Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce

Grilling. It has to be synonymous with summer, and the smell of dinner cooking away outside has to be one of my favorite smells in the world. When you combine grilling with one of our favorite cuisines (Greek), I am game. Thus, as soon as I saw this recipe for grilled pork souvlaki on The Blest Nest, I knew we would be making them soon! 

Greek and other Mediterranean dishes aren't foods that either of us grew up eating, but they are something that we have come to love since we first tried them in pharmacy school. Lemon, oregano, garlic, chickpeas, olive oil. What's not to love? Not only is it GOOD, but it can be pretty healthy for you too. Double win :)

While we have made a couple other Greek meals at home, this pork souvlaki has to be the best one yet. It is really simple to make. No more complicated than your standard skewers in that you marinate the meat for several hours and then throw it on the grill. My only change was to grill the pork and vegetables on separate skewers to account for different cook times. Sometimes the veggies will finish cooking before the meat is done, and if they are on different skewers, you can simply take them off the grill. I made my own whole wheat pitas for this, but you could easily use some from the store to make this doable for a weeknight meal. Done and done. Enjoy! 

(Printable Recipe)

Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce
Adapted from The Blest Nest

Ingredients:
Pork Souvlaki:
1 large lemon, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 green or red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup feta cheese
whole wheat pitas

Tzatziki Sauce:
1 cup lowfat Greek yogurt
1 large cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried dill (or 1 Tbsp. fresh if you have it)
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

For the meat, in a ziptop bag, combine the lemon juice, oil, soy sauce, oregano, and garlic. Swish to combine. Add pork cubes and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours (can be made in the morning for that evening). If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes prior to grilling. If using metal skewers, the soaking step is not necessary.

For the tzatziki sauce, squeeze as much water from the cucumber as possible using a clean dish towel or paper towels. Combine with the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, dill and salt. Let the flavors marry in the refrigerator while the skewers are cooking.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove the pork from the marinade and set aside. Boil the marinade for 5 minutes to kill any bacteria because you want to use it to baste the skewers. Thread pork and pepper and onions onto separate skewers. Cook for 10-15 minutes or to desired tenderness. Baste the meat occasionally and turn skewers frequently for even cooking. The vegetables will not take this long to cook. Remove them when the vegetables are tender and begin to brown around the edges. 

Serve the pork, vegetables, and tzatziki over whole wheat pitas. Top with cherry tomatoes and feta cheese. Enjoy!

Fruit-Topped Angel Food Cake Squares

Well, this dessert was the destination for the previous angel food cake. It sounds (and looks) pretty simple, but the combination of the pudding part with the berries and cake ends up with something better than the individual parts. We were first introduced to this recipe from a college friend who is one of the best cooks that I know. I think that Jenna probably fed me a couple times a week while I was still living in the dorms during my last year of college.

Since then, this has became one of my husband's favorite desserts. I have to admit that it is up there on my list too =) We usually only make it once or twice per year because around here it is one of those things that is "dangerous" to have around the house. In making my own cake, it was larger than the ones that I had previously bought. The extra cubes of cake soaked up more of the pudding mixture. In this one, I missed the little pools of pudding that normally form around the cake pieces, so next time, I will probably save some of the cake for another use (like strawberry shortcakes). Either way, there aren't too many ways you can go wrong with this dessert. Enjoy!

I am linking this to Sweet Tooth Fridays!

(Printable Recipe)

Fruit-Topped Angel Food Cake Squares
From Jenna R.

Ingredients:
1 loaf (1 lb) angel food cake (12x5 inch)
1-1/2 c. milk
3 containers (6oz) fat-free yogurt (I like vanilla)
1 can (14 oz) fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 box (6 serving size) instant pudding mix, any flavor (cheesecake is our favorite flavor)
2 c. quartered strawberries
2 c. fresh blueberries
2 c. fresh blackberries

Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray. Cut angel food cake into 1-inch pieces with a serrated knife. Place in the prepared pan in one layer. 

In a medium bowl, mix the milk, yogurt, sweetened condensed milk, and pudding mix with a wire whisk until well blended. Pour over the cake pieces. Gently tap the dish on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, gently mix all the berries and spread over the top of the cake. Cut into squares and serve.

Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Salsa and Tsatsiki

Last weekend, Tessa was at work all day, studied for classes, and made my class 48 delicious cinnamon rolls. Given her hard work and kindness, I decided I would find a new recipe and make her dinner on Sunday night to show my appreciation. Stating all this, this is the first guest blogger post by Tessa's husband, Derek. Now I am normally the recipient of all the flavorful creations of my wife, but I have watched closely and she has taught me a thing or two about knowing my way around the kitchen!

I found this recipe on my iPhone on the Epicurious application. Tessa and I have been on a HUGE Greek kick the past month or so and it seems every chance we get, we either go out to eat or cook a Greek dish. Tessa is better about trying new dishes than I am and every time I eat Greek food, I have trouble eluding the Gyros!

This recipe is very simple to prepare, but all the time that goes into making the gyros is pretty active. You start by making the Tsatsiki sauce. This can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator to save some prep time. We substituted normal cucumbers that we cut the seeds out of and finely chopped for the Kirby cucumbers the recipe calls for. The grocery store did not have any Kirby cucumbers and the vegetable guy gave the advice on how to use the normal cucumbers. We also left the mint out of the salsa as it is not in season in Nebraska in the middle of January!

All I can say is, judging by Tessa's reaction when she got home from work, this recipe definitely made the cut and I might be making more frequent guest posts!!!

(Printable Recipe)

Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Salsa and Tsatsiki

Recipe from Epicurious iPhone application

Ingredients:
2 Kirby cucumbers, divided
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt (3/4 pounds)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, divided
5 garlic cloves, minced, divided
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 rounded teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1 (12-ounces) packages naan bread or 4 (8-inch) pocketless pita rounds
1/2 roast chicken , skin discarded, meat shredded (2 1/4 cups)
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced

Preparation of Tsatsiki:
Peel and grate 1 cucumber, then squeeze it with your hands to remove excess water. Stir together with yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, one third of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoons each of salt and pepper to make tsatsiki.

Preparation of Cucumber Salsa:
Cut remaining cucumber into 1/4-inch pieces and stir together with tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, remaining 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper to make salsa.

Gently simmer oil, oregano, rosemary, remaining garlic, 1/4  teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small heavy saucepan, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss chicken with 3 tablespoons garlic oil and brush one side of bread with remainder.

Heat bread, oiled side up, in a skillet until golden in spots and has an even coloring. Flip bread and repeat on opposite side.

Spread some of tsatsiki on warm bread and top with chicken and some of lettuce and salsa. Serve remaining lettuce, salsa, and tsatsiki on the side.