Ingredients:

            1 lb of ground beef

            1 lb of ground lamb

            2 cloves of garlic

            1 large onion

            1 tablespoon of marjoram

            1 tablespoon of oregano

            1 tablespoon of cumin

            1 tablespoon of thyme

            ½ tablespoon of black pepper

            2 teaspoons of kosher salt

Steps:

1. The first thing you are going to want to do is to grind the beef and lamb together into a fine mixture. The meat is often put into a blender or food processor to turn the meat into a paste-like mixture. This will help the two meats mix together, let you integrate the gyro seasoning into the mix, and give you the ability to form the meat into the thin slices that gyros are known for.
2. Mix all of the ingredients into the meat. To make authentic homemade gyro meat, you have to get the flavor right. Hopefully you have a fine paste of beef and lamb mixture that is easy to mix with the spices. If you used a food processor or blender, you can add the onion and garlic cloves into the mixture and use the processor to mix everything together. If not, you will want to chop and mash the onions and garlic so they will be easy to mix in without any noticeable chunks.
3. Let the meat and gyro seasoning chill in the fridge for at least an hour in the bowl.
4. Cooking the meat will remind you of cooking meatloaf, but this gyro meat recipe will be miles above the meatloaf you remember from dinner at grandma’s. You will want to get a loaf baking dish to spread the gyro meat out in. A 7×4 dish is the standard, but anything that fits your meat in a rectangular pattern will work.
5. You will want to bake the meat at 325 degrees fahrenheit for about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Make sure the meat has reached 165 degrees on the inside.
6. Remove the loaf and wrap it in tin foil and place it on a cooling rack. Place a pan on top of the loaf, or anything to weigh it down. This will help the meat become denser and get the desired gyro meat consistency.

Learning how to make gyro meat isn’t the only piece of the puzzle in your search for an authentic Greek meal. There are a few other steps to completing and amplifying the dish.

• Puree the onion, garlic and herb mix before adding it to your gyro meat. This will help even out the gyro seasoning distribution.
• Serve your gyros in a piece of pita that has been lightly grilled, and add sliced tomatoes, minced onions and lettuce. Some people will also add ketchup or mustard to their wrap. Include a side of french fries and your meal is complete.
• A more traditional method of cooking includes grilling the meat on a rotisserie skewer. This is a more difficult option, but will cook the meat more evenly and add a good texture to it. You will want to leave the mixture in the refrigerator overnight so you are able to form it in rolls easier. Then you will grill the meat on medium-high until the internal temperature reaches 165.
• Use your gyro meat to make gyro nachos. Instead of a pita wrap, combine your ingredients, including the tzatziki sauce, on top of a plate of chips. It is a great way to make a snack for game night or just a good, crunchy alternative to classic gyros.

Tangy and flavorful egg salad sandwich recipe!
Yield: 

3-4 sandwiches
Ingredients: 

9 eggs, hard boiled, cooled, and peeled
1/3 cup Miracle Whip (or off-brand equivalent) salad dressing
1 heaping tablespoon mustard
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Lettuce, for serving
Bread, sandwich buns, or pita pockets, for serving
Instructions: 

1.
Place ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mash with potato masher until
well-combined. Alternately, you can dice the hard boiled eggs and then
stir into the other ingredients.

2. Serve egg salad in a sandwich with lettuce.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A delicious homemade pizza with garlic, chicken, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and baby spinach
Yield: 

16 slices
Ingredients: 

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 to 2.5 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Sauce Ingredients:

1/3 cup Light or Fat Free Italian salad dressing*
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper

Toppings:

3-4 cups (12-16 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 cups cooked cubed chicken breast**
1/3 cup Sun Dried tomatoes
1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup diced onions, optional
1 cup (or one small handful) fresh baby spinach leaves
1 medium-large Roma tomato, diced

Crushed red pepper, for serving (optional)
Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Instructions: 

1.
To make pizza crust, combine warm water and salt in a mixing bowl. Add
about 2 cups of the flour, along with the yeast, and stir until a sticky
dough forms. Add more flour as needed, and knead dough with clean hands
until a soft, elastic dough forms. Knead for 5 minutes or so.

If you have a bread machine, set machine to “dough” cycle and put
ingredients into the machine in order listed. (Start with 2 cups of
flour and add more as it kneads if the dough looks too sticky.) Dough
should be slightly sticky, but smooth and elastic. I allow my bread
machine to knead the dough for about 15 minutes (or until dough looks
smooth and elastic) before turning off the machine and pulling out the
dough to use.

2. Liberally butter a 16-inch round pizza pan. With clean buttery
hands, spread and press the dough into the pan to form a pizza crust.

