Easy Meat balls baked in oven

2 500g ground beef

2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs 

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1 chopped large onion

2 crushed garlic

1 large ripe tomato grated no skin

2 tbs of Apple cider vinegar 

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano 

1 cup fresh feta cheese grated

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 450°. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until combined.

Grease a baking dish. (wet hands to prevent meat from sticking. With your hands Roll mixture into small ball-size meatballs, Place meatballs in baking dish in even rows so they're not touching leaving a smal gap so meat balls want stick together and cook evenly. 

Bake until meatballs are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then serve with chips and  some Greek salad. 

Chicken Butternut Squash Soup

*★ Thanks for the Share!☆★

Want to LOSE weight? Ask me how!
You can find me at: https://www.facebook.com/heathergetson
...

.•.¸¸☾☆★¸¸.•*¨*••.¸¸☾☆¸.•*¨*★☆☾¨*•*••.¸¸☾☆★

Chicken Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken stock, store-bought or homemade
¾ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound, uncooked chicken breasts
2 carrots, peeled and cubed
1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 yellow onion, quartered
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cracked pepper
1 cup water
2 cups baby spinach (optional)

Procedure:
Bring broth, & spices, to a simmer. Place chicken in broth to cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Toss vegetables in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until tender at 425 degrees. When vegetables are done, place the onion and half of the other vegetables in a blender with the water and puree. Remove the chicken and shred. Add the puree vegetables, cubed vegetables, shredded chicken and spinach if using. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes until thicken and spinach is wilted.

Love Recipes?
Click Here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1509871545917026/

Dreamsicle Salad (SUGAR FREE)

*¨*★☆☾ Thanks for the share! ☆★¸¸

Feel free to send me a FRIEND REQUEST.
You can find me at: https://www.facebook.com/heathergetson
...

.•.¸¸☾☆★¸¸.•*¨*••.¸¸☾☆¸.•*¨*★☆☾¨*•*••.¸¸☾☆★¸¸.•*

Dreamsicle Salad (SUGAR FREE)
A everyday go to dessert with NO guilt!

Ingredients:
1 - 3 ounce package of sugar free orange Jello
1 - 3 ounce package of sugar free instant vanilla pudding
1 - 10 ounce can of mandarin oranges, drained
1 - 8 ounce tub fat free, frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:
Dissolve Jello in 1 cup of boiling water. Add 1/2 cup of cold water; and stir. Let /set in fridge for 20 minutes. With mixer or whisk, add dry vanilla pudding mix and beat until smooth. Fold in oranges and whipped topping, by hand. Refrigerate
Variations: Try strawberry Jello with strawberries and other flavors with seasonal fruit.

Love Recipes?
Click Here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1509871545917026/

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole - Serves 8-10

*¨*★☆☾ Thanks for the share! ☆★¸¸.•*¨*••.¸¸

Feel free to send me a FRIEND REQUEST.
You can find me at: https://www.facebook.com/heathergetson

•.¸¸☾☆¸.•*¨*★☆☾¨*•*••.¸¸☾☆★¸¸.•*¨*••.¸¸☾☆¸.•*¨*

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole - Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
3 carrots, diced (optional)
16 ounces wild rice
1 cup white rice
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
salt & pepper (to taste)
garlic salt (to taste)
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup vegetable broth
salt & pepper (to taste)
4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil, onion, celery, garlic, and carrots in a pan over medium heat for 10 minutes. Prepare wild rice and white rice according to package instructions. Stir in chicken, rices, and a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low. In a medium pan over high heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour, vegetable broth, and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. Continue to whisk until boiling. Add 2 cups of the shredded cheddar and continue to stir until melted. Transfer chicken and rice mixture to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over rices and top with remaining cheddar. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Garlic Shrimp and Brussel Sprouts

*




















¨*★☆☾ Thanks for the share! ☆★¸¸.•*¨*••.¸¸

Feel free to send me a FRIEND REQUEST.
You can find me at: https://www.facebook.com/heathergetson

☾☆★¸¸.•*¨*••.¸¸☾☆¸.•*¨*★☆☾¨*•*••.¸¸☾☆★¸¸.•

Garlic Shrimp and Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp.olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
8 Brussel sprouts, cut in half
1 tsp. butter
8 precooked, shrimp
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. basil

Procedure:
Preheat a skillet with the olive oil, and then add the garlic and brussel sprouts, cook for about 2 minutes on medium high heat, flipping your sprouts. Add butter, once it's melted add your shrimp, season with salt and pepper and basil. Continue to flip, until all sides are browned nicely. Plate & enjoy.
 

