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Take some tasty chicken and veggie skewers…
A little homemade tzatziki…
And some tomato feta salad…
Put it all together…
with a scoop of humus and a few pita wedges…
And you have a meal worth of any great Greek or Mediterranean restaurant, right in your own home.
Looks amazing, doesn’t it? Tastes even more amazing.
I was so excited when Tara from Noshing with the Nolands asked me if I wanted to do a recipe swap. I had been checking out her awesome recipes, like this beautiful Mousseline Au Chocolat from the JC 100 Challenge, or this totally amazingly decadent recipe for Buttered Lobster Tail with Truffle Oil Popcorn. So I thought this would be a lot of fun.
When I was looking through all of her yummy recipes, the Souvlaki Dinner caught my eye for a couple of reasons. First, I love that she does these Friday Night Cooking Classes with her daughter. I think it is awesome to get kids in the kitchen, and I do as much as I can with The Bug, given his age and attention span. Also, The Hubby and I have a few local Greek and Mediterranean restaurants that we LOVE LOVE LOVE. But everything always sounds so good that we always order and eat more than is really need for our waistlines or wallets. And The Bug’s restaurant behavior is temporarily keeping us to much more casual and family-friendly places. Well, this meal easily rivaled an almost identical meal we often order at one of our fave spots.
I followed Tara’s recipe for the Tzatziki and Souvlaki, except I didn’t have the Umami Paste. I will say, maybe that would amp up the flavor even more, but this was super flavorful without it. Also, for veggies I used a red pepper, a red onion, and a zucchini. I also halved the Tzatziki, and it was plenty for the three of us. In fact, there was enough leftover for The Hubby to take to work with the leftover chicken, veggies and a pita, and I am going to add some olive oil to turn it into a salad dressing for a Greek Shrimp Salad. I’ll let you know how that turns out.
I tried to change up her rice a little by using brown rice, since that is what I keep in my pantry, and cook it in my rice cooker. Well, the flavor was amazing, but it didn’t cook right, I think because my rice cooker tends to work better with a larger batch than what I made. So go try Tara’s recipe, or give it a shot with the brown rice, and let me know how it turns out. Then I served it with the Tomato Feta salad I threw together (keep scrolling for that recipe), and some hummus and pita. Sorry, the hummus and pita were not homemade. I have made homemade hummus before, and pita is something I want to try, but I ended up making this last minute on a night when we were going to go to a minor league baseball game, but thunderstorms kept us away. Alas, no time to do everything.
We absolutely loved this recipe, and it will be a fun one to keep in the archives for when we are craving a good restaurant meal, but don’t have a babysitter. And while I wanted to make this meal for an early-bedtime for The Bug date-night-in for me and The Hubby, I am happy that the little guy ate with us, because he thoroughly enjoyed this dinner. Well, except the tomatoes, because I just cannot get him to eat tomatoes, except in sauce or ketchup form. But overall, Bug-Approved (and Hubby, as well).
So head on over to Tara’s blog to get her Souvlaki Dinner recipes, and check out her take on my Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie.
Have you ever recreated a restaurant meal at home?
- 1 c chopped tomatoes (I used quartered grape tomatoes)
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T fresh lemon juice
- 1 t chopped fresh oregano
- ¼ c crumbled feta cheese
- ½ t kosher salt
- pepper
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss gently
Enjoy!
This recipe was shared with:
Mandy’s Recipe Box Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Amee’s Savory Dish Fit and Fabulous Fridays #34
Recipes for My Boys Thursday’s Treasures Week 36
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Enjoy!
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, that looks amazing! I love all of those foods. Yum!
Carrie@familyfitnessfood.com recently posted…Foodie Pen Pals – Reveal Day
Thanks! It was incredibly delicious. And you don’t have to make EVERYTHING. Each thing is good individually.
Thank you so much for doing the swap with me. It was a lot of fun!!! The souvlaki looks so good. Love all the pictures!!
Tara Noland recently posted…Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie-Recipe Swap with Cupcakes and Kale Chips
Thanks! It was fun! Thanks for a great recipe.
I’m hoping I can get some inspiration from your menus. Delicious idea for a tomato feta salad, really good post i loved it the salad and now i will cook myself!!! Thanks
I hope I can give you some good ideas. I was actually thinking the salad might be good with some cucumber too, but The Hubby won’t eat it, so I went with just tomatoes.
What a great meal, we would just love it! Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Miz Helen recently posted…Whats For Dinner Next Week 6-3-12
It was really good! Thanks for hosting a great party!
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CJ at Food Stories recently posted…Rocky Road Ice Cream Day & NEW Food Story Photo
Wow, thank you!
This looks sooo delicious! I love anything with tzatziki sauce so that’s a winner in this house
Erin Motz recently posted…Livin’ in a dream
Thanks! I love tzatziki, too. I saw some Greek burgers with tzatziki a few days ago, and now I want to make those. Maybe stuffed with feta…
This Greek dish is delish!!! I love all these wonderful flavors!
Amee recently posted…Fit and Fabulous Fridays #34
Thanks Amee! It was a very flavorful meal.
Read your post on another website that you will be visiting Vermont soon. I’m a Vermonter and wanted to let you know that if your traveling anywhere near Norwich, Vt to not miss the King Arthur Flour shop. It ‘s a great store and cafe full of baking supplies.
p.s. the cafe ‘s brownies are the best I have ever had!
That sounds awesome, but I think we are going to be almost 2 hours away. But maybe on the ride up…
You are a Fit Feature this week Brianne! Congrats!!
Amee recently posted…Fit Features of the Week
Awesome! Thanks!
I’m totally pinning this one!!! I love tzatziki!
Lauren @ Part Time House Wife recently posted…A Healthy Dinner and A Winner! Baked Sweet Potato Apple Pork Chops
Thanks for pinning! It was such a good dinner. Tzatziki is the only way I can get The Hubby to eat cucumbers.