Tag: oregano
Chicken with Lemon and Dill
Simple, simple dish to make through the week…
- 2 pounds chicken breast, cut into chunks
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
Marinate the chicken chunks with the lemon juice, olive oil, dill, parsley, oregano and salt for 2 to 3 hours. Skewer the chicken pieces and grill till done. Serve warm.
Couscous with Roasted Cauliflower
I made this couscous dish with grilled chicken. I added some roasted cauliflower and tomatoes to the quick cooking starch. I drizzled some olive oil on the cauliflower and tomatoes and I cooked them in oven until the florets were golden brown and the tomatoes soft.
Making the couscous is super simple. I make mine with chicken broth and buy the whole wheat variety from Trader Joes.
The rest was simple, I added the veggies to the cooked couscous. I made extra for the next day… I served the delicious side dish with the fish with romesco sauce. It was a delicious combination…
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Roast Chicken Breast with Smoked Paprika
This recipe is for those of us who want to eat healthier now that summer is over and school has started.I can’t believe summer is all done and my daughter is back to school. Summer was filled with a lot of indulging but I was very good at balancing my day with healthy foods and making sure over eating didn’t happen.
Anyway, it is time to get serious and eat well. This is a simple and healthy dish one can make through the week. I took good quality chicken breasts and roasted them with a lot of flavor- that is my trick when I am eating healthy- I boost the flavor. I mixed up garlic, oregano, smoked paprika and lemon juice with olive oil in a mortar and pestle. I marinated the chicken for several hours and roasted it in the oven.
I served the chicken with a ribbon salad- recipe to come tomorrow…
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Greek Style Potatoes and Zucchini with Feta
A friend was talking about an amazing dinner she had in the city at a Greek restaurant. She described the freshly grilled fish served with roast vegetables topped with feta.
The vegetable dish included potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes- roasted perfectly and topped with feta. As I heard the description, I was already envisioning it in my mind. I wanted to make the dish soon- the combination sounded amazing.
As I was cooking the shrimp bisque, I was wondering what to serve with the soup to balance it off. I thought of roasted vegetables my friend had described and decided on serving it with the soup.
I went to the farmers market and purchased fresh zucchini, fingerling potatoes and some delicious tomatoes. I cut them up and added garlic, oregano and olive oil. Once the vegetables are roasted to perfection, I added the feta. The vegetables were delicious with the oregano and feta. They were a perfect complement to the shrimp bisque. The crusty bread finished the dish off beautifully…
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Greek Style Spaghetti and Meatballs
My daughter claimed these were the best meatballs I have ever made. After a compliment like that- I had to share the recipe.
I started the meatballs with my usual ground turkey meat. Any meat can be used buy I prefer turkey as it is healthier with less calories.
I wanted to make Greek style meatballs so I thought of fresh oregano and feta cheese. Garlic, shallots and parsley made them even better.
I soaked some panko crumbs in milk and added the mixture to the meat. It makes the meatballs very soft and delicious. The last thing was crumbled feta- it has great a great salty flavor.
I think the key is the homemade tomato sauce. I cooked the meatballs in the delicious sauce and served them with some yummy flavored spaghetti.
All in all it was a great meal- with a green salad and red wine on the side. Try these Greek style meatballs soon….
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Watermelon and Tomato Salad
I made this salad last year- and really enjoyed it. When I first heard of it, I thought, “what a strange combination”- but when I tasted it, I thought it was fabulous.
Last month, a friend was hosting a good bye party for a mutual friend and she had the meal catered from a local place in Maplewood. The meal consisted of a variety of tapas style dishes including a watermelon salad. It was good but I thought the one I had made last year was better- yes I am very modest… A friend who was there as well commented on the watermelon salad and wanted to make it and asked me to post a recipe- well, here it is Nancy!
I have seen plenty of recipes for this kind of salad. They all start with the watermelon and tomatoes, there is some kind of a vinaigrette, fresh herbs and some cheese. I went with the vinegar and cheese of my choice. I made an easy and delicious vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar- I think the rest of the vinegars in my pantry feel quite ignored- I end up using balsamic for mostly everything. I had feta cheese in the fridge- it is one of my favorites. I thought the saltiness would go really well with the sweet and cold watermelon. My favorite kind of tomatoes are grape- I use them for everything including pasta sauces- so that is what went in this salad. In terms of the fresh herbs, somehow oregano kept coming to mind.. I love feta and oregano together but it can be a very strong combination (both the ingredients are quite loud)- so I decide to tone everything down with mint. Mint brought a great freshness and balance to the salad.
Overall- a big success. I grilled chicken sausages as the main course and cooked up peppers and onions to go along. Will post the recipe on Monday. We ate the soft yummy peppers and onions with the delicious sausages. It was an easy and fast meal to make – best of all, it was delicious…
Arugula Prosciutto and Nectarine Salad with a Yogurt Dressing
I wait for this time all year long. The summer produce is coming out and there is lot to cook with. About a week or two ago I started buying nectarines and apricots- my favorite. I love the firm texture of the nectarines and of course their delicious flavor. In the past I devour them just as they are but now since I write this blog, I decided to use them in different dishes. I recently made a beef stir fry where I used some nectarines and cooked everything in an apricot sauce- it was delicious! I will post the recipe soon. I also made an apricot kuchen the other day which was so good with coffee. I have also been cooking with dried apricots. They remind me of Moroccan cooking. I used them in a chicken dish and I made some banana apricot scones with white chocolate- don’t worry, all these recipes will be posted soon. My point was that even tough it’s been a very rainy start to the summer season- it still feels like summer to me since the produce is out. Nothing like biting into a delicious juicy nectarine- I especially like the white ones- they are extremely sweet. Somehow peaches don’t do it for me- most people cook with and prefer peaches- I don’t like their fuzzy skin and soft texture- I prefer the smooth exterior and the firm interior of a nectarine.
I was watching Jamie Oliver making a grilled peach salad with a yogurt dressing. That is where this recipe came from- or at least the inspiration did. I used arugula for my greens since I love the bitter bite they have. I thought pairing nectarines would be extra delicious with arugula. Prosciutto and feta add a nice salty and creamy balance to the salad- all the taste buds are awakened in the palette. The yogurt dressing on top is quite interesting as well. I added some honey and lemon for a balance and ancho chili powder for a bit of a kick to the dish. Somehow oregano came to mind so I went outside to my herb garden and picked some fresh oregano and chives. It was a yummy creamy, salty, spicy and sweet sauce to pour over the salad. We ate it with the plain and white pizza– and yes we actually got to sit outside for a change- it was a beautiful day!