Dolmades

Ingredients

300 g of vine tree leaves (this roughly corresponds to 50–60 leaves), fresh or in brine
2 cups (400 g) of uncooked non-aromatic short-grain fluffy rice, such as Carolina
500 gm beef mince
500 gm Pork mince
4 small pork or lamb peaces of meat
4 large white or brown onions
1 can diced tomatoes
3Tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1/2stick of butter
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
For the egg and lemon sauce
the juice of 1 medium lemon
2 eggs

 

How to prepare the vine tree leaves

For those of you using vine leaves in brine, rinse well your leaves and let the water drain. You are ready to go on with the preparation of the stuffing.
For the ones that have collected fresh leaves, here is the procedure that needs to be followed. Wash your vine tree leaves thoroughly. Place a large saucepan over high heat, fill it to up to 2/3 of its volume with water, cover and let boil. Once it comes to the boil, briefly blanch the leaves by immersing them in the water for approximately 2–3 minutes. The blanching time will depend on the age of your leaves; younger leaves require shorter blanching compared to older and harder leaves. Remove leaves from the boiling water using a slotted ladle and place them in a colander to drain. Let the leaves cool down to room temperature. You are ready to go!

At this point you may go on with the stuffing procedure or you may wrap the vine tree leaves in alluminium foil, put in a food bag and store in the freezer for future use. To make Dolmades, take the leaves out of the freezer and let them slowly reach room temperature. Carefully separate them and stuff them. This way, you can collect and store enough leaves for one year’s Dolmades.

 

How to prepare the stuffing

In a bowl place mince, diced onions can tomatoes rice tomato paste 1/4 cup of olive oil salt pepper and mix with your hands until all ingredients are well combine taste for salt
How to stuff and roll the Dolmades
Lay one vine leaf flat on your palm with the nerves facing up.
Add a little stuffing (approximately as much as one teaspoon).
Fold one lobe of the vine leaf over the stuffing.
Fold the second lobe towards the centre of the leaf.
Fold the two sides towards the centre and roll. Repeat until you roll all your leaves.
Cooking and serving our Dolmades
Place the pork or lamb meat at the bottom of a large deep,saucepan then pile the Dolmades over the meat in layers as shown in the next photo. You will probably have to stack them in 2-3 layers, depending on the diameter of your saucepan, but Add the remaining olive oil and butter
Cover with a heavy plate that can tolerate high heat (e.g. porcelain), to prevent the Dolmades from unrolling. If you omit this step, the rice will expand and unroll the Dolmades, and you will end up with a nice vine tree leaf risotto instead! Still tasty, but not quite what you were looking for really!
Add cool water to cover the layers of Dolmades and the plate. Cook over medium heat for 40–45 minutes. Check at times and add a little more water, if necessary. For this you would have to use hot water to avoid a big drop in the temperature, which could result in the rice becoming too soft.
When the stuffed vine leaves are done you may want to make the egg and lemon sauce and pore it over the top of vine leaves in the saucepan or serve them with Greek Yogurt or Sanziki
How To make sauce egg and lemon sauce
In a blender put the 2 eggs the mice of a whole lemon and some of the cravy from the cooked vine leaves ad abut of salt and opener and beat until it becomes white and fluffy then poor over vine leaves.

Serve your delicious Dolmades warm or cold. You may season with extra lemon juice, if you wish. Enjoy!

                                           

Spanish style slow cooked chicken

tablespoons olive oil8 chicken thigh fillets, trimmed

 1 400g can of chick peas

4 medium potatoes diced2 onions, thinly sliced1red capsicums, 1 green and 1 yellow seeded, coarsely chopped400g jar of chunky salsa sauce

1 tbls of paprika 

1 tbls of  cumin powder

1 tbls of Cayenne pepper

1 tbls of Cajun seasoning1 cup chicken stock

¼ cup dry sherry
¾ cup stuffed green olives¼ cup chopped coriander

Method

1. Heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan on high. Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes until browned all over. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in the same frying pan. Sauté onions potatoes and capsicums for 3-4 minutes, until onions are tender, add the chick pease stir and place chicken to a slow cooker with salsa stock, sherry and all the spices And cook on high for 3-4 hours
3. Stir through olives and coriander. Season to taste. Sprinkle with coriander leaves. Serve with couscous and salad.

