Gyros - the real way

UMMMM Greek food. Apparently Gryos were invented in NYC not in Greece but either way I love them. I didn't realize that in reality this yummy sandwich type things are not made with a lamb leg, flank, etc. Rather they are made with ground meat. So, off I went to find ground lamb, bison, and pork...the combination I wanted to use to make my gyros.

I followed Alton Brown's cooking method found here. I also took ideas from this website, Serious Eats.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Bison
• 4 oz pork
• 8 oz lamb
• 1/2 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pat the meat pace into a loaf pan and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the meat loaf into a water bath and into the oven. Cook for about an hour or until the internal temp reaches 160-165 degrees.
3. Remove meat from the oven. Place a brick wrapped in tin foil on top of the meat and let it sit for 15-20 min or until the internal temp reaches 175 degrees.
4. Slice your meat nice and thin. Place on a grill or skillet to brown the edges of the meat.
5. Toss on a pita with Tzataiki, onions and tomatoes.

Makes 4 servings of meat. Calories per serving - 250

Tiropita

My favorite thing to get in Greek restaurants is Tiropita. Unfortunately most Greek restaurants in NYC don't have this AMAZING appetizer. As I decided to make gyros tonight I thought I would try my hand at these little beauties as well. While they looked excellent they ended up not quite hitting the spot. I am used to the cheesy insides being a little cheesier. I guess I will have to try these again.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz fat free feta cheese
• 1 egg
• 5-6 sheets of phyllo dough
• Butter Pam spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix the cheese and the egg
3. Lay out phyllo dough. Cut in half length wise. Spray with Pam. Double the dough on top of itself so you now have two layers of dough. Place about 2 tbs of cheese mixture in the corner of the dough. Fold like you are folding a flag, tucking in edges as you go.
4. Repeat until you have used all the filling. Place all the Tiropita on a Silpat or baking sheet. Spray with Pam. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 5-6 tiropita - calories per tiropita - 50

Meatballs

Knowing that I love to cook I decided to make Gyros. Of course, I ended up with way to much ground meat so I turned some of the leftovers into meatballs. These meatballs were so good and at only 40 calories a meatball they are pretty healthy as far as meatballs go.

I used Panko bread crumbs and had to add extra to absorb some of the liquid but I also blended some of the meat with the onions to make the meatballs hold together and prevent them from being mealy.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground meat (I used a combo of bison, pork, and lamb)
• 1 1/3 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
  
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat onion to 325 degrees.
2. Blend 2/3 of the meat with the seasonings, eggs, and onion until a paste is made. Mix in the remaining ingredients and shape into balls. Place meatballs on a silpat or cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.
3. Serve with sauce or freeze for later use.
   

Makes about 30-35 meatballs (I made 33): calories per meatball - 40

Mexican Lasagna

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!

Students left at noon but the kitchen made enchiladas for lunch anyway. Apparently they are making lunch all of teacher week but last year this was not the case. As this was totally unexpected the teachers had already ordered pizza. Not to let food go to waste I swiped some of the enchiladas for dinner.

Now these enchiladas didn't hold up to well and in my opinion could be part of a better meal if taken apart. So I took out the filling and made this mexican lasagna for dinner instead.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1/2 bell pepper diced
• 2 oz cheese
• 3 tortilla (I use la tortilla factory)
• Spinach
• enchilada filling (I used beef from school)
• 1/2 cup corn

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put down a layer of beef as thin as possible. Top with tomatoes. Then place a tortilla on top. Layer with tomatoes and spinach and corn.
3. Place another tortilla on top. Now add a layer of beef then onions and peppers. Top with another tortilla.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top of the last tortilla. Cook for 15-20 min or until hot and cheese is melted.

Serves 3: Calories per serving 420 when low calorie options are used.

Peanut Butter Brownies

YUM YUM YUM. My mom came to town and she sells these cookware products that are fantastic. Well because she was here she wanted to have a cookware party. So we made these wonderful brownies (that I ate way to many of).

Ingredients:

• 1 brownie package
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 20 mini reeses peanut butter cups
• 20 honey roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. Mix brownie mix according to the instructions on the box.
2. Pour mix into Demarle mini muffin tray filling the cups 3/4 of the way full. Press a mini peanut butter cup into the center of each muffin.
3. Cook according to the instructions on the box.
4. Remove from oven and press a honey roasted peanut into the center of eat peanut butter cup.
5. Allow to cool before removing from Demarle tray.

Pizza Two Ways

Miles and I love pizza. We have starting making it on these flat pita breads that are way fewer calories and they are super for making pizzas on. Miles likes his pizzas with pepperoni and olives but I have recently converted him to a greek style pizza. This time I also made a spinach and artichoke pizza that was good but needed chicken.

These pita pizzas could really be made with any toppings you wanted.

Ingredients:
Pizza 1:

• Pita bread
• Feta cheese (I use fat free)
• Onion
• Tomato
• Tomato sauce
• Chicken
• Mushrooms
  
• Mozzarella
• Fresh Basil

Pizza 2:

• Pita bread
• Pesto Alfredo
• Fat Free Feta
• Mozzarella
• Artichoke

Directions:

1. Cook Chicken
2. Dice and arrange all ingredients on the pita bread to your liking
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees
4. Cook for 8-10 min.