Our Greek Souvlaki Dinner

Tonight is Greek night at Chez Dana. Here's my Greek dinner.

Kebabs (with or without pitas)
Greek Salad
Greek Roasted Potatoes
Rice

Pre-made Souvlaki. Pork, Chicken or Turkey will do. If you don't want to do pre-made you can do a pork roast in Greek spices and put together your own kabobs. We really like Marc Angelo's kebabs as a version readily available in little blister packs in our grocery stores.

If I'm making it myself, I marinate pork, chicken, etc. in oil and Greek seasoning. My absolute favourite version is by Club House spices.

The kebabs take 20-30 minutes at 425 in the oven or you can BBQ them as well.

Greek Salad comes courtesy of Kraft Greek with Feta dressing mixed with a European lettuce blend, olives, feta cheese, cucumber and tomatoes.

Rice is most often my favourite Dainty Basmati but sometimes I use plan Uncle Ben's or some non-descript no-name brand as well. Good rice is in order instead of instant rice.

Roasted Potatoes for Greek night turn out best when you roast them with lots of Club House Greek and / or Emeril's Essence and use organic coconut oil. The flavour is gorgeous. (Put them on half an hour before cooking your kebabs)

The kebabs can be served on the bed of rice or in your favourite pita and don't forget the Tzatziki. I sometimes buy it pre-made or make homemade Tzatziki. myself with thick plain yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, lemon juice and dill.

Chicken Cordon Yum

My sister in law and I made this variation of Chicken Cordon Bleu together the first time I tried it and it quickly became one of my favourite dishes. Part of the dish happened out of lack of the ability to keep the chicken together with twine or toothpicks but it turned out serendipitous in my opinion because it results in a center with chicken, ham and breading and the bottom of each piece has a lovely golden crust.

Here's how I make it:

Flattened, tenderized boneless and skinless chicken breasts need to be dipped in egg and milk (like a french toast batter) and then dipped in bread crumbs and spices. I like to use italian breadcrumbs and add in salt, pepper and my favourite Mrs. Dash seasoning.

Lay the breaded chicken breast flat and put on top a piece of black forest ham and a pile of mozzarella. Then, roll it up into a loose log and place it with the opening face down in a baking dish. Cover the outside with more breadcrumbs and some spice if you like and I like to put a little pat of coconut oil on top of each piece.

Cook it at 350 for about an hour.

You'll find that some of the cheese will have fallen out through the bottom and created a thick crust on the bottom. I'm sure this isn't how the chef's in a top notch restaurant would make this but I love the way the cheesy crust forms on the bottom. I know some chefs only bread the outside after fastening this into a roll but I love how the chicken breading sits inside the ham and turns out like a stuffing along with the ham and cheese. I enjoy serving this dish with a nice colourful salad and lots of italian salad dressing.

What's Cookin' Mom?

What's for dinner? This is a daily question around here. My eldest son loves food and thinks I'm an awesome cook. Sweet child :) I like involving him in the cooking process and my husband is now doing the same.

If you're having trouble getting your kids to eat what you cook, a great helper is to get them involved in the kitchen. They will want to taste something they took part in cooking and exposure to different food will broaden their horizons and up their vitamin intake!

It's a great idea to let your kids help you cook. My eleven year old recently expressed an interest in cooking. Cooking together helps me pass on my cooking secrets, gets me some help in the kitchen and gets him some exposure to help him make a great husband/Dad someday. I involve him in all aspects of cooking. Even my 3 year old helps with simple tasks like buttering the muffin tins and stirring the cake batter or mixing the macaroni & cheese together.

It's a great idea to let your kids help with the menu planning, too. If they get to choose dinner for one night you can make encourage them to choose something that encompasses all four food groups. If they get to choose what vegetable is on their plate, they will more than likely eat it. You can also get them trying new things by setting extra rules such as: no two vegetables the same in a month and try something new once a month. Incent them however you can, even if you let them choose dessert too.

Stop Being Bored With Dinner!

Part of the process of lovingly cooking a meal comes from anticipation of the food itself. If you're bored with your meals and are not excited about what you're cooking, you aren't likely to make it with love. The result will be boring food that's boring to cook and boring to eat. Bleh. Food isn't just about fuel and sustenance, it's about flavour and passion!

If you are not cooking with love, start trying some new things. Get excited about dinner again! We all get in a rut with food. Sometimes my husband and I would wander around the grocery store aimlessly trying to think of something new for dinner. If you find you're cooking the same things and feeling bored with cooking, it might be time to dabble in some new recipes. Here are some tips to get you some ideas

-Watch Food shows on Food channels or your favorite recipe show. This is a great way to get some ideas. Try out a new recipe!
-Select a day a week where you try something new. If it turns out great, you have something new to add to the repertoire. Saturdays are perfect for this because you'll have more time and if it tanks, you can always run out for a pizza:)
-Try something totally different! Look at a cuisine you don't normally eat like Mediterranean, Mexican or Indian, or Thai. Wake up some taste buds by departing from the ordinary.

If you want to try something new today without running out to shop, try using this great tool: Cooking By Numbers. It lets you choose what you have in your kitchen right now and turn it into recipes.