Greek Salad Bruschetta

I'm not quite ready to talk about the Superbowl yet.  But I think I'm finally ready to talk about the food.  We did have lots and lots of food.



I wanted to make something a little bit lighter than the typical wings, chips, dip, and pizza this year.  I loved this bruschetta because it was a little bit different than regular bruschetta, was nice and light, and is easy to pick up and enjoy while watching the game.  Plus, it reminded me of the Greek salad we get when we visit our family friends in Florida, and it was right around the Superbowl last time I was down there.



The Monkey Scientist and his roommate hosted the Superbowl party this year and, despite the outcome, we all had a great time.  It was a true hodge-podge of our friends, but it was really great to get everyone together.  Folks seemed to like the bruschetta, although it may not have been the right crowd because the chicken tenders were eaten much faster.  I think this would be a great appetizer for a dinner party or even a family holiday because it comes together pretty quickly.  It's light, a bit acidic, and tasty.  Even though I am not a tomato-lover, I enjoyed this one a lot!



Greek Salad Bruschetta
slightly adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients
French baguette, sliced
1-2 tbsp butter, softened.
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and diced
1/3 cup kalamata olives, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup feta cheese
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 tsp Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Spread butter on baguette slices. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until baguette slices are golden brown and toasted.
3. In a medium bowl, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, and red onion. Add red wine vinegar, lemon juice and feta cheese. Stir until well combined. Season with oregano, Cavender's, salt and pepper.  Bruschetta topping can be kept in the fridge for a couple hours before using.
4. Top baguette slices with bruschetta topping. Serve immediately.

Salmon and Veggies in a Parchment Packet

This recipe is something you can find all over the web.  It's an easy dinner to throw together any night of the week very quickly! And it has loads of nutrients while staying low fat and low carb.

I love the heart shaped packet. I think it's just adorable!

After using Cavender's Greek Seasoning for my chicken souvlaki, I couldn't wait to use it again! It was fantastic and easy in this recipe - I didn't even need any other seasoning!

I really should have sprung for the wild caught salmon, but it was a little more expensive and it really didn't look very good at my market.  Still, if you care about sustainability, I recommend going that route.

Overall, we loved this meal. It was so simple and absolutely delicious! I meant to serve it with Israeli Cous Cous, but I forgot to make it.  Still, this was plenty for us when we just wanted a simple dinner.  Feel free to mix up the type of fish or veggies - it would work with anything! Next time I might try a spicy version with cayenne!

Salmon and Veggies in a Parchment Packet

serves 2

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, sliced

1 summer squash, sliced

1 small Japanese eggplant, sliced

1/4 Vidalia onion, sliced

1 bell pepper (I used orange), sliced

2 pieces of salmon

parchment paper

fresh squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut parchment paper in 2 large hearts (big enough to hold half the veggies and a pieces of salmon), then fold in half. 

Place half of the veggies on each piece of parchment. Sprinkle with greek seasoning.

Place the piece of salmon on top and season with greek seasoning.  Drizzle everything with olive oil. 

Close the parchment packet and seal the edges. Bake 20 minutes or until fish is fully cooked and flakes with a fork.

Open packets and squeeze lemon juice over the top of each piece of salmon/veggies.  

Serve immediately.

Chicken Souvlaki Pita with Skinny Tzatziki

I had some leftover chicken breast tenders from my trip to H-Mart, so when this simple recipe popped up on the Tasty Kitchen blog I thought it would be a great way to use them up! (Don't worry, I kept them frozen since I bought them!)

I use chicken breast tenders pretty frequently. I'm not sure of the nutritional difference between full breasts and the breast tenders, but the tenders are usually a lot less expensive.  When I'm chopping up the chicken by the end of the recipe anyway, like I do here (especially because I pounded it out), it made a lot of sense to go this route.

The real secret ingredient to this recipe is Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning.  I know, another pre-mixed spice blend, but they are so easy to use! I found it at a specialty market, but hopefully you can find it in larger grocery stores as well.  Penzy's also has a greek spice blend, and it may be worth trying that instead (probably has less sodium!), although Cavender's does have a very unique flavor.

Tzatziki is one of the most delicious condiments - and it's so easy to make a skinny version.  I adapted this recipe from missamy's version on Tasty Kitchen as well as the version on Gina's Skinny.  Greek yogurt is now really easy to find in grocery stores and it gives the tzatziki the perfect tang!

Don't cut up the cucumbers in the tzatziki too small - it's nice when they give a little bite to the sandwich!

P.S. there is no cottage cheese in this recipe.  I used the old container to store the tzatziki!  It's all about recycling!

Overall, we really enjoyed this sandwich.  I loved that I could prep everything either in the morning, the night before, or even right when I get home from work, and then, when we get hungry, throw the chicken on the Foreman for 2 minutes and have a meal ready in under 5. When the Monkey Scientist got home from a late flight, I had dinner ready before he could walk to my apartment from the metro, even though I'd been running errands all evening. And he told me I make a mean tzatziki - didn't even notice that it was skinnified! The chicken has so much flavor from the greek seasoning, and the tzatziki balanced it perfectly.

Now that the weather is warming up (it's been in the 80s in DC!) and we're days away from the pool being open on weekends, I'll have to have this prepped at all times for a perfect Sunday lunch by the pool!

Chicken Souvlaki Pita with Skinny Tzatziki

Adapted from missamy on Tasty Kitchen and Gina's Skinny

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

for the chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 6 tenders)

4 teaspoons Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning

4 teaspoons olive oil

for the tzatziki

6-8 oz plain, non-fat greek yogurt

1/2 cucumber, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

3 whole wheat pitas

Instructions:

Pound out the chicken breast until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Rub down with a little bit of olive oil, then season both sides generously with the Cavender's Greek Seasoning. Wrap in plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator to let marinate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, mix greek yogurt, chopped cucumbers, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Grill the chicken until no longer pink. (This takes about 2 minutes on the George Foreman grill, but you could definitely use a real grill!)

Spoon a good amount of tzatziki in each pita.  Slice chicken into strips and divide evenly between pitas. Enjoy!