Easy individually-wrapped bean and rice burritos for the freezer! These burritos are simple and delicious!
Yield:
8 burritos
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked pinto beans (or beans of your choice) 4 cups cooked rice (1 1/3 cups dry rice, cooked) 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese Salt, to taste Hot sauce, optional (we like Tapatio or Cholula) 8 burrito-size flour tortillas Sour cream or hot sauce, for serving
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, toss together the beans, rice, cheese, and some splashes of hot sauce (if using). Add a little salt if you haven’t already salted your beans or rice.
2. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of the beans and rice mixture on each tortilla. Fold into burritos (see below). Wrap individually in pieces of foil.
3. Place foil-wrapped burritos in a gallon-size freezer Ziplock bag, removing excess air if possible. Label with name and date. Freeze for up to 6 months (if tightly wrapped).
Reheating instructions:
From frozen: Place frozen burritos a few inches apart directly on oven rack. Turn oven on to 375 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes, until hot inside. Serve with sour cream or hot sauce!
From thawed (or freshly made): Place burritos a few inches apart directly on oven rack. Turn oven on to 375 degrees and bake for 25 minutes, until hot inside. Serve with sour cream or hot sauce!
This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.
Grilled Chicken Quesadillas with Black Beans and Corn
Slices of grilled chicken breast, black beans, shredded cheese, and corn tucked into a flour tortilla and grilled until toasty hot! Served with shredded lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and hot sauce, this is an easy meal everyone will LOVE!
Yield:
6 servings (3 if used as a main dish)
Ingredients:
1 can (15 ounces, or about 1 3/4 cups freshly cooked) black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 of a 15-ounce can of corn, drained (optional) 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend 1 large or 2 medium grilled chicken breasts, sliced Hot sauce, optional 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 6 burrito-size flour tortillas
1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl for the filling.
2. Lay out the flour tortillas, and spread the filling evenly between them, in a semi-circle shape (half), so they can be folded in half.
3. Heat a griddle, indoor grill (like Foreman), or heavy skillet over medium heat. Place folded quesadillas in pan or on griddle and heat for a couple minutes on each side, until filling is hot, cheese inside is melted, and outsides are browned. Turn down the heat if they’re browning too quickly, or turn up the heat if they’re getting hot inside but not crisp and browned on the outside.
4. Remove quesadillas from griddle after cooking both sides. Cut in half or fourths with a pizza cutter or knife. Serve with lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, hot sauce, and cilantro. You can stuff some toppings inside, or just spoon on top, or dip.
This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.
Spicy Turkey Lentil Joes
Sloppy Joes with a healthy twist: ground turkey, cooked lentils, and a spicy kick that will have you coming back for seconds! Serve on buns or in lettuce cups.
Yield:
12 servings
Ingredients:
24 ounces (1.5 pounds) 93% lean ground turkey* 1 large onion, diced 1 can (15 ounces) or 2 cups tomato sauce 1/3 cup Jamie’s Spice Mix 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar 3 cups cooked and drained lentils*** salt, to taste
For serving: Buns or romaine lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced dill pickles
Instructions:
1. In a large skillet (I use cast iron), brown the ground turkey with the diced onion.
2. When meat is cooked through, add the tomato sauce, spice mix, brown sugar and lentils. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, until mixture is thick, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste, if needed.
3. Serve on buns or in romaine lettuce, topped with the shredded cheddar and dill pickle slices.
This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.
Gyro Meat
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:
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.
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.
Let the meat and gyro seasoning chill in the fridge for at least an hour in the bowl.
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.
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.
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.
Egg Salad Sandwiches
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.
Egg Salad Sandwiches
This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.
Mediterranean Herb Chicken Pizza
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).
Mediterranean Herb Chicken Pizza
Thin-Crust Chicken Bacon Artichoke Pizza
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!
Thin-Crust Chicken Bacon Artichoke Pizza
This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.
Easy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (Oven or Slow Cooker)
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).
Easy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (Oven or Slow Cooker)
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 Souvlaki Gyros
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.
Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Gyros
This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.
Lamb Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
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
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! 🙂