3. Mix sauce ingredients together and spread over the dough. Sprinkle
toppings on. I listed the toppings in the order I prefer to add them
(sun dried tomatoes can get too dark if they’re added last; the spinach
shrinks substantially as it cooks and will look like a lot less in the
end!).

If you like a thinner crust, pre-heat oven and bake immediately.f you
prefer a slightly thicker/fluffier crust, allow pizza to rest for 15-20
minutes before baking.

4. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Bake pizza for 10-12 minutes, until
the crust is browned on bottom and the toppings are hot and bubbly.

If I’m using a thinner, non-stick pizza pan, I bake it on the top
oven rack. For a heavier/thicker stainless steel pan, I use the bottom
oven rack to ensure that the crust gets fully cooked.

5. Remove pizza from oven; cut into slices after about 5 minutes. Serve with crushed red pepper and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Additional Notes: 

*I have used Wishbone brand, no-name store brands, Kraft, or even homemade (although I prefer the commercial dressing as it is more flavorful).

Thin
crispy crust with a light garlic sauce, topped with grilled chicken,
turkey bacon, mozzarella, baby spinach, marinated artichokes, and feta
cheese
Yield: 

8 large slices
Ingredients: 

Crust Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water (115 degrees)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 teaspoon dry yeast

Garlic Sauce Ingredients:

1/4 cup light or fat free Italian salad dressing
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper

Toppings:

1/2 cup cubed or thinly sliced grilled or rotisserie chicken breast meat
1 cup (loosely measured) baby spinach leaves
1/3 to 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, blotted dry and cut into bite-size (small) pieces
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
2-3 slices turkey bacon (“fully cooked”), chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Green onion slices, optional
Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Instructions: 

1.
To make crust, place warm water and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Add
a cup of the flour and the yeast, and stir. Add remaining flour (1/3
cup) and stir or knead into a sticky dough, adding additional water if
needed. Allow dough to rest, covered with a clean towel, for at least 10
minutes but up to 30-45 minutes.

If you have a bread machine, this first step can be done by putting
all crust ingredients into the machine and using the dough cycle to
knead for 10-15 minutes, until a soft, sticky dough is formed. Stop the
machine and allow dough to rest for at least 10 minutes, or up to 30-45
minutes.

2. Liberally butter a 16-inch round pizza pan, and then with your
clean buttery hands, spread dough thinly over the pan. Be gentle and
have patience, as this does make a perfectly thin crust!

3. Combine the garlic sauce ingredients and spread the sauce over the
dough/crust and allow to rest for 15 minutes or longer (up to 45
minutes).

4. Sprinkle toppings evenly over sauce in order listed.

5. Bake pizza in a pre-heated 450-degree oven for 10 minutes or until
top is browned and bubbly, and crust is slightly browned on the bottom.
Watch carefully to avoid burning! 🙂

Cut pizza into 8 slices and serve hot, with parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Super simple shredded barbecue chicken for sandwiches or over rice
Yield: 

6 servings
Ingredients: 

4 large or 6 medium chicken breasts (2.5 to 3 pounds)*
1 large onion, diced
2-3 cups barbecue sauce of your choice**
6 sandwich buns or hot freshly cooked rice, for serving Instructions: 

1. Trim fat and skin from chicken. (If using split chicken breast, remove bone as well.)

2. Layer chicken, onions, and sauce into a 9×13-inch baking dish or into a slow cooker.

Oven directions (best for BBQ chicken sandwiches!):

Cover dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, or until sauce is thick.

Use two forks to shred the meat. Spread on sandwich buns and serve hot. Or, serve over rice.

Slow cooker directions (best for BBQ chicken with rice!):

Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 7-8 hours.

Depending on the kind of sauce you used, the sauce could be rather
thin by the end, so I like to vent the lid slightly for the last hour of
the cooking time.

Serve chicken and sauce over hot rice, or shred the meat and use for
sandwiches (there will be excess sauce if using this for sandwiches).

Additional Notes: 

* I have used split chicken breast, boneless skinless chicken breast, or a combination of thigh and breast meat.

**We LOVE Sweet Baby Ray’s original or honey barbeque sauces! Really, using a good sauce is what makes or breaks this recipe.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Grilled
chicken marinated in lemon and fresh herbs, served gyro-style on pita
bread with tzatziki sauce, tomato, onion, and feta cheese
Yield: 

4 servings
Ingredients: 

Chicken souvlaki ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, cubed for skewers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning, optional
Oil

Tzatziki sauce ingredients:

1/2 cup grated peeled cucumber (seeds removed and juice drained*)
1/4 cup greek yogurt or plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

For serving:

4 pita rounds (regular pita bread or whole wheat pita bread)
2 tomatoes, sliced
4 slices of red onion
1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese, optional
Lettuce (whole leaves or shredded), optional Instructions: 

1.
Soak bamboo skewers. Toss the chicken chunks with the garlic, lemon
zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt, and lemon pepper seasoning in a
large bowl or Ziplock bag. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes.

