Chicken Souvlaki Pitas with Tzatziki Sauce

mostly from allrecipes.com

Souvlaki Marinade:
3/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

4 large pita bread rounds

Toppings:
1 heart of romaine lettuce, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tomato, halved and sliced
1/2 cup kalamata olives
1/2 cup pepperoncini
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Tzatziki Sauce:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 large cucumber - peeled, seeded and shredded

Make the sauce first (I've done it the day before and chilled it overnight, and it turns out fine):

1. Use a cheese cloth to strain the yogurt over a bowl for 3 to 4 hours, until most of the water has drained.
2. Press excess liquid out of the shredded cucumber. In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumber and strained yogurt. Mix in the garlic, salt, pepper and mint. Chill the mixture for 1 to 2 hours.

Then marinate the chicken:

1. In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinaigrette, juice from 1/2 lemon, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over the chicken, seal, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When you are ready to cook:

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
2. Remove chicken from marinade and place on prepared grill. Discard remaining marinade. Cook chicken until juices run clear, about 8 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from heat, and allow to sit about 10 minutes before slicing into thin strips.
3. Place chicken strips in pita bread, add sauce and any additional toppings.

I've served this cold and it still tastes great. Also, I have made the sauce without mint, I simply didn't have any, and it was very tasty. Oh, and throw the pita on the grill for a minute or so until hot, then fill it with the chicken, etc.

Monster Cookies

Our favorite cookies. They're practically health food if you consider how much peanut butter and oatmeal are in them (and forget about the sugar and butter). Enjoy!


3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 tsp. baking soda
4 1/2 cups oatmeal
12 oz. bag chocolate chips
large bag M&Ms

Beat eggs, vanilla, butter and sugars until smooth. Add peanut butter and baking soda and mix well. Add oatmeal and mix until combined. Add chocolate chips and M&Ms and combine well. Drop by large teaspoonfulls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com, but decreased it to two servings instead of six. Scott rarely comments on dinner except to say "thank you". This dish received many compliments and has been added to our line-up. It is pretty rich so I served it with plain rice and steamed green beans.

2 chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded flat (about 1/2 to 1/4 inch)
2 slices swiss cheese
2 sliced ham (use more if you are using the thin deli meat)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup white wine or fruit juice
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup heavy cream

Place ham and cheese on chicken breast and roll, secure with toothpicks. Mix paprika and flour and coat chicken rolls in flour mixture. Brown chicken in butter over medium heat on all sides (it doesn't need to get cooked through at this point). Remove chicken and add wine and bouillon. Whisk together to get all the little bits off the bottom of the pan. Add breasts back in, cover, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Combine cornstarch and cream. When breasts are cooked remove from the pan and whisk in cream mixture until heated through and thickened. Pour sauce over chicken and enjoy! Oh, you might want to remove those toothpicks. Unless you're mad at your husband then, by all means, leave them in.

Grilled Summer Vegetable Wrap with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

4 Each Tomato Tortilla Wraps (12)
1 Each Red Bell Pepper
1 Each Eggplant
1 Each Red Onion
1 Each Zucchini
2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic, Minced

1/4 Cup Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
1/4 Cup Fresh Mayonnaise

1 TBSP Fresh Chopped Basil
1/4 lb. Feta Cheese Diced

1/2 lb. Baby Lettuce Mix
To Taste, Kosher Salt; Black Pepper

Method of Preparation:
Cut Vegetables into thick Slices. Coat with oil, salt and pepper. Grill until tender. Allow to cool. Once cooled dice into large pieces. Toss with basil and feta cheese. Chill.

Mix Sun-dried Tomato Pesto and Fresh Mayonnaise. Hold on the side.

Warm tortillas. Place equal amounts of vegetable mixture; baby lettuce and pesto mayonnaise on each one. Wrap tightly and cut in half. Serve.

Zucchini Bread

1 Cup sugar ( I use ½ cup brown sugar and ½ cup white sugar)
2 eggs
½ cup oil (can also substitute ¼ cup oil for applesauce)
1 – 1 ¼ cup grated zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cup flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp baking powder
¾ - 1 cup chocolate chips

Beat eggs and mix in sugar. Stir in oil, zucchini, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.

Asian Summer Salad

Salad

8oz uncooked vermicelli pasta

¾ cup julienne-cut carrots, 2 inches long

¾ cup julienne-cut zucchini, 2 inches long

¾ chopped red pepper

¼ cup sliced green onions with tops

¾ pound deli roast turkey or chicken breast, cut ½ inch thick

Dressing

¼ cup vegetable oil

3 TBS rice vinegar

3 TBS soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1 tsp finely chopped, peeled fresh gingerroot

1 garlic clove, pressed

Break vermicelli into quarters and cook according to directions. Drain and run under cool water. Add all the ingredients to the vermicelli. Make the dressing and pour over noodles and vegetables. Allow the salad to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. May be made a day in advance. Garnish with chopped peanuts and/or cilantro if desired.

Mojo Chicken Kabobs

I'm sparingly using up my precious Wegmans ingredients. We just grilled this one up tonight and, wow, was it delicious. It's from the Summer 2008 Menu magazine.

1 pkg (about 1 lb) Wegmans Mojo Marinated Chicken Breast Cutlets, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used my own chicken and marinated it with the Wegmans Mojo Marinade which I found on the salad dressing isle).

1 sweet red pepper, cored, 1-inch dice

1 large sweet onion, peeled

salt and pepper

Assemble kabobs: 1 piece chicken, pepper, chunk of onion, chicken, pepper, onion, chicken, pepper onion. Preheat grill on HIGH 10 min. Clean grill with wire brush. Using soft cloth, coat grill grate lightly with vegetable oil. Season kabobs with salt and pepper; place on grill. Sear kabobs about 2 min, until they have changed color one-quarter of way up from bottom; turn over. Sear 2-3 min, turning kabobs. Reduce heat to MEDIUM; close cover. Cook 8-10 min until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Transfer to clean platter.