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.

Blueberries!

After I posted the strawberry recipes, I was asked for some blueberry recipes. Sometimes you can substitute one fruit for the other. Here are a couple of blueberry recipes. Enjoy!

Blueberry Congealed Salad

2 packages Blackberry or Blueberry Jell-O
1 ½ cups boiling Water

1 large can Crushed Pineapple

1 pkg blueberries
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Sour Cream
½ cup Nuts (optional)
¼ cup Sugar

Stir jell-o in hot water until dissolved. Add blueberries, pineapple and

nuts. Mix together. Pour into flat pan or dish. Chill until firm. Mix

together softened cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth.
Spread over chilled jell-o salad. Chill, cut and serve.

Blueberry-Cheese Dessert Pie

½ cup Sugar

8 oz Cream Cheese

2 Eggs

1/3 cup Nuts

1 t Vanilla

2 cans Blueberry Pie Filling ***

Pie Crust

Bake pie crust. Blend cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add nuts and vanilla. Pour in crust. Return to oven 10 minutes at 350. Spread pie filling (or fresh blueberry mixture) over cheese layer. Chill. Decorate top with drops of Cool Whip.
 
***substitute 2 pkgs Fresh Blueberries mixed with 1/4 cup sugar or for a super
thick pie... use both!

Strawberries!

At this time of the year, I'm looking for things to do with fresh fruit and produce. Hopefully with no cooking or heat involved. Here are a few recipes from my Mama using strawberries... her favorite!

Strawberry Butter

2 sticks Butter, softened
1 cup 10X Sugar
16 oz fresh Strawberries*

Blend in a blender or processor until very smooth. Store in refrigerator.
*Remember to always taste your berries for sweetness. Some may need more sugar than others.


Fresh Strawberry Dressing

¾ cup sliced ripe Strawberries
2 T light corn syrup
½ cup Sour Cream

Add ingredients to small blender. Mix til smooth. Chill about 1 hour.

Serve over fruit salad. Make about 1 ¼ cups.

 

French Strawberry Pie

1 quart Strawberries, cleaned & stemmed

6 oz Cream Cheese

1 ¼ cups Sugar

3 T Cornstarch

1 T Lemon Juice

1 Pie Crust (9 inch) baked and cooled

Spread cream cheese over the bottom of the pie crust. Select half of the best strawberries and press firmly into the cheese with tips up. Mash remaining berries and strain. Add enough water to make 1 1/2 cups liquid. Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Gradually stir in berries and juice. Cook over low heat until thick and clear (5 to 6 minutes). Add a little red food coloring. Cool and pour over berries. Chill about 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

Too Much Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for my church's Mother/Daughter Banquet. When asked what it was called, I always got the same responce, "Girl! There's no such thing as too much chocolate!" Here's the recipe. It's my kind of baking... simple, easy, very little measuring and just plain good!

Too Much Chocolate Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Grilling

With the temperatures constantly rising, the kitchen tends to be the hottest room in the house. To cut down on the heat in the kitchen, you can grill the entire meal outside! Here are a few recipes for the grill, including a snack.

 

Spicy Roasted Nuts

4 cups Mixed Salted Nuts
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp dried Oregano
1/2 tsp dry Mustard
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Toss together in a disposable foil pan. Grill over indirect heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until toasted. Stir occasionally.

Grilled Carrots

8 Carrots
3 tbsp Butter, melted
1/2 tsp coarse Salt
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4 tsp Pepper

Boil carrots for 4-5 minutes, until tender-crisp. Drain. Toss with butter and seasonings. Grill over medium heat 4-5 minutes.


Lemon and Dill Grilled Salmon

 

4 Salmon Fillets, skin on

Salt & Pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh Dill
2 tbsp minced Parsley
1 tbsp Lemon Zest
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp minced Garlic

Salt and pepper fillets. Combine the remaining ingredients and spread over salmon. Grill skin side down over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until salmon begins to flake.


Toasted Flatbreads

6 flour Tortillas
2 tbsp softened Butter
2 tsp Cavender's Greek Seasoning

Spread both sides of tortillas with butter. Sprinkle with seasoning. Grill over medium heat 2-4 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cut into wedges and serve.

Focaccia Sandwiches

Since it is so hot outside and so hot in my kitchen, I've been looking for some good no-cook recipes. I've used the crock pot more in the last month than all year. I boiled peanuts, cooked roasts, cooked pork chops, etc... all in the crock pot. It puts off much less heat than cranking the oven to 350 degrees for 2 or 3 hours to cook a roast, or boiling peanuts on the stove for 6 hours. Boy Oh Boy! My kitchen was 90 degrees the other day!  So, I came up with this sandwich.

1 Loaf Focaccia, halved horizontally

1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup Kalamata Olives, chopped
1/8 tsp pepper
2 large tomatoes sliced
1/4 tsp sea salt
red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup arugula
8 oz Deli Roast Beef

Mix mayo, basil, olives and pepper in a small bowl. Spread on both halves of bread. Arrange tomatoes on bread and sprinkle with salt. Top with onion slices, spinach and arugula and Roast Beef. Cap with remaining slice of bread. Cut the sandwich into wedges to serve. You could also wrap the sandwich whole and take it on a picnic, boat trip or even the beach and cut it when you reach your destination. (Just remember there is mayo on it and pack it in a cooler.)

You can make up your own sandwich... Ranch Dressing and Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Lettuce and Tomato would be an awesome choice too! The combinations are endless!