Greek-Style Kofta over Salad

I like to vary up my dinner planning for the week. I could eat Mediterranean or Mexican everyday so I try to make sure there’s a mix. I do the same with meals to be blogged. It is much faster to cook without moving food to better lighting and snapping photos or making notes.

Cutthroat Kitchen had to make kebabs and one chef ended up being challenged to make his own skewers with vegetables. His were sad carrots but it did get me thinking kebabs are fun. Any food on a stick is fun! I figured we were long overdue for a meal like this. It felt balanced because of the raw veggies and grilled meat. The feta adds the saltiness and the creamy dressing added some tang. Overall is was fresh, and light but filling.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Kofta

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground chicken/pork/veal/lamb/beef
1/2 small white onion, chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
splash of red wine
3 cups lettuce
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup feta
1/4 cup Creamy Caesar/Greek/Italian dressing

Directions:

Preheat a grill, grill pan, or electric indoor grill to medium-high heat.
If using bamboo skewers: soak in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
Mix ground meat, onion, spices, vinegar, red wine, salt, and pepper.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Kofta
Form into 4 oblong logs onto skewers.
Brush with oil and grill.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Kofta
Grill 15-20 minutes, rotating to cook through (cooking time will vary depending on the ground meat. I used ground chicken which cooked longer than beef would).
Toss together lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and feta.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Kofta
Drizzle with dressing then top with kebabs.

The Three Bite Rule - Greek Kofta
I loved this. The spices are so welcoming and truly make this dinner feel different. The meat is juicy and so flavorful. I love the warmth of the kebabs against the cool salad. Ahhh. So good.

Pizza with Eggplant Spread and Zucchini

I was thinking about pizza with tapenade but happened upon a Mediterranean eggplant spread.  I thought it would be a great spread on pizza or as a sauce. Pre-made jarred sauces are great pizza toppings.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza

Ingredients:

1 ball pizza dough
1 cup eggplant and garlic spread (or tapanade, or roasted red pepper spread)
8 oz shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 small zucchini
1 tbs garlic, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven and pizza stone (if using one) to 400 degrees.
Spread pizza dough out onto a pan/stone poking a few holes with a fork.
Bake for 10 minutes until lightly browned and not fully cooked.
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Spread eggplant spread onto the dough.
The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza
In a large skillet, saute zucchini and garlic over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes and then remove from the heat.
Sprinkle pizza crust with mozzarella, and spoonfuls of ricotta.

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Spoon zucchini onto the pizza as well.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza
Bake for 10-15 more minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini still has some texture.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza
Let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

The Three Bite Rule - Eggplant & Zucchini Pizza
It was really good and had some different flavors. I loooove ricotta on pizza or in calzones. It’s such a light cheese with some creaminess.

Tapenade, or pesto, blended roasted red peppers, or spreads are great for pizzas. I used some zucchini but eggplant or butternut squash would be good too. If pizza dough isn’t your thing then make this on naan, pitas, or flatbread.

What else would be a good fall pizza?

Chopped Greek Salad

I have one more (possibly the best meal) from vacay to share, but I wanted to space ’em out with some regular posts too. Coming back from vacation and work travel, I wanted greens! I needed more veggies! I had one last cucumber from the rents’ garden so I thought, let’s go Greek!

This is suuuuper easy and nothing out of the ordinary, but I think chopped salads are a great way to make salad feel more special for dinner.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups lettuce or greens of your choosing
1 tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1 cup chickpeas
1/2 cup feta crumbled
1/4 cup Greek, caesar, or creamy Caesar dressing
3 chicken tenders, marinated & grilled, then chopped
1 cup croutons

Directions:

Wash & chop lettuce putting into a big bowl. (I didn’t chop the lettuce all that much, but chop to your preference)
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Add tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, and feta.
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Toss with dressing & top with chicken and croutons.
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I loooove Greek salad and think this was a good one for dinner. The chicken and chickpeas make it filling. The garden cucumber and garden tomato are good reminders how good these veggies are when they’re local and in season. We’re nearing the end but I’ll enjoy them while they last.

