Greek-Style Chicken Pitas

If you like gyro sandwiches, here's a great recipe you can make at home. It's reminiscent of restaurant gyros, but without the expense (or the sometimes too-strong flavor) of lamb.

The original recipe called for pocket pitas, but I prefer the softer pitas without pockets. I made them from scratch using the same recipe I use for Garlic Bread Sticks. Instead of forming them into bread sticks and baking them, I divided the dough into 16 portions, patted each out into a circle about 10 inches in diameter, and cooked them in a medium-hot skillet for about a minute and a half on each side. The leftovers can be used for other sandwiches, or frozen for a later meal.


Greek-Style Chicken Pitas

2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup dry instant milk (optional -- I added it to increase calcium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry oregano leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground chicken or ground turkey

*****

1 6-ounce carton of PLAIN yogurt (make sure it is not sweetened and not vanilla flavored)
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon sugar

*****

Fresh lettuce or spinach leaves.
Pita breads


Combine milk, cracker crumbs, onion, dry milk, garlic, oregano, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.

Add ground chicken and mix well. Shape into 6 oval patties.

Place patties on unheated broiler rack. Turn oven on to broil. Broil for approximately 7 minutes, then turn over and broil an additional 5 - 7 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside.

Meanwhile, combine yogurt, cucumber, green onion and sugar. Chill until ready to use.

To serve, slice each chicken patty in half lengthwise. Arrange in center of pita bread. Top with lettuce and cucumber sauce. Roll or fold to eat.

Makes 6 pita sandwiches.

Garlic Bread Sticks

I pulled a pan of lasagna out of the freezer that I'd made a while back, and decided some soft bread sticks would be just the thing with it. These aren't a copycat of Olive Garden's bread sticks, but they are clearly similar. They're full of soft, garlicky, buttery goodness.

They're easy to make, too.


Garlic Bread Sticks

2 cups very warm water (110° - 115° F.)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons active dry yeast (or two of the small packages of yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cups of flour
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1/2 stick butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic

Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a large mixer bowl. Stir well and let stand for 10 minutes.

Using the bread hook attachment, mix in salt, then olive oil. Add flour all at once and mix to moisten, then knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Kneading time will vary depending on the type of mixer you use or if you decide to knead the dough by hand.

Remove dough from mixer bowl and place in lightly oiled bowl, being sure to coat all surfaces with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 325°F.

Punch dough down and knead about 10 times on a lightly oiled surface. Divide dough in half, placing one half back in oiled bowl. Cut the other half into 16 equal portions. Roll each portion into a bread stick approximately 8 inches long. Place bread sticks on cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or lightly greased. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Repeat with remaining dough.

While dough rises, place 1/2 stick of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in microwave safe dish. Heat in microwave just until butter is melted. Remove from microwave and stir in garlic granules. Set aside.

Bake each tray of bread sticks for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove bread sticks from oven and immediately brush with garlic butter mixture. Let bread sticks cool on pan for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 32 bread sticks.

Copycat Pan Pizza

Although I've posted a picture of this pizza here before, I don't think I've posted the recipe. I'm not sure where I found the recipe, but it's been a favorite since I did. It's not an exact replica of the well-known pan pizza, but it's close. It's by no means a low-cal or low-fat dish, but you can use the same crust recipe and bake it just as you would any other pizza with great results and fewer calories.

A word about my equipment. My pans are actual pans from the Pizza Hut chain. I bought them on eBay about 3 years ago and they're wonderful. Because they were actually used in the restaurant, they came to me well-seasoned and virtually non-stick. Most times I simply wipe them out with a paper towel after I use them (much like a cast-iron skillet) or, if absolutely necessary, I wash them with hot water, but no soap, then oil them lightly with olive oil to keep the surface non-stick. If you make a lot of pizza at home, it's well worth it to try to find these pans. They're also great for baking a pan of dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls.

The cutter I use looks something like this. It works so much better than the typical wheel type cutter. I highly recommend one of these, too, if you make a lot of pizza. They are also great for cutting quesadillas, some kinds of cakes and pies, homemade dough into noodles, etc.

