Orzo with Zucchini, Dill, and Feta

Orzo with Zucchini, Dill, and Feta

I used the panini press to grill some zucchini on the weekend.  After grilling it, I chopped it and held it in the refrigerator for quick salad making on a weeknight.

I made this just like the recipe in the link and had it for lunches last week.  It does seem to be a good plan to have a designated lunch item in case there aren't leftovers.

Recipe:

• 3 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 pound(s) orzo
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons (about 1 tablespoon zest and 1/2 cup juice)
• 2 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh dill
• 1/3 pound(s) feta cheese, crumbled

1. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium. Grill until tender with golden-brown marks, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer zucchini to a cutting board and slice into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with shallot. Cover and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook orzo following package instructions. Drain and add to reserved zucchini. Add olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and dill; toss to combine. Top with feta and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper.

BTW:  This is the 600th post!!!

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Athenian Orzo

 Athenian Orzo
I like the blog linked from above.  I really like her blog:)  As soon as I saw this recipe I put it on my list of things to make.

This would be good with a bit of lemon zest.  And tuna would be a good substitution for the shrimp.  My addition was diced red pepper thrown in with the onions.


I guess feta with pasta...how can you go wrong?  I have been relying on recipes from other bloggers for a bit.  A great way to get through some dreary April days of cooking.  I am so looking forward to some good produce grown a bit closer to home!

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Greek Pizza with Spinach, Olives, and Feta

 I had this recipe on a card but don't think I ever have made it.  It must have been from before I was deciding cardworthiness before using a card for the recipe.  Anyway, I have wanted to make it for a bit.  I think that the original came from the Sunday paper...maybe the glossy insert?

I had a large bag of spinach from Sendik's and had used some in Elizabeth's cavatappi recipe.She hasn't posted that one yet, so it's coming at some point, I hope.

1/2 c mayonnaise
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 c crumpled feta, divided
12" prebaked pizza crust
1/2 c dried tomatoes plus 1 T of the oil (I rehydrated some and used 1 T olive oil)
1/4 c pitted black olives
1 t oregano
2 c baby spinach leaves
1/2 small dried onion, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Mix mayonnaise with the garlic and 1/2 the feta.  Spread on partially/mostly baked crust and sprinkle with oregano.  Top with the olives and tomatoes and bake for 10 minutes or so.

Take it out of the oven and top with spinach mixed with olive oil.  Sprinkle the onions on top of this mixture (I used the Rick Bayless trick of running cold water over the onion slices to take the bite and aftertaste out of the onions).


I made my own pizza crust before swim practice, so it was ready to go after we got home.  I baked it for 10 minutes or so earlier in the day and left it out until we got home.  I used mayonnaise sandwich spread with garlic and herbs because we had two squeeze bottles of this in Paul's collection.

The spinach came from a large bag that Paul got at Sendik's.  I wish I would have taken a picture of it since it was HUGE and not any more expensive than a smaller amount.  I used some in a pasta recipe of Elizabeth's earlier in the week and steamed and froze some keeping out a couple cups for this recipe.  I had leftover olives too, so it seemed like a good time to make this.

I'm glad that I finally made this since we all like it and it will be made again at this house.  It comes together quickly and is good. 

 This has been one of the trickiest posts to publish.  I have typed it a few times, downloaded the pictures more than once and loaded it onto the blog a couple times.  I don't know what it is about this one...but it has been a bit of trouble!


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Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops

I had this recipe on my list of things to try for a couple months but just hadn't gotten around to it until last weekend. I think our grilling days are waning, so Sunday seemed like a good time to try this recipe. We do try to grill throughout the winter, but it is somewhat unpredictable since it is weather dependent.

These pork chops were really really good. I omitted the salt and pepper and rosemary from the filling and did not use barbeque sauce. Instead I just sprinkled salt and pepper over the stuffed pork chop. Oh...and I used feta cheese.

All three of us really liked these, so I'll have to try to make them sometime over the winter.
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Watermelon Cucumber Feta Pasta Salad

It seems like watermelon+feta=salad of 2011!

I have been seeing this combination nearly everywhere I turn. I have to admit I wasn't sure that these two items go together. You have to realize I'm a bit shy about combining unusual flavors due to THE SOUP(see blog post from 1/13/11). The other wild flavor combination was in my days traveling through rural Minnesota where odd things ended up in gelatin. Lettuce and lime Jell-O just don't go together in my mind. I mean...just 'cause they're both green doesn't mean they should be combined!

