Poppy Seed Dressing

I got this recipe from my SIL Adena.  It is wonderful! I altered it slightly but will put the original on here with my modifications in parenthesis.  This dressing is quick and easy and I LOVE having it in my fridge!

Poppy Seed Dressing

1 1/2 T poppy seeds

3/4 cup rice vinegar (I used 1/2 cup rice vinegar and 1/4 cup red wine vinegar)

1 1/2 cups oil (I used canola)

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 t grated onion

1/2 t salt

3/4 t dry mustard

1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onion (I omitted this)

1 lb. Mushrooms, sliced (I also omitted this)

Mix all the ingredients together in a salad shaker or whisk in a bowl.  I served this over Spring mix, crumbled Feta cheese, craisins, and candied pecans (recipe coming soon!).

Hummus

I got this recipe from www.dedemed.com. I have tried a number of Hummus recipes and have never liked them very much, I guess I am just picky! (Shhhh, don't tell anyone!) But...then I found this one! I love this recipe! It is JUST what Hummus should taste like in my opinion. So, give it a try and see what you think!

Hummus

1/4 cup greek yogurt, plain

1 can garbonzo beans (chick peas) drained

1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

1/2 cup lemon juice

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t salt

3-4 fresh mint leaves

Put all of these ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Garnishes (please don't leave these off, they make hummus well, hummus!)

2 T fresh parsley, chopped

1 t paprika, or more

1/4 cup olive oil

Chicken Shawarma Sandwich on Homemade Pita Bread

Alright, don't let this intimidate you. It is actually a pretty straight forward recipe or recipes actually. We are huge fans of Mediterranean food and LOVE Chicken Shawarma Sandwiches. So, I started looking for all the right components. These recipes come from a few different websites so I will site them under each recipe heading. Ok, here it goes!

Chicken Shawarma

www.dedemed.com

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1 T minced garlic

1 t salt

1/4 t ground cardamom

1/4 t 7 spices (I couldn't find this so I omitted it and it was still great!)

1/4 t paprika

1/4 t dried parsley

1/8 t cayenne pepper

1/8 t cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix to coat chicken. Cover and let marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat pan with 3 T olive oil. Add chicken and cook for 10 minutes or longer until chicken is cooks through.

Yogurt Sauce and Greek Pico de Gallo

Our Best Bites

6 T Greek yogurt

1/2 t lemon zest

1/2 T fresh parsley, minced

1/4 t salt

Mix all together.

1/4 cup diced tomato

1/4 cup diced cucumber

1 T diced red onion

Mix together.

Pita Bread

Food Network

1 t yeast

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 T salt

1-2 T olive oil (I used 1 1/2 T)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, then add 1 cup of the white flour. Mix for 1 minute. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Sprinkle salt over sponge and stir in olive oil. Add the rest of the white flour 1 cup at a time. Knead dough until it is smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise until it is double, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 450. Preheat a baking stone or baking sheet in the oven. Divide dough into 16 balls. Roll each ball out on a floured surface until it is about 8-9 inches in diameter. I kept the dough balls covered so they wouldn't dry out. Bake each dough circle on the preheated stone for 4-5 minutes until it has gone to a full balloon or is slightly browned. There are many reasons they DON"T go to full balloon so don't worry if they don't, they are still great and we just folded them in half or rolled them into a sandwich.

NOW... Take a pita and add yogurt sauce, Greek Pico, Chicken, lettuce, pickles and hummus (I will post a great hummus recipe next!) Y.U.M.!! Now wasn't that worth it!

Sweet Pork and Tomatillo Dressing

While we lived in Utah we became addicted to Cafe Rio's sweet pork salad. Now that we live on the other side of the US recipes like this are priceless! Now, I know that this isn't exactly the same, but all you who live near a Cafe Rio or Costa Vida can just turn your back and go get yourself the real thing. But for those of us less fortunates, here are some great recipes!

Sweet Pork

3 lb pork roast (butt or shoulder) I like tenderloin
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 t dried oregano
1 t powdered ginger
1 t salt
1 t chili powder
1 t garlic powder
1 T dried minced onion
2 cans red enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

Cook all the ingredients except the enchilada sauce and brown sugar in you crock pot all day. One hour before serving, remove pork and shred, dump out the cooking juices. Put shredded pork back in crock pot and add enchilada sauce and brown sugar, let cook for one hour. This will make a lot of pork. We like to do it Cafe Rio style with a fresh tortilla on the bottom and then piled high with pork, beans, rice, lettuce, pico, guacamole etc. It is also great as a tamale filling or for tacos, ok it is great anyway you eat it! Oh, and don't forget the dressing...

Tomatillo Dressing

Place all the following in a blender, blend until smooth:

3 tomatillos, cut into 1/4's
juice of half a lime
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pkg dry ranch buttermilk dressing
1 cup fresh cilantro
4 green onions
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 t sugar
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, to taste*

*I usually put in less than half, it gets spicy fast and the longer the dressing sits the more spicy it gets.