I used to use a KitchenAid mixer for bread doughs, which worked great until the heavy doughs eventually stripped the gears. Now I use a Bosch Universal. It costs about the same as the top-end Kitchen Aids, but is belt-driven from underneath the mixing bowl (instead of gear driven from the top). It also has an integrated blender that actually works the way a blender should. If you don't have either a KitchenAid or a Bosch, you can still make this crust by hand-kneading. (Some people find it therapeutic.)


Copycat Pan Pizza Crust

Crust:

2 cups warm water (110° to 115° F.)
1 pkg. dry yeast (or 1 tablespoon bulk yeast)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 8 cups of all-purpose white flour (can use 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)
1/2 cup olive oil, divided

Place warm water, yeast and sugar in mixer bowl. Stir. Let proof for 10 minutes.

Add oil and salt. Mix. Add 4 cups of flour. Mix well.

With mixer running, gradually add additional flour until dough forms a ball and pulls away cleanly from sides of bowl. Continue mixing (or knead by hand) until a soft, well-developed dough forms (if you use all white flour, the dough should feel like very soft with a silky texture).

Prepare pans by pouring 1/4 cup olive oil in each of the deep dish pizza pans. Rotate pan until bottom and side surfaces are coated, then set aside. Oil will pool in bottom of pan.

Divide dough into two equal portions. Roll or pat out on a lightly oil (not floured) surface until they are slightly larger than the size of your pans. Carefully lift dough and place in each pan. If dough doesn't quite reach the edges or if the oil comes over the top a bit, that's normal.

Cover each pan and let sit for an hour for dough to rise.

Heat oven to 400° F.

Remove covers from pans and top with your favorite sauce and toppings (pictured are pizzas with homemade sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella).

Bake at 400° for approximately 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and cheese and crust are nicely browned. Transfer pizza to cutting board or pizza stone to cut, then transfer back to pan if you wish for serving.

Makes 2 medium (12-inch) pan pizzas.

Oven Adventures

For those of you who don't read my other blog, we recently bought a combination microwave/convection oven to replace the vent hood over our gas range.

We bought it last Saturday, Spouse Guy installed in Sunday, and since then I've had very little time to play with it, but here's what I know about it so far.

The microwave is just as you'd expect. However, the popcorn sensor button really works, which is something that never quite worked well on the other microwaves I've had.

The convection oven will take a little getting used to. For one thing, the instruction manual was contradictory about whether or not you can use traditional metal pans when using the convection only feature. I've been especially careful about using microwave safe dishes, and I've been slightly dissatisfied with the way things have browned (or not) on the bottom. A phone call to Maytag this morning cleared that up; when using the convection-only setting, metal pans may be used.

Here's my first attempt at baking something. It's obviously a pizza, but I don't think it's a good test example. For one thing, I used a crust mix rather than mixing up my own (I almost never do that, but I was busy yesterday) and I accidentally bought fat-free mozzarella cheese and had it open before I realized my mistake. That stuff doesn't melt! I baked the pizza on a stone, which I often do, and used the convection setting. The bottom didn't brown well. I'm not going to make a judgment call on this, because I'd like to try again, with my own crust, cheese that will melt and a metal pan.



This morning I tried baking muffins. This was before the phone call to Maytag, so erring on the side of caution, I used my new silicone muffin pan. This first batch, filled with Peach-Mango fruit spread, went straight into the pan (no greasing or spraying necessary) and was baked on the convection setting. They took 15 minutes to bake and were nicely brown on top, but a little less so on bottom.



For the second batch, filled with strawberry preserves, I used cupcake papers simply so that I could get them ready while the first batch baked. I put the filled papers into the same silicone pan. This time I used the combination microwave/convection setting and they took just 9 minutes to get done, but as you can see, they barely browned at all, didn't rise as well, and they stuck to the papers (which I probably should have sprayed with non-stick spray).



Obviously, the first batch is more visually appealing. Both batches tasted great, but the second batch was actually just a little more moist and tender. Really, the taste/texture difference wasn't enough to be concerned about.



I think if I were making cupcakes or a cake that was going to be frosted, I would use the quicker combination-cooking setting. Otherwise, I'd use convection for the sake of appearance.