2. While the chicken is marinating, make the tzatziki sauce by mixing
the cucumber, yogurt, sour cream, oregano, lemon zest, lemon juice, and
salt in a bowl.

3. Preheat grill on HI for 10 minutes (or prepare coals for
charcoal). While grill is heating, put chicken on skewers and drizzle or
spray with a little oil.

4. Reduce grill heat to medium and grill chicken with lid closed,
rotating skewers every 5 minutes or so, until chicken is done (about
10-15 minutes depending on the size of the chunks and your grill).

5. Serve hot grilled chicken “gyro-style” — with the pita bread, prepared tzatziki sauce, tomato slices, onion slices, and feta and/or lettuce if using.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

This
Greek dish features grilled lamb seasoned with garlic, rosemary, and
oregano served with tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, and onions on pita bread
Yield: 

10 servings
Ingredients: 

4-5 pounds lamb meat*
10 cloves of garlic, minced

Marinade ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano (if using chopped fresh oregano, use 2 tablespoons)
1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary (if using chopped fresh rosemary, use 1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Dry seasoning ingredients:

2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
dash cayenne pepper

Tzatziki sauce ingredients:

16 ounces plain yogurt (I use lowfat)
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and minced**
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
dash salt
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
6 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

To serve:

Pita bread***, warmed in the oven
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced****
4-5 tomatoes, washed, cored, and thinly sliced
Lettuce leaves, optional
Crumbled feta cheese, optional Instructions: 

1.
Begin by making the tzatziki sauce. Before measuring the yogurt, be
sure to pour off any watery liquid that might be separated in the
container, rather than just stirring it back into the yogurt. Take the
minced cucumber, place it inside a clean tea towel or dish cloth, and
squeeze to remove the liquid. Combine all of the tzatziki sauce
ingredients, and then refrigerate, covered, for at least an hour. This
sauce will keep for several days in the fridge.

2. Trim fat from meat. Place meat in a large glass dish. Rub the minced garlic cloves onto both sides of the meat.

3. Combine the meat marinade ingredients. Pour over lamb steaks.
Cover dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or as long as 6 hours,
turning steaks once or twice during that time.

4. Remove dish from refrigerator and allow the meat to warm to room
temperature. Combine the dry seasoning ingredients with a fork or whisk.

5. Place dry seasoning on a plate or in a shallow dish and then coat
both sides of the steaks with the dry seasoning. After coating, place
steaks on a clean plate (i.e. not back into the marinade dish).

6. Preheat grill to medium. Grill until meat is done (our inch-thick steaks took about 12 minutes total).

7. Thinly slice the lamb steaks. Serve meat on warm pita bread, topped with onion, tomato, and tzatziki sauce.

Additional Notes: 

*We
use lamb shoulder steak, which has some bone and some fat, so if you’re
using lean boneless meat, I suggest using 3-4 pounds rather than 4-5
pounds. 🙂

**I use a food processor to mince the cucumber!

***We would use about 12 of our homemade pita breads for this recipe. The pita breads can be cut in half and filled (each round bread then makes 2 gyros) or simply filled and folded over like a soft taco (each round bread then makes one gyro). Joshua likes his cut in half and filled, and I like to wrap mine! 🙂

To warm the pita bread, I place the bread inside a damp towel and
then wrap in foil. I put this in a warm oven (not any hotter than 250
degrees) for 20 minutes or so.

****If our onions are rather strong, we like to saute them in a tablespoon of butter before serving. But if you love raw onions, then just add them raw! 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A flavorful, colorful lamb burger served with tomato, cucumber, onion, and feta
Yield: 

4 servings
Ingredients: 

Burger ingredients:

1 pound ground lamb
1 tablespoon dried mint leaves (or 2T fresh chopped)
1 tablespoon dried cilantro (or 2T fresh chopped)
1 tablespoon dried oregano (or 2T fresh chopped)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red wine
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice*
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes**
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For serving:

4 pita bread rounds (or use hamburger buns)
Mayonnaise or dressing of your choice
Thinly sliced cucumber
Thinly sliced tomatoes
Thinly sliced onions
Lettuce, optional
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
Instructions: 

1.
In a large bowl, combine the lamb with the seasonings and mix well.
Shape into 4 patties (or cover and refrigerate until needed, up to 24
hours).

2. Preheat grill on medium. Brush grill grate with oil. Grill burgers
~5 minutes on each side (our Weber Q grill takes 4 minutes on each
side).

3. Heat the pita pockets or buns briefly on the grill (we spread a little butter on the buns first).

4. Serve burgers with the mayonnaise, cucumber slices, tomatoes,
onions, and lettuce or feta (if desired) in the pita pockets or on the
buns.

