Gryo with Tatziki

It's time again for another recipe that takes me for a walk down memory lane. The time is roughly 12 years ago when I was in Colorado with a high adventure group, we were out there to fish, mountain climb, repel, and white water rafting. It was one of the funnest summers of my early teenage years. I wish I could remember all the towns we visited, but for a teenager that was such a small detail, especially when I was busy having fun. While we were on our way out to go fishing for the afternoon, we stopped for lunch in supplies in one of the local towns. We ate lunch at a sort of 50's style diner. At this diner they had Gyro's on the menu and I was persuaded to try one, probably one of the few times to give into peer pressure for a teenager. I'm thankful I did because it was absolutely delicious. Well fast forward to now. My wife has never had a Gyro, so I knew she needed to try one. I looked for several ways of trying to give her some sort of decent glimpse of how delicious they can be. I settled on a simple recipe that called for items I knew were a little more economical and easily obtainable. She really liked my attempt at making them, so I may have to attempt a little more accurate recipe with proper ingredients. The real fun of this recipe came when our little girl wanted in on the action of her food wrapped like Mom and Dad's. We took a leaf of lettuce and made her a small wrap with a little sauce and a few small bite size chunks of the meat, she loved it. So this recipe is Tot approved!

Ingredients
Meat Mixture
1 lb. ground lamb or beef (I used beef)
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Sandwich
4 rounds of flat bread or pita
lettuce
tomato; sliced

Tzatziki sauce
Ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt
4 garlic cloves; roasted and finely chopped
1/2 lemon; juiced
2 tsp. finely chopped mint
1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber without seeds
Salt to taste

Preparation
Sauce
1. Place whole, un-peeled garlic cloves in a small, un-oiled skillet over medium low heat and cook for about two minutes per side-until lightly browned. Peel and chop finely.
2. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
Allow the sauce to set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to let the flavors mingle.

Meat Mixture
1. Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Divide into four equal portions and shape into oblong patties about 3" wide, 6" long, 1/2" thick. Refrigerate for an hour.
3. Grill patties over hot fire for 3-4 minutes per side.
4. Spread Tzatziki sauce down the center of a flat bread round, add a lettuce leaf, add some diced tomato. Add the patty, fold the bread over the meat and enjoy.

Italian Vegetable Pie

I fixed this dish for the sole reason it has Tofu in it, and thus I would be able to say I have tried Tofu. I am absolutely disgusted by even the look of Tofu, so much I can't even fathom trying it. I mean it's a firm gelatinous substance made from soy beans, how good can it taste? The great news is that I loved this dish! It's loaded with enough flavor that any flavor the Tofu has is pretty well masked and just added some texture to the food. It was even well received by my daughter so we have another Tot approved recipe as well.

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup mushrooms (about 3 ounces)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 (12/3 oz) package firm tofu, drained and crumbles
1 (2.5 oz) bottle fat-free marinara sauce
6 cooked lasagna noodles, cut in half cross wise
Cooking spray
1-1/2 cups pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375º F.
2 Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomato paste and next 5 ingredients; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat , and simmer uncovered, 10 minutes.
3. Arrange lasagna noodles spoke-like in the bottom and up sides of a 9 inch deep dish pie plate coated with cooking spray. Spread 3 cups tofu mixture over noodles. Fold ends of noodles over tofu mixture; top with remaining tofu mixture, covering ends of noodles. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 375º for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Yield 8 servings.

Chicken Nuggets

What child does not like chicken nuggets? I swear it seems every child has a love affair for chicken nuggets and chicken fingers. The Recipe comes directly from Deceptively Delicious written by Jessica Seinfeld. The book is wonderfully written and packed full of recipes that hide vegetables in foods your kids will eat. Sammie loved this recipe, although I think she enjoys the ketchup more, either way we will be sure to make them again. I followed the recipe to the letter and have come to one conclusion about my cooking in a skillet, I almost always invariably set off the smoke detector. Perhaps that's why I love cooking outdoors so much, anyways this is a must for picky eating children that love chicken nuggets.

1 cup whole-wheat, white, or panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup broccoli or spinach or sweet potato or beet puree
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound boneless, skinless chick breast or tenders, rinsed, dried, and cut into small chunks- I found that the breading and dredge mixture easily made enough for 2 lbs of chicken
1/2 tsp sale
Nonstick cooking spray- I use olive oil cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil

1. In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, Parmesan, paprika, garlic, and onion powder on the paper or foil, and mix well with your fingers

2. In a shallow bowl, mix the vegetable puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.

3. Sprinkle the chicken chunks with the salt. Dip the chunks into the egg mixture and then toss them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.

4. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan, and cook until crisp and golden on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn and cook until the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over, 4 to 5 minutes longer. (Cut into a piece to check that it's cooked through.) Serve warm.