Greek Deliciousness

Last night I made Greek Deliciousness for dinner. This is easy because you don't actually have to cook that much, just assemble all of the good stuff and let people throw together whatever they like.

Greek Deliciousness:
Marinaded Chicken (see below)
feta cheese
pitas
romaine lettuce (chopped)
Greek Olives
Cucumbers (sliced)
Tomato (chopped)
Red Onion (finely sliced)
Pepperoncini's (or banana peppers would work)
Small can of sliced beets
tzatziki sauce (see below)
Greek dressing
humus

set up assembly line with the above the ingredients and fill pita with whatever you like. Or skip the pita and turn it into a big salad. I couldn't get enough.... the combination is just perfect!

Tzatziki sauce:
1/2 a big carton of plain yogurt
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/3 of a cucumber finely shredded
chopped garlic (maybe 1/2 teaspoon)
pinch of salt
mix all together and let hang out for a while (30 minutes, over night). I mixed mine in a smallish Tupperware container so that I didn't have to worry about covering it in the fridge and it was easy to save the leftovers.

Marinaded Chicken:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
splash olive oil (maybe a tablespoon?)
teaspoon chopped garlic
juice of 1 lemon
a few shakes of oregano
few tablespoons of red onion finely chopped
pinch of salt

taste the marinade and change it however you want. Put some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a big ziploc bag, add the marinade and let it hang out for an hour or so. you could do it the day before and the chicken would be extra tasty and moist...
cook the chicken in the marinade for about 45 minutes at 350 F ... or until done. Let cool to room temperature and cut into strips. Hot chicken would make the lettuce wilt! you could do this the day before or if you are weird like me (and my mom), get up early and cook the chicken and then put it in the fridge before you go to school (or work) so it is ready when you get home.


Does anyone know where to get GOOD pitas in Colorado? I tried to steam the ones I got last night, but my method only left them sticky and not plump like the ones in Michigan. Or maybe you know of a good steaming method? I put some hot water in a pan and when it started boiling off I held the pita over the steam with some tongs.

You can see her halo

Today would be my gramma's 78th birthday. There will be no pineapple upside down cake, off key singing or presents. Just memories, tears and the longing to have those we love close by.
People say that the holidays are when you feel the loss the most, which I assume is because the rest of the world is feeling cheerful so it's a glaring reminder of the sorrow hiding off in the corner of your heart.
A few years ago, gramma confessed to me that she hated Christmas because she felt so alone. I suppose when both your parents have passed away and your husband died young and left you with three small children, it would seem pretty lonely. But it was such a shock to me because she always made the holidays seem like the holidays - bringing joy to all of us with festive socks and earrings, having the family together and presents wrapped in tissue paper.
She was the queen of bucking up and making the best of what you've got. If a few extra guests come to dinner, put a few more chairs around the table. The broccoli is a little overcooked, squeeze some lemon juice to cover up the taste. Feeling blue? Put some lipstick on and smile, eventually that feeling of sorrow will fade. Mostly, enjoy every precious moment, be surprised by little things and laugh at yourself.

Cupcakes and cookies and soup, oh my!

This past weekend I was in the mood to make soup, so I borrowed a great recipe for my mom (I think she got it from Cyndy)... the great thing about soup is that you just throw everything together and let it do it's thing.
Italian Bean Soup
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1.25 lbs Italian sausage (I use 3 spicy sausages and 4 regular)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cans white (navy) beans, drained
2 quarts chicken stock (I used about 2/3 of a big can - no idea how much that really is)
4 cups of broccoli rabe (rapini) or spinach (I don't think I put this much in... more like 1 1/2 cups)
salt, pepper and garlic to taste (the sausage gives this a ton of flavor, so not sure if it's needed)
Parmesan cheese to taste (when serving, on top)

cut the sausage into bite size pieces and brown with the EVOO.
add the onion, beans and chicken stock and let cook for a good amount of time (an hour, all day, whatever works for you) as well as the spices if you feel like you need them
throw in the spinach or rapini and let get warm, or keep cooking for a while (again, however much time you have)
serve in bowls with the Parmesan sprinkled on top - and maybe with some crusty bread!

During some football games we were watching they kept having ads for diet dr. pepper that had cupcakes in them. So of course I got the urge to make cupcakes... I looked to the Joy of Cooking once again to help me out.
Quick Caramel Cupcakes
whisk together in a bowl:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add and mix for 2 minutes at medium speed:
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (if desired)
Beat in for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl a few times with a spatula:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
then I threw in 1/2 a ghirardelli dark chocolate bar, cut into chunks (because I wanted to, damn it!)
cook at 350 degrees F for about 18-25 minutes or until brown.


I then made frosting:
Quick White Icing
in a medium bowl, combine and mix on medium:
4 cups powder sugar, sifted (don't have a sifter, tasted fine)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
add and beat until smooth:
4 to 6 Tablespoons milk, rum or coffee (I used Kahlua)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

We ended up with a bunch of extra frosting, so you could mess with the amounts to get however much you need. Also, the Kahlua was a little overwhelming, maybe 1/2 milk and 1/2 Kahlua next time... Still the cupcakes were DELICIOUS!


For school, we had an Ugly Sweater/Cookie Decorating Holiday Party... I went to the ARC to find an ugly sweater and came back with an entire ugly outfit. Also a little purple sweater that I convinced one of our professors to wear :)
I also got conned into making the cookies... it was a good thing I had some help because I have issues with rolling cookies out. The key with the icing for sugar cookies is that it should be pretty thin, so you might have to add more milk than you would think...

Christmas Cookies

1 cup of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 t. baking soda (sift together with flour)
1t. vanilla (ish)
3 cups of flour

Combine sugar and butter, beat until smooth, add egg.
Mix in dry ingredients and then chill......for an hour or so.
Roll out and cut out cookies to a thickness that is uniform so they cook evenly.
Bake at 350 until begin to smell and are a nice light brown. 8-12 minutes?
Ungreased cookie sheet.

Icing
2T. butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla.

Use milk to thin to desired consistency. Then add food coloring to desired color, and decorate your cookies!

Matt looks funny in my ugly outfit!

Thanksgiving Feast

Over Thanksgiving break I got to do a little cooking with my mom and Kenneth. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Kenneth came over to my mom's and he and I make Crabbies Cleveland and Cheese Crispies (my mom made some meatloaf and soup). If you have ever been to a party in our family you have probably had the crabbies - they were a standard appetizer that my G'ma made for any event. We ate our creations during the football game on Thanksgiving day.
For Thanksgiving we had all the old standbys: Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, cranberries... I made that skillet pumpkin pie that I posted previously..

Crabbies Cleveland
1 stick of butter
1 jar of kraft old english cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 Tablespoon mayonaisse
1 can of crab meat
12 english muffin halves (6 wholes)

Cream the butter, cheese, powder together mayonaisse and garlic.
Fold in the crab meat.
Spread on the 12 halves of english mufffins
cut into 1/4ths and freeze in plastic bag for later use

to cook: remove from plastic bag and put on cookie sheet.
heat under the broiler until the tops are brown and bubbly.
make sure you don't pop right into your mouth... they burn your tongue!

Cheese Crispies
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
1/2 lb butter
2 cups flour
2 cups rice crispies

mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
form into small patties and place on a cookie sheet
cook for 15 minutes (or until brown on the edges) at 350 degrees F.