Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

DISCLAIMER: I am not any kind of expert with Greek food. In fact, I am pretty new to it. But I love the flavors that Greek food uses so I have started creating some of my own recipes. They may not be authentically Greek, but they are inspired by Greek flavors. So basically, don't be hatin' on me if my Greek food isn't Greek enough for you.

Darin has always been a great facilitator of me trying new cooking styles. And his love of gyros has inspired me in the past few months to try my hand at Greek food. I have made basic chicken gyros a few times and I think it is time to share. There are two parts to this recipe, one for the tzatziki sauce and one for the chicken. If you have the opportunity for grilling, DO IT!! It will be so much better than the way I had to make it. Prepare the chicken the same way, just skewer it with some chunks of onion, artichoke hearts and throw it on the grill! On a side note: I used store-bought hummus for my gyros but I know that it is really easy to make as well. I decided to be lazy and buy some delicious roasted red pepper hummus from the store. Be sure to stuff your gyros to the brim, if its not falling apart while you are eating it, then it's not a real gyro!

YUMMMMMMMM

TZATZIKI SAUCE 

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
1 clove of garlic, grated or finely minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Juice of one lemon

DIRECTIONS
Mix everything except the yogurt together in a bowl first, then stir in the yogurt. Cover and chill for at least an hour or two to get the best flavor. Stir again before serving. You can use this on your gyros, kabobs or just eat it plain with some pita bread.

GREEK CHICKEN GYROS

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced

2 tsp ground marjoram

2 tsp ground coriander

Salt & Pepper

1 cup of marinated artichoke hearts, thinly sliced

Juice of one lemon

Pita bread, hummus, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped olives, feta cheese, tzatziki sauce

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl combine chicken, onions, garlic and toss with marjoram, coriander, S&P until evenly coated. Heat a large frying pan to medium heat and add 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add chicken and pan fry on all sides till almost cooked through. Add the sliced artichoke hearts for the last few minutes until they are heated through. Top with lemon juice after adding the artichokes. Build gyros with a warm pita, hummus, chicken, veggies, cheese and tzatziki.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Whenever I buy bananas, I am never able to eat them all before at least one gets over ripe. Every time, with out fail. I will peel the over ripe banana and put it in a bag in the freezer. When I have collected 4-5 of them, I usually make banana bread. Over-ripe bananas are the best to use when making something like that because they are so soft and easy to blend in without being too lumpy.

However, this last time when the bag of bananas was full, I decided to go on an adventure and make muffins instead. I came across a recipe using lots of healthy ingredients so I decided to give it a whirl! Of course, I had to put my own spin on it and mix it up. They turned out great and Darin especially loved them! One thing I would have loved was to add some chopped nuts, walnuts would have been great! Feel free to mix some in if that sounds good.

Word to the wise: eat them quickly! Because they are so fresh and use such natural ingredients, they will go bad fairly quickly. You can freeze them if you don't think you can eat them all right away.

INGREDIENTS

(Yield 12 muffins)

2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (but not hot) 

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

2 tsp flax or chia seeds, optional (I prefer to grind them up first)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine bananas, applesauce, agave, coconut oil, milk and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Stir in chocolate chips/flax/chia if desired. Divide batter into a greased muffin pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown on top. Enjoy!

Batter with out chocolate chips

Read for the oven!

They are so yummy, hot from the oven!

With chocolate chips!

Cherry Tomato Balamic Pork/Chicken/Salmon

Sometimes I like to pretend that I eat healthy. Now don't get me wrong, I don't eat tons of over-processed, fatty junk foods and fast food. I do try to keep my pantry free of lots of pre-made meals and processed foods (granted I do have a couple boxes of mac & cheese in my pantry, to my shame). But I do enjoy using butter, sugar and all those things that can pack on the fat and calories.

This meal in particular is one of the healthier ones I have come up with lately. It is essentially just balsamic-glazed meat with tomatoes. You can use chicken, salmon or pork, all are great. You can add some mozzarella or parmesan if you like cheese (let's be honest, if you don't like cheese, you shouldn't be on my blog). Sage or thyme are both great with balsamic. Toss in some zucchini, broccoli or asparagus. Serve it with white/brown rice or pasta. I just love balsamic anything! I have even had balsamic ice cream and it was awesome, so when I say that I love balsamic you know that I mean it! But the options with this concept are endless!

TIPS:
Pork chops will usually cook faster than if you were to use chicken or something else, FYI
After adding the tomatoes, shake the pan every once in the while to get the tomatoes glazed on all sides
Balsamic vinegar will caramelize and then burn quickly if you leave it alone too long, keep a close eye and keep it moving!

I used pork and served with mashed potatoes and a salad this time!

INGREDIENTS
4 portions of pork chops, chicken breasts or salmon
2 cups of cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp of dried thyme/sage
1 tsp garlic powder
3-4 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp of olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan/Mozzarela cheese

DIRECTIONS
Heat a large skillet with a lid to medium heat, and add olive oil. Season all sides of your meat with salt, pepper, garlic and thyme/sage. Once your pan and oil are thoroughly heated, add meat and cook for 3-5 mins on each side (meat should not be cooked all the way through yet). Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the meat and continuously spoon the balsamic back over the meat for about 2-3 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes to the pan and cover with a lid for a few minutes more until meat is cooked through and the tomatoes have popped. Serve over rice or pasta and top with cheese if desired. Add a side of veggies to make a complete meal!