Greek Chicken and Potatoes

This recipe is so delicious! The lemon and spices and herbs make my house smell so good! This is so simple, but it can make you look like a master chef in the kitchen. The key is to use the Cavender's Greek Seasoning and leg quarters with the skin ON! Please don't use skinless chicken, or it will dry out.

Greek Chicken and Potatoes

1/2 cup butter, room temp

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Cavender's Greek Seasoning 

2 lemons, juiced or 1/4 cup juice

4 Chicken Leg Quarters*

4 or 5 baking potatoes, cubed
1 large onion, cut into thick slices
2 lemons, sliced thin

Oil and lemon for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix the butter, garlic, 1 tbsp Cavender's and lemon juice. Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers or with the handle of a spoon. Be careful not to break the skin. Loosen as much as you can even down the legs. Place a scoop of the butter mixture under the skin and rub down, spreading the butter under the skin. Repeat this process until the butter is covering all the leg quarters. Dust chicken with Cavender's Greek Seasoning. Place the potatoes, onions and some of the lemon slices in a 13X9 casserole dish. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice and sprinkle the Greek Seasoning over the potato mixture. Place chicken on top of potatoes and onion.

Bake uncovered for 45 min to an hour or until chicken is golden brown** and potatoes are tender.

*You can multiply this recipe to feed as many people as you need. I usually allow for one leg quarter per adult. 

** I check my chicken temps and remove from the oven when it reaches 165 degrees F.

Greek Shrimp and Rice

I was looking through Mama's cookbooks looking for something different. I found an old fund raiser cookbook from 1975 called Santee Supper ~ A Book Of Recipes From The South Carolina Lowcountry. I found this seafood recipe, and I had everything on hand! I added Cavender's Greek Seasoning, of course!

Greek Shrimp and Rice 

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ cups cooked rice

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ cup Feta cheese crumbles

1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon Cavender’s Greek Seasoning

Sprinkle of dill weed 

Salt and Pepper, to taste*

Sauté onions in butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, garlic and Greek Seasoning to onions. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp.

Lower heat to medium. Add rice and stir until rice is heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Feta cheese and dill weed.

I added kalamata olives to my plate,

 because the hubby doesn't care for them in his. 

Homemade Pita Bread... Chicken Gyros

For the Pitas:

1 cup warm water
1 pkg dry active yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil

In a small bowl, add the yeast to the water and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Pour the yeast and water into the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached. Add the oil. Slowly add the flour and salt while kneading the dough. The dough should be tacky. Knead the dough in the mixer until it is smooth, about 5 minutes. Brush a little oil over the dough Cover and let rise for an hour or until it has doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured working surface. Cut the dough into 6-8 pieces. Using a rolling pin, flatten each piece into a circle about 1/4 inch thick. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle a little oil into the pan before adding the disks of dough. Cook the pita until bubbles start to form. Flip the dough over and cook until lightly browned. Flip the dough back over and cook for about a minute, until the pita puffs up. Remove from heat and cover with a clean dish towel. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.

Chicken For the Gyros:

8-10 Chicken Tenders

2 tbsp Butter

2 tbsp Cavendar's Greek Seasoning
2 tsp Lemon Juice

Pan fry the chicken until done. Add the butter and seasoning. Cook until lightly browned. Set aside.

Tzatziki Sauce for Gyros:

16 ounces Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 cucumber
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 teaspoon basil
3 tbsp lemon juicesalt and pepper, to taste

Peel the cucumber. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Grate the cucumber and squeeze in a clean kitchen towel to remove excess water.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the Greek yogurt, cucumber, red wine vinegar, dill, basil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to develop.

To assemble the Gyros:

Spread tzatziki sauce over a pita. Top with chicken. Add whatever veggies you like... Lettuce, tomatoes, black olives or green olives.

Greek Chicken and Poatoes

This recipe is so delicious! The lemon and spices and herbs make my house smell so good! This is so simple, but it can make you look like a master chef in the kitchen. The key is to use the Cavender's Greek Seasoning and a whole chicken cut into pieces with the skin ON! Please don't use skinless or it will dry out. If your diet dictates that you can not have the skin, you probably should not be eating a dish that calls for half a cup of oil. OR! Maybe you can forego the diet for one meal! It is so worth the guilt.

