Greek Burger

Who doesn't like to spruce up their burgers every now and then?  It's always fun to add things to your burgers so you don't have the same old thing every time.  These Greek burgers are easy and are very flavorful.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or turkey

1 small red onion, finely chopped

zest of one lemon

1 tsp. oregano

4 oz. tomato-basil feta cheese crumbles

buns

lettuce

tomato 

condiments

Combine the first 5 ingredients and make into patties.  Grill until done (~15 min. on each side).  Place on bun with condiments, tomato, and lettuce.  Enjoy!

Black-eyed Pea Salad (or dip if you over-cook the beans like I did)

I had never tried black-eyed peas before this, and I have to say that I was a little afraid.  I don't really know why I was afraid to try this particular legume, but I was.  The smell took me back to when I was little, running through my Great Granny Caraway's house.  *If you overcook your beans like I did, this still makes a fantastic dip!  (ha ha)

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black-eyed peas or one 15 oz. can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups chopped, peeled tomatoes or one 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups cooked corn or one 15 oz. can corn, drained

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp dried thyme, crushed
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp pepper

Cooking black-eyed peas:
1. Cover in 2 inches of cold water.  Boil for 2 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, cover, and let soak for 4 - 24 hours.
3. Drain soak water.  Cover with 2 inches of cold water and boil on low heat for 2 hours, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
4. Drain and rinse several times with cold water until beans are cool.

Salad: 

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together black-eyed peas, tomatoes, corn, green onion.  

2. Cover and chill for several hours (I admit that I didn't do this step..... I couldn't wait "several hours")

Dressing:
1. In a screw-top jar, combine oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, thyme, mustard, and pepper.
2. Cover and shake well.
3. Chill dressing for several hours (again...I didn't wait "several hours".  I just broke the rules and put it straight on the salad.)
4.  Just before serving, shake dressing well and pour over the vegetable mixture.
5.  Toss gently to coat.

Individual White Pizzas

This was an experiment I fell into because when I went to buy phyllo dough, all they had were puff pastry shells.  Knowing how they puff up, I thawed them, rolled them out into circles twice their original size, and found I had individually-sized pizza doughs!  And let me just say that they are DELICIOUS!!! 

Ingredients

Puff pastry shells, thawed & rolled out

extra virgin olive oil

Alfredo sauce

Mozzarella cheese, finely shredded 

red onion, finely chopped

white mushrooms, sliced

roasted chicken, shredded

1. Thaw and roll out the puff pastry shells until they are about a 5-6 diameter.  Brush with oil.

2. Place on a baking sheet that is lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  

3. Brush on a layer of Alfredo sauce on each rolled out dough.

4. Put on a nice layer of cheese, followed by onion, mushrooms, and chicken.

5. Top off with another layer of cheese.

6. Bake at 425 for ~20 min.

*You should be able to fit 3 pizzas on a baking sheet.  This recipe makes 6 individual pizzas. 

French Lemon Yogurt Cake

I'm not really sure what makes this cake French, but that's what it was called in Bon Appetite magazine.  It's really like a lemon pound cake made with Greek yogurt, and it's yummy and light.  It goes really well with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1. Coat a standard (8 1/2 x 4 1/2) loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. 
2. Dust with flour, tapping out excess.  

3. Combine flour, baking powder and kosher salt in a medium bowl.

4. Using your fingers, rub sugar with lemon zest in a large bowl until sugar is moist.

5. Add Greek yogurt, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Whisk to blend.

6. Fold in dry ingredients just to blend.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Smooth top.

8. Bake at 350 for 50-55 min. or until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 

9. Let cake cool for 15 minutes before inverting.  Let cool completely before serving.

Scotch Eggs (Oven-Style)

These cooked eggs wrapped in sausage  are just a tad healthier than traditional Scotch eggs in that they aren't fried in oil.  These are baked and give practically the same result.  For crispy outsides, spray them with cooking spray before you bake them.  

Ingredients

6 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup finely crushed corn flakes

7 oz. fresh breakfast sausage

1. Boil 4 eggs, let cool, then peel them.

2. Flatten sausages into thin patties over the length of your hand.

3. Lay one boiled egg on top of sausage and wrap sausage around the egg, sealing to completely enclose.  Repeat with remaining eggs and sausage.

4. Whisk remaining 2 eggs in a medium bowl.  Also have a bowl for the flour and one for the crushed corn flakes.

5. Dip sausage-wrapped eggs into the flour, shaking off excess, then coat with egg wash.  Roll in corn flakes to coat.

6. Place eggs on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  

7. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, turning every ten minutes for even baking.