Next time I'll try baking in a metal pan, or maybe roasting or broiling meat. I'll let you know how those turn out, too.

Meanwhile, here's the muffin recipe. It came from Tawra Kellam's book "Not Just Beans", which is a really great cookbook for basic, frugal recipes.


Basic Muffins

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil

Mix ingredients together; batter will be lumpy. Spoon into greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12-15 muffins.

Jam Muffins

Fill greased muffin cups 1/4 full. Place 1 teaspoon jam on top of batter and fill with more batter until muffin cup is 2/3 full. Bake as above.

Cheeseburger Paradise Soup

This soup, another Taste of Home recipe, is delicious...or as granddaughter Sparky would say, "It's awishus!"

I made a half-batch of this today, which still yielded 2 quarts of soup. I made two small additions, which was adding about 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar along with the Velveeta and about a teaspoon of salt. I also garnished the soup with more cheddar, since I didn't have any bacon.

I put the soup in bread bowls just for fun.


Cheeseburger Paradise Soup
(from Taste of Home February/March 2007)

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small carrot, grated
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeno pepper
3 cups water
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups milk, divided
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package (16 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
Crumbled cooked bacon

In a soup kettle, combine the first nine ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and mushrooms in butter over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add to soup. Stir in 4 cups milk; heat through.

In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Garnish with bacon.

Makes about 14 servings.


Bread Bowls

2 cups hot water
1/4 cup instant milk powder
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon bulk yeast (or one packet of yeast)
6 cups flour

In large heavy-duty mixer (i.e., Bosch, Kitchen Aid) combine water, milk powder, olive oil, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix in flour and knead for 4 to 10 minutes (depending on mixer capabilities). Place dough out into a well-oiled bowl, turning to coat on all surfaces. Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled. Form dough into 8 balls. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Cover and let rise again, until doubled. Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes until golden.

To serve, cut a slice off top of each loaf and scoop out insides, creating a bowl. Fill with soup and serve with bread from center of loaves.

To make by hand (without mixer), combine water, milk powder, olive oil, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir in flour, using a wooden spoon, until dough is too stiff to stir. Use hands to mix in remaining flour until a workable dough forms. Knead by hand for 10 minutes, then proceed as above.

Makes 8 small bread bowl loaves.

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We tried Violet's Roasted Corn and Crab Soup yesterday. I highly recommend it; it was wonderful!

Breakfast Served Anytime

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of breakfast. Sometimes it's all I can do to fix something for Sparky on the mornings she's here. After I'm awake for a couple of hours, I start to get hungry, but it's usual not for typical breakfast food. Once in a while, on a lazy weekend morning, I'll fix a big breakfast or we'll go out for breakfast. Most of the time, though, I'd much rather have my omelets and sausage links for lunch or supper.

Tonight we're having Biscuits & Gravy, either Fried or Scrambled Eggs, and Hash Browns for supper. A few years ago, I was working at the time with a man who had transfered here from near New York City, and he had no idea what Biscuits & Gravy was. Until then, I had no idea that good ol' B&G might be a somewhat regional dish. For that reason, I'm posting the recipe.

BTW, Sparky helped roll and cut out the biscuits.


Biscuits With Sausage Gravy

1/2 pound pork breakfast sausage
1/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon ground sage (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
3 to 4 cups of milk, or a mixture of milk and half-n-half cream
Hot homemade biscuits (see recipe below)

In a large deep skillet, fry crumbled sausage until completely cooked. Drain, leaving about 4 tablespoons of fat in the skillet with the sausage crumbles.

Stir in flour, sage (if using), salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until flour begins to give off a nutty aroma, about 2 minutes.

Gradually add about half of the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. This mixture will thicken very quickly. Continue adding milk a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Serve immediately over split homemade biscuits.

Makes 3-4 cups of gravy.


Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 (1/2 stick) cup cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice stirred in to "sour" it)

Heat oven to 400° F.

In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles course crumbs.

Stir in just enough buttermilk so that dough leaves the side of the bowl and forms a ball.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly about 20 times. Roll or pat to 1/2 inch thick and cut with floured biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Makes 8-16 biscuits, depending on size of biscuit cutter.