo easy!!  I used my fancy GLOVES my mom gave me for my bday to cut up the beets - didn't want those bad boys to dye my hands or anything :)  Parsnips are super random - but they tasted really good!! 

Makes 6-8 servings: Paula Deen Magazine

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 2-inch chunks
1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chucks
1 lb small carrots with tops, trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs beets, peeled and cut into 2-inch wedges

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lightly spray 2 rimmed baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, parsnips, and carrots; toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Arrange in an even layer on 1 prepared baking sheet.  Toss beets with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; arrange in a single layer on remaining prepared baking sheet.

Bake veggies for 30 minutes or just until carrots are tender.  Remove carrots from pan.  Bake remaining veggies for 10 minutes longer or just until tender.  Transfer veggies to a serving platter.

Veggie Lasagna

Roomie night at Kim's house tonight - and we whipped up this super good veggie lasagna!!  (We added some turkey though - otherwise, I knew Mr Hubby would have something to say about it).  It was really good - I love finding fun new ways to eat more veggies!  The eggplant and zucchini were a good touch!

Weight Watchers

Ingredients:
Recipe to come......

Turkey and Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

I totally thought Ross would say "Man, this meal would taste so much better with beef...."  BUT I don't even think he realized it was turkey instead!!  This was really good - and easy to cut in half for 2 peeps!  We just used a 8x8 baking dish - and it worked perfect.  The lovely Simply Potatoes can be found in your grocer's refrigerated section (Cub had them - Rainbow did not....)  That saved a ton of time - but if you can't find them, you can always make sweet potatoes from scratch and do that ahead of time.....

Makes 6 servings - Paula Deen Magazine

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey
1 cup prechopped onion
2 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 (24 oz) packages refrigerated Simply Potatoes Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 large egg
1/2 (8oz) cream cheese
1 cup frozen green peas
1 (11 oz) can Mexican-style corn
2 (.87 oz) packets turkey gravy mix

Preheat oven to 375.  Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan or 6 (2 cup) ramekins.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray, and add turkey, onion, pepper, and salt; cook for 10 minutes or until turkey is browned and crumbly.

While turkey mixture cooks, peel back film at corner of each container of sweet potatoes, and microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, egg, cream cheese, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper; beat at medium speed with a mixer until well combined.

Drain turkey mixture well, and return to skillet.  Stir in peas, corn, and gravy mixes.  Pour turkey mixture into prepared baking dish or ramekins, and spread sweet potato mixture over top.

Bake for 30 minutes if using 9x13 baking dish, 25 minutes if using ramekins until lightly browned.

Philly Cheeseburger Pizza

My rents got me a "Cookin Diva" apron that goes along with my matching Paula Deen cooking magazine for my birthday - so this week you will see LOTs of recipes from there!!  I only had 20 minutes at home - so I needed something quick, and this was it.  Not only was this super fast to prep - make - and throw in the oven, BUT it tasted like heaven!!  I felt like I walked into Old Chicago or something - soooo good!!

Makes 4 servings - Paula Deen Magazine

Ingredients:
16 oz package refrigerated pizza crust dough (I actually bought prebaked to be super speedy)
1lb extra-lean ground beef
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
8 slices provolone cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning

Let pizza dough rest according to package directions.  Preheat oven to 450 - press dough into 16-inch pizza pan - bake for 5 minutes.

In a large skillet, combine beef, bell peppers, and onion; cook over medium heat for 8 minutes or until beef is browned and crumbly and veggies are tender.  Drain well.

Spread mustard over pizza crust.  Top with provolone cheese, beef mixture, and mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle with steak seasoning.  Bake for 8 minutes or until crust if browned and cheese melts.  Cut into wedges and serve.