Additional Notes: 

*I didn’t have allspice, so I tossed in a sprinkling of black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

**This sounds like a lot of crushed red pepper, but the burgers really aren’t what I would consider “hot”, so feel free to add more if you want some heat! I like 1 teaspoon instead of 1/2 for a spicy burger. 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
grilled cheese sandwich with a twist: between crisp buttery slices of
rye bread, you’ll find Swiss cheese, sauteed beef and onions, and some
green pepper!
Yield: 

4 large sandwiches
Ingredients: 

3/4 pound thinly sliced roast beef*, torn into large chunks (2-3″ in diameter)
1 small-medium onion, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 large green bell pepper, sliced into 8 rings
8 slices of provolone or Swiss cheese
softened butter
8 slices rye bread
Instructions: 

1. Butter one side of each slice of bread and set aside.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1-2 tablespoons butter.
Add the onions and saute for a few minutes, until onions start to turn
translucent.

3. Add the beef to the onions, sprinkle with a little salt and
pepper, and saute until meat is hot.  Remove onion and meat mixture
from the skillet and set aside.

4. Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet and saute the pepper slices, just until crisp-tender. Don’t overcook!!

5. Assemble sandwiches by placing a slice of bread
buttered-side-down. Place 1 green pepper ring on the bread. Place a
slice of cheese on top of the pepper. Spoon about one fourth of the meat
mixture onto the slice of cheese and top with another slice of cheese.
Place a second pepper slice on top of the second slice of cheese, and
place another slice of bread, butter-side-up, on top.

So, from top to bottom, you will have:

Bread
Pepper
cheese
Meat/Onions
cheese
Pepper
Bread

And the buttered sides of the bread will be on the outside of the
sandwiche, like for a grilled cheese sandwich. Because… that is what
we are going to do next: grill it!

6. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Carefully place
sandwiches on the hot griddle. After a couple minutes, flip sandwiches
and toast the other side to a nice crispy brown. The cheese should be
melted. Yum!

7. These sandwiches are best enjoyed hot off the griddle, but if for
some reason you need to hold them for a few minutes until they can be
devoured, we find it works great to place them on a wire cooling rack to
prevent condensation from forming on the crispy buttery grilled side!

Additional Notes: 

*You can use deli roast beef, or slice your own from leftover roast beef.

Joshua created this recipe, combining a couple of his favorite
things: Grilled cheese and MEAT! 🙂 A big fan of Philly Cheese Steak
sandwiches, these grilled ones are an easy way to enjoy the same
flavors.

I have a rye bread recipe here. The bread in the photos of this sandwich, however, is from a store, not homemade.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Juicy tenderized New York strip steak with horseradish sauce served on a grilled bun with lettuce, cheese, red onion, and tomato
Yield: 

4 servings
Ingredients: 

2 large New York strip steaks*
liquid smoke flavoring
salt
pepper
granulated garlic**
oil, preferably in a spray bottle

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

Toppings:

4 large thin slices of red onion
4 large thin slices of tomato
4 thin slices of cheese (Swiss, Provolone, cheddar, or American)
4 large lettuce leaves, washed

4 large hamburger buns
Softened butter, for spreading
Instructions: 

1. Trim fat and gristle from steaks and cut each steak in half, to form burger-sized pieces. Using a meat tenderizer (we have this meat tenderizer and it works great!), tenderize each steak several times (at least 4-5 times, and up to 10-12 times [with 16-blade tenderizer]).

2. Season steaks on both sides with liquid smoke (we put our liquid smoke in a spray bottle for convenience), salt, pepper, garlic, and oil. Preheat grill on HIGH for 10-15 minutes.

3. To prepare the sauce, mix the horseradish and mayonnaise in a
small bowl and set aside. Get the buns ready to grill by very lightly
buttering the open sides.

4. Grill buns for a couple minutes, buttered side down, until lightly toasted. Remove and set aside.

5. Grill steaks on MEDIUM for 8-9 minutes, flipping once halfway
through grilling time, until desired doneness is reached.*** We like
ours a little pink in the middle still, but even fully cooked
steakburgers will be super tender and juicy.

6. Assemble sandwiches using the horseradish sauce, onion, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Enjoy hot!

Additional Notes: 

*I
am sure other cuts of steak would work in this recipe as well.
Obviously, the better your cut of meat, the better this steakburger will
taste!

**Or use garlic powder or garlic salt (omit salt called for in ingredients list if using garlic salt).

***The FDA advises that tenderized meats should be fully cooked
unless irradiated meat is used, in which case some pink in the middle is
considered safe.

We tenderize our meat right before grilling, using a very clean tenderizer and cutting board, and feel safe consuming it with pink in the middle. If in doubt, fully cook and check with a meat thermometer! 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.