Greek Quinoa Salad

Please forgive the poor lighting in these photos - they were taken during a typhoon! I made this yummy, healthy and very filling salad for hubby and I to enjoy during our last typhoon - we've had four in Okinawa this year and let me tell you, it's getting old. But this Greek Quinoa Salad made being stuck indoors listening to the howling wind and watching the torrential rain a whole lot better. I love the traditional Greek flavors in this dish - feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon, and olive oil. I wanted this to be a meal in itself so added in grilled chicken breasts. 

Greek Quinoa Salad
From With Style & Grace
Printable Version
1 1/2 cups quinoa 
2 cups water or chicken broth
1 heaping cup of cucumbers, quartered
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup Kalamata olives (I completely forgot these!)
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup feta cheese

Directions
In a medium pot bring water or chicken broth and quinoa to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover for about 17 minutes. When all the water is absorbed remove and fluff with a fork. Allow to cool. 
In a large bowl combine cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and onions. 
Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to make the dressing. 
Stir the vegetable combination into the quinoa then pour the dressing over everything and stir to combine. Add in feta and stir lightly. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Layered Greek Dip

I love when people share a new recipe with me and when Aunt Becky shares a recipe with me I know it's going to be good - she gave me the recipe for Pasta Florentine, which is an absolute favorite of mine. So when she told me she had a recipe for a Layered Greek Dip I needed to try, I was very excited. This dip is just bursting with yummy greek flavors: hummus, feta, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, cucumbers. It makes a huge batch, perfect for parties or get togethers. Thanks Aunt Becky for another great recipe!

Layered Greek Dip
Makes about 2 1/2 cups (16 servings)
Printable Version


Ingredients
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups prepared original hummus
1 cup chopped cucumbers
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes - get rid of extra juice
1/2 cup chopped, pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/3 cup sliced green onions
Pita chips or multi-grain tortilla chips

Directions
In a medium bowl beat cream cheese, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and garlic with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and combined.

Spread the cream cheese mixture into a deep 9 inch pie pan or shallow serving dish. Evenly spread the hummus  on top of the cream cheese. 

Top the hummus with the remaining ingredients, in order. Cover and refrigerate for 2 - 24 hours. Serve with pita chips or multi-grain tortilla chips.

Turkey Burgers with Creamy Cucumber Dill Sauce

After absolutely loooooving Southwest Turkey Burgers with Avocado Sauce, I've been thinking about what other yummy sauces I could make to top turkey burgers. I always buy ground turkey in bulk at Costco so have it in my freezer almost all of the time and on my last Costco visit I also picked up some cute baby cucumbers. They inspired me to whip up a creamy cucumber dill sauce to top off the burgers.

 My hubby didn't seem very excited about the idea, but one spoonful of the sauce changed his mind. It's like a simplified version of tzatziki sauce. Creamy, tangy, a little crunchy. It was very yummy on top of juicy turkey burgers and melted cheese, but could also be a dip for pitas, crackers, veggies, whatever your little heart desires!

Turkey Burgers with Creamy Cucumber Sauce

An Ashley's Cooking Adventures Original

Printable Version

Ingredients

4 small cucumbers

1 1/2 cups sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh dill

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Ground turkey

Seasonings of choice

Cheese slices, if desired

Directions

Slice cucumbers into large pieces. Place into food processor and pulse until diced into small pieces. 

Add in garlic, dill, and lemon juice. 

Pulse to combine. Remove from food processor and scoop into small bowl.

Stir in sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Prepare turkey burgers and desired and cook. Top with melted cheese if desired. Remove from grill and plate. Scoop creamy cucumber sauce on top of burgers. 

Gram's Twist Noodle Salad

Somehow this recipe of my Grandma's didn't make it into the family cookbook we complied a couple of years ago. Thankfully, I asked Gram to dictate it to me one day after eating a big helping of it. I love that my Grandma called Rotini pasta, "twist noodles". She didn't need to know it's exact name to make a yummy, tangy and sweet pasta salad with it. Gram's recipe only called for onions and cucumbers, but I added in tomatoes and broccoli because I had them in the crisper and wanted to use them up. Carrots or peppers would also be great additions to this easy, simple side dish. Like a lot of Gram's recipes, this one needs time to marinate and is best a day or two after you make it.

Aren't my Grandma and Grandpa beautiful in this picture together? This picture was taken on the wedding day of my Great Grandma Barry (Gram's Mom, so my Mom's Grandma). Gram hosted the wedding party at her house. I am in love with this picture, with Gram so elegant and timeless (I want that dress!) and Grandpa so handsome and clean cut. I know this was a very happy day for my Grandma and her Mom. This picture is in a frame next to a picture of my husband and I on our wedding day.

