Dinner Menu:
Hummus with Pita Chips
Grilled Chicken Pitas
Greek Salad
Our dinner tonight was a sampling of several recipes I've gathered over the years. The hummus is the recipe I acquired from Rebekah, thus making it appropriate for this challenge =).
I've never made hummus before. I love to eat the stuff though! This recipe proved to be very good and very easy to make! You basically dump everything in a bowl and mix together...simple as pie! It was a great appetizer for our meal and will be a great snack for days to come. Even Adam said that it tasted good...and he's not the biggest fan of hummus =).
Hummus:
2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pinch paprika
1 tsp minced fresh parsley (optional)
I put the garbanzo beans in a blender with the garlic and pureed them together. Then I transferred it to a bowl and added the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well-blended. The paprika is meant to be added on top as a garnish. You are more than welcome to add whatever else you want to the hummus...red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, etc. Serve with pita chips or cracker/veggie of your choice.
On a side note, tahini is a sesame product that kind of resembles peanut butter. We found a jar of it at Kroger in their health food section, next to the natural peanut butters.
While we were snacking on our appetizer, I got to work on the rest of the meal. I found the Grilled Chicken Pita recipe from Paula Deen and the Greek Salad recipe from a Southern Living cookbook I have,
Easy Weeknight Favorites. The Grilled Chicken Pitas had a lot of components to it. Most of the components were easy to prepare. The chicken needs to be marinated prior to cooking and the bacon needs to be cooked. Otherwise, everything else either just needed to be chopped or stirred together for future assembly. The Greek Salad is VERY easy to put together! Just dump all ingredients in a bowl and toss with dressing! And I feel like this salad is a great mixture of sweet and tangy. The peppers and onions provide the tangy-ness and the red wine vinaigrette provides a sweetness to the salad...it's a keeper! I also think it would be great with grilled chicken on top.
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| I know...hello lettuce! |
The chicken pitas were good. They kind of reminded me of a fancy Greek taco...if those words can even go together! The marinade for the chicken was really tasty...not too overpowering. We had some leftover chicken and I think it would taste good on a salad. I also thought the bacon was a nice touch...I liked the crunch and salty factor. Instead of splitting open the pitas, we just wrapped the pita around the "innards." Here is a breakdown of the individual components that were put on the pita.
Grilled Chicken Pitas:
(courtesy of Paula Deen)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp plus 2 tsp fresh lemon juice, divided
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp dried oregano, divided
2 small tomatoes, finely chopped
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
For the yogurt sauce:
8 oz (1 cup) unflavored yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp olive oil
Olive oil or olive oil cooking spray
1 large Vidalia or purple onion, cut into thin rings
Pita bread
1/2 head romaine lettuce, finely chopped
1 jar kalamata olives, drained, halved, pitted
Bacon, fried crisp
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Rinse the chicken breast and pat dry. Combine 3 Tbsp lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, and 1 tsp oregano in a glass dish. Add the chicken, turn to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the chicken breasts to marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
Combine the tomatoes and feta cheese in a small dish. Add the remaining 2 tsp lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 tsp oregano, and stir to combine. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
For the yogurt sauce:
In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, garlic, walnuts and olive oil. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat grill to medium heat (I used an indoor grill pan). Brush pan with olive oil. Grill the chicken breasts until cooked thoroughly. Spread the onion rings on grill and cook until they are browned slightly. After onions and chicken are cooked, spread pita bread on grill and cook on each side until grill marks show. Slice the chicken into thin pieces.
When ready to serve, put out all of the ingredients to assemble sandwiches. Take a piece of pita bread and place several slices of chicken on it. Top with onions, tomato-feta mixture, lettuce, olives and bacon. Either layer yogurt mixture on the pita bread first or top with yogurt mixture.
Greek Salad
1 medium head iceberg lettuce, torn
1 small purple onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pepperocini salad peppers
1/2 cup kalamata olives
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup commercial red wine vinaigrette
Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl and gently toss. Serve immediately.
