Favorite Dish: Greek Chicken Wraps

This is a favorite dish in our house. It's actually really easy to put together and everyone in the house will eat all parts of it. I've posted all the recipes before but this is a better picture than I had in the original posts. You could certainly buy pita bread but why bother when this flat wrap is easy to make and better tasting than any store bought pita. We use either romaine lettuce or spinach leaves for the greens. Tomatoes and red onions are our final touches but you could add more items or less depending on what you like.

For the sauce:
1/8 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons grated zest plus 1 tablespoon juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Adjust these for your family's taste. I've found that this is right for our family.

Combine oil, garlic, basil, oregano, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes in a large bowl and whisk in mayonnaise, vinegar, and lemon juice; refrigerate.

For chicken:
Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound chicken breasts (I usually cut really thick chicken breasts down to thin them out and make the pieces a little smaller so they absorb the marinade better)

Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and place in fridge overnight. Grill (or cook in frying pan). Serve with sides of your choice or cut into bite sized pieces and add to desired recipe (I'll be sharing a few with you soon). Note: If you cut your chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces and then marinate it, you can get away with only letting it marinate for 5 or 6 hours instead of overnight.

For the soft wrap bread:
3 to 3 1/4 cups (12 3/4 to 13 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) boiling water
1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) potato flour OR 1/2 cup (5/8 ounces) potato buds or flakes (I used potato flakes)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon instant yeast*

Place 2 cups of the flour into a bowl or the bucket of a bread machine. Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl or bucket and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes or buds) and 1 cup of the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several minutes (by hand, mixer or bread machine) to form a soft dough.

Note: You can allow the dough to go through the entire kneading cycle(s) in the bread machine, but it's not necessary; about a 5-minute knead in the machine, once it gets up to full kneading speed, is fine. The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat sticky (the dough is fairly stiff, so don't be worried - just be careful not to overflour the dough). Add additional flour only if necessary; if kneading by hand, keep your hands and work surface lightly oiled. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour (a little longer is fine, I let mine rise for 2 1/2 hours).

Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each about the size of a handball, around 3 ounces), cover, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into a 7- to 8-inch circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) on a griddle or frying pan over medium heat for about 1 minute per side (It took mine about 4 minutes per side so adjust for your stove and pan), until they're puffed and flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Transfer the cooked breads to a wire rack, stacking them to keep them soft. Serve immediately, or cool slightly before storing in a plastic bag.

*This recipe works best with instant yeast because it dissolves during the kneading process, so you don't have to knead liquid into the dough. If you really prefer to use active dry yeast, use only 1 cup boiling water for the initial dough, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, and add this mixture to the dough along with the potato flour mixture. It'll be somewhat "slippery" at first, but will knead in and eventually become smooth.

Crossroads Food Coop Feb. 2011

Today I picked up the following:
1 half gallon Farnsworth Apple Cider
1 package bacon
1 sourdough bread loaf
6 Stone Grounds multigrain rolls
1 package Colosimo's hot Italian Sausage
1 pound carrots
1 package coleslaw mix
2 lbs broccoli
5 pears
6 apples
6 oranges
3 lbs onions
5 lbs potatoes

All for $23.85.  The produce cost me $10. The sausage $3.75. Bacon $1.85. Rolls $3.15. Bread $2.10 and the apple cider $3.
Click on this link to find out how to order.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

This is a recipe that I've thought of making for a few years now but I always put it off and never make it. Well I finally got around to making them and I'm so upset I hadn't done it before. The flavors are really good and blend so well together. I was fearful of the honey and lime combo with chicken enchiladas but it really worked well. I've made these twice since I made them for the first time. I'm always finding the rotisserie chickens marked down at the store and looking for ways to use them and this recipe fits the bill. I believe the original recipe calls for flour tortillas but I much prefer corn tortillas in enchiladas. These also freeze well if your into making freezer dinners.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
Wengmama on PYP
6 T honey
4 ½ T lime juice
1 T chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
1 lb cooked shredded chicken
10 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
2 10 oz cans green chili sauce
Queso Fresco to add at the end of cooking to the top

Mix sauce ingredients together with cooked chicken and let marinate for at least 30 min.
Pour ½ can of green sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Roll chicken up in tortillas with a little cheese and put in pan. When they are all rolled pour the chili sauce over top and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 min.Sprinkle on Queso Fresco right before serving.

Cowboy Dinner

I love Melanie's food blog and if you haven't checked her out you really need go look and cook her dishes. I love the fact we seem to have very similar tastes in food. It's a great relationship because I can usually find on any given night about 10 to 15 choices in a dinner. She posted this recipe a few weeks ago. I love dishes so of course I had to give it a try. I wasn't disappointed in the least. I made a few changes mainly because I was short on ground chuck and I'm really not a fan of "ground" meat. I used half the meat and doubled the beans on top of using my favorite recipe for pinto beans. Overall not one person noticed I added more beans and less meat. Plus the flavor was so good. I can't wait to make this again.

Cowboy Dinner
adapted slightly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Beef Mixture:1 pounds lean ground chuck
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 cups salsa (jarred or homemade)
3 cups pinto beans
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cornbread Topping:
½ cup cornmeal
1 ½ cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan and set aside.

In a large 12-inch skillet, brown the ground chuck and onion, adding the salt and pepper, over medium-high heat until the beef is no longer pink. Drain the grease from the pan. Stir in the corn, salsa, and beans. Pour the beef mixture into the prepared 9X13-inch baking pan and set aside.

For the cornbread, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil, beaten eggs and milk. Whisk together until just moistened and no dry spots remain.

Sprinkle the cheese over the beef mixture and pour the cornbread batter over the cheese and beef mixture. Gently spread the cornbread to the edges of the pan, evening it out over the top of the casserole.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the edges are bubbly and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes before serving.