Gram's Twist Noodle Salad

Printable Version

Ingredients

1 lb "twist noodles" (Rotini)

1 1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon mustard

1/2 tablespoon garlic salt

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced

1 small white onion, diced

Directions

Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and allow to cool. 

Whisk together sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, and garlic salt. 

Combine pasta, cucumbers, and onions in a large bowl. Pour the vinegar/spice mixture over the pasta and veggies and mix throughly. 

Chill in the fridge overnight. 

Tzatziki Sauce

The hubs and I got to spend some time with his family this summer and one of the best things I ate during that time was Aunt Lynn's Tzatziki Sauce. Although Aunt Lynn had to leave the night we arrived, she left a huge container of Tzatziki for us to gobble up during the week. After returning back home I emailed Aunt Lynn for her recipe and she graciously shared it with me. She recommended the sauce with middle eastern shish kebobs and whole wheat pitas, which is exactly what I made to go with this creamy, zippy cucumber sauce. The pita and kebob recipes will follow in the next couple of days. Since I had never made Tzatziki I was surprised at how long it took. You have to salt and drain the cucumbers twice so it takes about 1 1/2 hours to prepare. This timeframe actually worked out because the pitas needed time to rise and the kebobs needed time to marinate. What ensued after that was a fantastic, flavorful middle eastern feast. 

Tzatziki Sauce
Special thanks and love to Aunt Lynn


Printable Version

Ingredients
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and quartered
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (Greek is best!)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions
Place quartered cucumbers in colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow to drain for 30 minutes. Meanwhile strain the yogurt through cheesecloth or a mesh wire strainer for the entire time you are working on the cucumbers. Pat the cukes dry with paper towels and chop coarsely in a food processor. Drain the cukes in a colander for an additional 30 minutes. 

Put cucumber back in food processor with the garlic, lemon juice, yogurt and vinegar. Blend well. Adjust vinegar and salt to taste. Pour in olive oil and blend until ingredients are well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve as a dip with fresh veggies, whole wheat pitas, and shish kebobs! (Recipes to follow)

Easy Refrigerator Pickles

Pickles are, without a doubt, one of the world's greatest creations. I seriously CRAVE pickles and eat them all the time. In fact, I should buy stock in Claussen Dill Pickles - I eat enough of them to be a stockholder. Since I eat so many pickles I decided it was time to try my hand at homemade pickles. Growing up, I could count on eating pickles at both of my Grandmothers' houses. Like clockwork, my Grandma H served bread and butter pickles with sandwiches (made on her homemade bread) and my Grandma Walters always had homemade sweet pickles in a container in her fridge. In sum, these refrigerator pickles I found on Tasty Kitchen had a lot to live up to...and they did! I was really happy with these pickles. I ate them everyday (after the 24 hour mark, like instructions called for) and thought they were even better after a week. I didn't have glass quart jars and just used a large plastic container, which worked perfectly, but didn't look as cute as they could have in the glass Ball jars. You can store these babies for up to 6 months - they wouldn't last that long in my fridge though!


Easy Refrigerator Pickles
From Suzanne aka The Coloradolady

Ingredients
6 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
2 cups thinly sliced onions
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seed
1/2 tablespoon Celery Seed
1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric
3/4 teaspoons minced garlic
Crushed Red Pepper (optional and to taste)


Directions
In 2 glass quart jars (or large container of your choice) alternate layers of sliced cucumbers and onions. Add minced garlic to each jar and if using crushed red pepper, add also. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard seed, celery seed, and ground turmeric. Bring to a boil, stirring just until sugar is dissolved. Pour vinegar mixture on top of cucumbers/onion mixture and cool slightly.

Cover tightly, shaking jar to mix and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. 

Creamy Cucumber Salad

This cool, creamy cucumber salad is one of my most favorite things my Grandma Walters made. Gram used to have this in her fridge all summer long. Of course she used REAL sour cream and therefore hers is better than mine, but even with the low fat version of sour cream, one bite of this salad brings me right back to her kitchen. Make sure to let this marinate in the fridge for several hours before eating.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

3 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

1 white onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dill (fresh is best!)

Directions

Place sliced cucumbers and onions in a serving container or bowl. In a separate bowl whip together sour cream, vinegar, salt, and dill. Pour mixture over cucumbers and onion. Shake or stir until the veggies are covered. Place in refrigerator to let flavors marry. Enjoy!