I recently saw on Pinterest that you can hard-cook eggs in the oven! I haven't tried that yet, but it's an interesting idea. I also recently learned some more effective ways to store certain foods, to keep them fresh longer. I needed that so bad!!
When I saw the cooking method I used for tonight's meal, I was very excited; because it utilizes one of my very favorite kitchen tools: The Crockpot (fanfare)!!
My beloved husband bought me an authentic Greek cookbook for my birthday a few years ago, and it is already starting to look tatty round the edges. What I love most about this book, is that it gives you some very authentic and complex recipes; but it throws a few in there that take into account the more "modern" "Americanized" approach to cooking that is in use now. Meaning, it gives traditional recipes in a way that allows for modern appliances; knowing most people dont have a giant spit in their yard, nor the time/ability/desire to go through some of the more extensive cooking techniques. You can find copies of The Grecian Plate here.
One of the most popular recipes (in my house) from this book is for loose meat Gyros. Loose meat meaning it is simply ground meat, and not packed into a huge loaf and cooked on a spit (like you would see in traditional Greek restaurants). I use ground beef, and ground lamb, and brown it in a skillet, with all the other ingredients. It is extremely tasty, but messy, and definitely not the traditional version of a Gyro. SO....when I came across the suggesstion of doing packed meat Gyros in a crockpot, well...I had to try them!! They were super quick to put together, I chose to do mine the night before, and refrigerate them until ready to pop into the crockpot the next morening before work...but I did all the steps in 10-15 minutes. It was like little meatloaves, they held together really well, and looked more like the "on-the-spit" version of Gyros when sliced. Obviously this makes them much more fork-friendly than a loose meat version; which is handy since I am not eating mine inside a pita. Just pile the meat on a plate, drizzle with tzadziki sauce, and a sprinkle (or heap if you love it like I do) of feta. Mouth-watering yumminess ensues.
Crockpot Gyros
Ingredients:
1 pound extra lean ground beef (I used 96% lean)
1 pound ground lamb
1 onion sliced
3 cloves of garlic minced
4 teaspoons Greek seasoning (below)
Directions:
Place onion and garlic in the bottom of crock pot
Mix together meat and Greek seasoning
Form into two small loaves and place on top of onions and garlic
Cook on low for 4-5 hours or until done
Top with Tzadziki Sauce (below) and feta cheese. You may also choose to top with fresh diced tomatoes and onions.
If you're not doing Paleo, these are great in, or on, a pita!
Greek Seasoning
Ingredients (all seasonings are in dried form):
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dill
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Mix all in a small bowl or bag.
Tzadziki Sauce
Ingredients:
1 large cucmber, cut into large chunks
1 C. plain Greek yogurt
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2-3 tsp lemon juice (depending on your preference)
salt and pepper
Directions:
Place cucumber and garlic in food processor with a spoonful of yogurt to start with. Pulse until there are no chunks.
Add lemon juice and pulse until blended in.
Add yogurt while pulsing, until mixture is well blended, and not too thick (you can adjust the amount of yogurt you use to however much you like).
Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
It is best to let this chill until you're ready to use it.
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