Eleanor found this recipe in Cooking Light August 2011 edition at the orthodontist and thought it looked good. Well, she didn't find this exact recipe since I read it at the office and committed it to memory. I think this may be close, but I'm not sure. I did search for the exact recipe online and didn't find it, so maybe it will be online once the next issue of this magazine is distributed.

Pasta, cooked...about 1/2 lb
diced watermelon, a couple cups
1 seeded cucumber, chopped
crumbles of feta
lemon zest
lime zest
Dressing:
juice of one lemon
olive oil whisked in to make a dressing
Mix together and put in refrigerator until all cooled.

That's it!
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Summer Grain Salad

Bulgur

Vegetables before grain added

Summer is slowly arriving and so are all the CSA vegetables...in the past two weeks I have gotten lots of radishes and greens, including summer sorrell. Radishes are not a big hit in our house and I had no idea what to do with the sorrell, so I made something up! My daughter loves pasta salads but has recently really fallen in love with Quinoa.  I made two different versions of this salad this week and learned that anything goes! One version had Quinoa as the grain, the other had Bulgur.  The vegetables were pretty much the same, but I think anything crunchy would work...

Quinoa

1-11/2 cups uncooked grain(pasta, quinoa, bulgur etc) cooked in water or chicken broth according to directions
approximately 1/4 cup each finely diced...
garlic leek
scallion
radish
carrot
red, yellow peppers
celery
or whatever you have on hand

finely chopped herbs (I used fresh oregano and chive)
2-3 sorrell leaves finely chopped

Dressing

Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Mix everything together, toss in some feta cheese(if desired) and enjoy!

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Greek Skillet

This idea came to me on the way home from the Y on a recent Saturday. Eleanor and I were both hungry after our workouts. She swam for a couple hours and did body pump while I went to spin class and body pump. We were HUNGRY, and I needed to use what I had in the pantry and sell it to her as a good idea.

I boiled 3 potatoes. It would have worked better if I had done this so they had time to cool, but it worked out to rinse them under cold water when they were done. I grated them with the cheese grater to get the potatoes ready for the skillet. I sauteed a chopped onion in olive oil....I had a partial onion in the refrigerator so I finished that. I added the shredded potatoes and sprinkled it with Penzeys Greek Seasoning. When the potatoes seemed like they were browning I flipped them over and sprinkled the other side with the seasoning as well. I made a clear spot in the middle and cracked two eggs into it and stirred everything in the pan. When the eggs were nearly done I crumbled some feta cheese all over it until it started to melt. I served it with some of these chopped sundried tomatoes that are yummy!

A great breakfast out of things I had in the pantry/refrigerator.

Dinner Salad #2 - Chicken, Cranberry, Feta Salad with Candied Pecans

As promised, we did have a second main course salad this week in an attempt to use up my over abundance of lettuce.  This recipe was created by mixing a few different salads I have made in the past to create a full meal.  I did use a specific recipe for Spicy Candied Pecans from Myrecipes.com, but the rest of the meal I created. The salad is both sweet and spicy, but the spice is mild, not hot.  My daughter enjoyed it and she usually shies away from "spicy" food. Once again, I would recommend serving this with a loaf of bread from the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day collection. We had cool watermelon as well which was a great contrast to the sweet and spicy salad.

Ingredients

1 recipe Spicy Candied Pecans
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 t Cajun Seasoning (I use Penzey's brand)
Mixed Greens, I used Bibb, Red Leaf and Romaine Lettuce and Spinach
1 Bunch Green Onions or 1/2 Red Onion, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2-1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing

4-6 T Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar
1-2 T Dijon Mustard
Salt and Pepper
6-8 T Olive Oil.

Preparation

Preheat grill. Grill chicken after lightly seasoning with Cajun Seasoning. Make the Spicy Candied Pecans.  Allow the chicken and pecans to cool. In a large, shallow bowl, layer mixed greens, dried cranberries, green onions, chicken, feta cheese and pecans.  Prepare the dressing by whisking the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper together. Then continue whisking while slowly adding the olive oil.  The dressing should become emulsified, almost creamy. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, toss and serve with additional pecans and feta cheese on the side.