Greek Chicken and Potatoes

• 1/2 cup butter, room temp

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• Cavender's Greek Seasoning
• 2 lemons, juiced or 1/4 cup juice

• 1 (4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces

• 4 or 5 baking potatoes, cubed
• 1 large onion, cut into thick slices
• 2 lemons, sliced thin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix the butter, garlic, 1 tbsp Cavender's and lemon juice. Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers or with the handle of a spoon. Be careful not to break the skin. Loosen as much as you can even down the legs. Place a scoop of the butter mixture under the skin and rub down, spreading the butter under the skin. Repeat this process until the butter is covering the entire chicken. Dust chicken with Cavender's Greek Seasoning. Place the potatoes, onions and some of the lemon slices in a 13X9 casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and sprinkle the Greek Seasoning over the potato mixture. Place chicken on top of potatoes and onion. 

Bake uncovered for an hour and a half 

or until chicken is golden brown and potatoes are tender.

**********

Also great with leg quarters!

Tzatziki

I love the idea from Betty Crocker for Greek Salad Kabobs! I would rather have a tzatziki sauce to go with it than a honey yogurt sauce. But that's just me... I never follow the rules! Tzatziki usually is finished off with mint... me? I use basil! Yeah! I'm twisted that way! :-)

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream, plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
1 cucumber

Pinch of Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 lemon, juiced and zest
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
1-1/2 cloves garlic, peeled
5 basil leaves, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste

At least 8 hours before making the Tzatziki, place the yogurt in a paper towel lined strainer over another bowl and leave it in the fridge 8 hours or even  overnight. This makes the yogurt the perfect consistency. This step is not necessary if using Greek yogurt, but check the consistency to insure that it is thick enough.
Peel and seed the cucumber. Place the cucumbers on a tea towel sprinkle with Kosher salt. This will leech out a lot of the water and help assure you have a thick sauce. After the water has leeched out, squeeze the towel and ring out the water.
In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients. Process until well-combined.
Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor, over night is suggested.

Classic Greek Salad

2 heads romaine lettuce, torn into chunks*
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 pepperoncini peppers (or more)
12 kalamata olives
1 cucumber, sliced and cut in half
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon oregano (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon sea salt

For the dressing: combine vinegar, minced garlic, oregano and lemon juice, slowly whisk in olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

For salad: layer romaine, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and top with pepperoncini peppers.  Whisk dressing and drizzle over the top.

* Mama's notes: Never cut lettuce... lettuce should be torn into chunks!

Moussaka

I can remember a lot of stories about Mama being a tom-boy, growing up around all boys. That’s something else we had in common, I guess. I still cannot seem to live in a house that has more than one female! But that’s another story. As a child, she rode horses and bikes. She played football, basketball and baseball with her brothers. She wrestled with them and climbed trees with them.

Mama played marbles as a child. She was the county marble champion in the fourth grade. She won the girls match, then she beat the boy. So as rules go, she took his marbles. He ran home crying. Granddaddy explained to her that boys just were not as gracious at loosing to girls. She said that that was her first lesson in male ego.

Well, maybe a lot of that childhood was in preparation for married life. Moving to Rimini and having an instant family, she had plenty of challenges. Mildred Avin reminded me of an example at church the other day. Like most kids, Lee liked to climb trees. He did pretty good at the up part. The down part was his problem. One day he got stuck in the top of a tree. Mama took off her shoes, climbed the tree, and got Lee down. No small feet considering she was 8 1/2 months pregnant with me at the time.

She was also good at getting my brother so eat things he "DID NOT LIKE"! He was one of those kids that would not try anything... and he hated everything! He absolutely hated zucchini and would not go near it... but he loved Mama's Zucchini Bread! She never told him it was zucchini. Eggplant was another no-no for my brother's menu. When Mama made moussaka... Lee was in love! The ate three helpings! That was pretty good for a picky eater! Mama turned to Lee and said, "So you don't like eggplant. Hmmm?" BUSTED!!! LOL

2 large Eggplant, peeled and sliced**

¼ cup cooking oil
2 pounds ground Lamb or Beef
1 cup onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
8 oz Tomato Sauce
¾ cup Dry Red Wine
2 T Parsley, chopped
¼ t Oregano
¼ t ground Cinnamon
1 Egg, beaten
¼ cup Butter or Margarine
¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Milk
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
½ cup Parmesan Cheese
Cinnamon
Salt & Pepper

Slice eggplant into 1/2" slices. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt. Brown in large skillet. Drain and set aside. In same pan, cook meat, onion and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain. Stir
in tomato sauce, wine, parsley, oregano, cinnamon and 1 t salt. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Gradually stir mixture into the 1 beaten egg.

Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in flour and salt & pepper to taste. Add milk; cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Slowly stir into 3 beaten eggs.

In 13x9x2 baking dish, layer half the eggplant. Pour meat mixture over; top with remaining eggplant. Pour milk mixture over eggplant. Top with Mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and dust with cinnamon. Bake at 325 for 40 to 45 minutes.

**Substitution: If you don’t want to try the eggplant or they are out of season, you can substitute peeled and sliced potatoes.

Greek Potatoes

This recipe is so delicious!

The lemon, spices and herbs make my house smell so good! 

• 1/4 cup oil

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• Cavender's Greek Seasoning
• 2 lemons, juiced or 1/4 cup juice

• 4 or 5 baking potatoes, cubed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 


In a plastic bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, 1 tbsp Cavender's (I use more like 2 T, but we like more spice.) and lemon juice. Pour mixture over potatoes. Bake uncovered for 45 min to an hour or until potatoes are golden brown and tender.

Watermelon Salad

This is a refreshing simple summer salad. It may sound a little odd, but give it a try.

3 cups chopped watermelon
1 cup chopped cucumbers
1/2 cup crumbled Mild Feta Cheese
2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Garnish with fresh Basil leaves and thinly sliced red Onion

Combine and serve immediately.

Greek Chicken and Potatoes

This recipe is so delicious! The lemon and spices and herbs make my house smell so good! This is so simple, but it can make you look like a master chef in the kitchen. The key is to use the Cavender's Greek Seasoning and a whole chicken cut into pieces with the skin ON! Please don't use skinless or it will dry out. If your diet dictates that you can not have the skin, you probably should not be eating a dish that calls for half a cup of oil. OR! Maybe you can forego the diet for one meal! It is so worth the guilt.

Greek Chicken and Potatoes

• 1/2 cup oil

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• Cavender's Greek Seasoning
• 2 lemons, juiced or 1/4 cup juice

• 1 (4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces

• 4 or 5 baking potatoes, cubed
• 1 large onion, cut into thick slices

In a plastic bowl, with a tight fitting lid, mix the olive oil, garlic, 1 tsp Cavender's and lemon juice. Shake to emulsify. Dust chicken with Cavender's Greek Seasoning. Place the chicken pieces in a glass dish. Pour mixture over chicken, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator 2-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove chicken from dish and add potatoes and onion. Toss to coat with marinade. Place chicken on top of potatoes and onion. Bake uncovered for 45 min to an hour or until chicken is golden brown and potatoes are tender.

A Greek Specialty... Moussaka smells incredible as it cooks, and tastes even better! It's worth the work!!!

2 large Eggplant, peeled and sliced**
¼ cup cooking oil
2 pounds ground Lamb or Beef
1 cup onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
8 oz Tomato Sauce
¾ cup Dry Red Wine
2 T Parsley, chopped
¼ t Oregano
¼ t ground Cinnamon
1 Egg, beaten
¼ cup Butter or Margarine
¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Milk

3 eggs, beaten
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
½ cup Parmesan Cheese
Cinnamon
Salt & Pepper

Slice eggplant into 1/2" slices. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt. Brown in large skillet. Drain and set aside. In same pan, cook meat, onion and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain. Stir
in tomato sauce, wine, parsley, oregano, cinnamon and 1 t salt. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Gradually stir mixture into the 1 beaten egg.

Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in flour and salt & pepper to taste. Add milk; cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Slowly stir into 3 beaten eggs.

In 13x9x2 baking dish, layer half the eggplant. Pour meat mixture over; top with remaining eggplant. Pour milk mixture over eggplant. Top with Mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and dust with cinnamon. Bake at 325 for 40 to 45 minutes.

**Substitution: If you don’t want to try the eggplant or they are out of season, you can substitute peeled and sliced potatoes.