Greek Pasta Salad

Before I get to any Parisian treats or Czech delights, I have a weekend trip to Maine and I’m prepping for San Fran. I unpack to repack. I wanted to share a Greek inspired dish with you. This is a quick meal that I knew would include leftovers and would use tomatoes from our garden.

I settled on a Greek inspired pasta salad. It would be super easy to customize too. We ate this as a meal served with some hummus & pita chips, but I’ll have to keep it in mind for the next BBQ.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

⅔ pound of pasta (I used our fav shape Campanelle)
1 cup Greek salad dressing
1 large tomato
½ cucumber
½ cup creamy Caesar dressing (optional)
Salt & pepper
1 tsp oregano (or basil)
⅓ cup feta

Directions:

(to be partially made/prepped the night before)
Boil pasta in a very large pot of salted boiling water.
Cook pasta through to your liking (for pasta salad, I think it is better a touch past al dente). Drain pasta and transfer pasta to a large bowl or container that can be covered.
When pasta cools a bit to room temperature, mix most of the Greek dressing over the pasta.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad
Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours.
The next day, mix pasta and chop tomatoes, cucumbers, and dice red onions.
The Three bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad
Mix veggies into the pasta and mix in creamy Caesar dressing. Add salt, pepper, and oregano. Refrigerate until serving.
Sprinkle feta over the top and serve.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad

I loved this. Greek flavors are some of my favorites. I never think of pasta in the summer but why not a cool pasta. This is salad minus the lettuce! It is filling and flavorful. The creamy Caesar dressing was something I had, but could easily be omitted.

Pasta salad is really lackluster if it isn’t made in advance enough. I set a timer and went about the rest of my evening while the water was boiling and while the pasta cooked. Prep the night before or it’ll be a let down. It would be easy enough to throw together in the morning before heading off to work too.
The Three Bite Rule - Greek Pasta Salad

I don’t do olives, but they would be a great addition for some Greek-ness. Grilled chicken, artichokes, chopped/shaved asparagus, sausage, mushrooms, or chopped spinach would be lovely as well. This is the summer equivalent of a one-pot-wonder.

Open Faced Greek Salad Pockets

It is Monday. Shall we detox on something healthy?

This meal was all over the place. I was thinking of making a Greek dip-ish. Then I was thinking Greek pizza-ish. I ended up with a sort of open-faced Greek “un”Wrap.
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Ingredients:

2 thin chicken breasts, marinated
2 wheat pita pockets
1 cup ricotta
2 thin chicken breasts, marinated in Greek/Italian dressing
2 cups of mixed greens/spinach/romaine
1 tomato
¼ cup red onion
½ cucumber
2 -3 tbs Italian Dressing/Greek Dressing/Olive Oil & Vinegar
2 tbs Creamy Greek dressing (optional)
½ cup feta cheese

Directions:

Grill the chicken.
Assemble the salad by mixing the lettuce greens, chopping the tomato, chopping the onion, chopping the cucumber.
Mix in salad dressing and feta.
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Heat a skillet over medium heat. It should be sized to fit the pita pocket.
Once hot, add 2 tbs olive oil to the pan then add the pitas one at a time, flipping once.
Spread half the ricotta onto each pita pocket.
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Top with salad mix, then feta.
Slice and top with grilled chicken.
Drizzle some additional dressing over the whole thing or the creamy Greek dressing.
greek_pizza_plate_590_390
I liked the crispness of the pita… toasting them up was in my best interest, since my pitas were not exactly fresh anymore. It was a great weird mix of not a salad, not a pizza. Not a pizza topped with salad. It was tricky to eat, but that’s a challenge I was happy to accept.

This is a refreshing summer meal. I love that is has some great flavors, freshness, and uses only a few ingredients. There is only a small amount of chicken in/on this. Once again, it was a good reminder that those super skinny breast pieces are useful when cut up or one normal size chicken breast would easily serve 2-3 people this way. I had some green onions hanging around so those went on top too.

I’ve proclaimed my love for ricotta, haven’t I? It is true. I love it. Ricotta on toast + avocado = delicious. I had leftover ricotta from making personalized Pizza Dip so I figured this was definitely a different use for it. Whipped feta would be great on this too.  These would be fun on little mini pitas for an appetizer. Pita bread is a great pizza crust. I need to do that again!