Home made Sausage rolls with cheese and spices

• Ingredients 
• 300g beef mince
• 1 small brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled, grated
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
•  2 sheets frozen puff pastry, partially thawed
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 tbls of chilli sauce
• 2 tbls of tomato sauce Y
• 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese 

Method 

• 1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Combine mince, onion, carrot, egg, parsley, dried cheese, chilli sauce and tomato sauce paprika and salt pepper in a large bowl. Mix until well combined. Cut pastry sheets in half.
  3. Shape one-quarter of the mince mixture into a sausage and place along 1 long edge of pastry. Roll up pastry to enclose mince mixture. Cut roll into 4. Place, seam side down, on prepared tray. Repeat with remaining mince mixture and pastry.
  4. Brush sausage roll tops with milk. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes

Soutzoukakia meat balls with feta stuffing with tomato sauce

Ingredients 

1kg of beef mince

1/2 cup of dried breadcrumbs 

4 cloves of garlic

4 Tbls of red wine   

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1tbls of pepprica 

1 Tbls of cumin seed

 For the filling

1 cup of grated feta cheese

1 cup kefalograviera cheese grated.

1 Tbls of fresh parsley 

For the sauce 

1 375g can tomato purée 

1/3 cup of extra virgin oil 

1 pinch of sugar

1tsp of ground cumin 

1tsp of hot pepprica 

1tbls of chicken powder stock

1 Tbls of tomatoe paste

1/4 of olive oil

1 cup water

Combine all the ingredients of the meatballs in a large mixing bowl and mix them thoroughly. It may be a good idea to put the mixture in the fridge for a while it will help the meat mixture to marinade. Combine the  ingredients for the filling. 

 Mould and pat the meat mixture into flat meatballs, putting some filling in the centre with the help of a spoon. Every now and then wet your fingertips in Some red wine and continue moulding place in meat bolls in a baking tray with some olive oil until golden. Put all the sauce ingredients in a pan and boil for 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Drop the meatballs in the sauce and let them cook for 10 minutes. Then put back in a dip baking tray and bake uncovered for 10 min until sauce thickens! Serve them with rice pilaf.

Char-grilled marinated Octopus

 Ingredients 

• 18 (about 250g) cleaned  octopus
• 60ml (1/4 cup) dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground mild paprika
• 1/2tsp of dried oregano
• 1 small fresh red chilli, finely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Lemon wedges, to serve
• 
  
• Method 
• Wash the octopus thoroughly under cold running water. Drain and pat dry with paper towel.
• Combine the white wine, oil, garlic, paprika and chilli in a glass or ceramic bowl. Season with pepper and mix well. Add the octopus and toss to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to marinate.
• Preheat a chargrill or barbecue grill on high. Drain the octopus and pour the marinade into a small saucepan. Cook the octopus on preheated chargrill or barbecue grill, turning once or twice, for 4-5 minutes or until the octopus curl and are just cooked through.
• Baste the octopus with more of the marinade and cook for a further 5 min. Serve with a sprinkle of olive oil and lemon juice and some dried oregano! Enjoy
• 
  

Orzo with Shrimp recipe by Irine Nisirios Xylas

ingredients:

500 gr orzo

1 Onion

3 Garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Dash of Cayenne(omit if you like)

Lg can tomato sauce or jarred sauce(you can use the preseasoned ones commonly used for spaghetti sauce in the supermarket also)

2lbs uncooked, peeled and deveined shrimp

___________________________________________

On your stove top at high heat, generously coat the bottom of a 10 qt pot with olive oil., about half a cup of olive oil finely dice the onion and garlic and place in the olive oil and lightly cook the onion. When its cooked a bit but not brown, add the tomato sauce and stir and add water to your mixture. Give it as much water as would require the orzo to absorb. I usually fill the pot about 3/4 of the way. Then add your salt, peppers and bay leaves and allow the saucw to come to a boil. I then add the orzo and lower the stove top burner to medium heat. At this point you must constantly stir you food with a wooden spoon to prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of your pot. When the water is about half way absorbed stir in your shrimp and continue to stir the pot until your have about 90% absorption of the liquid. Transfer your mixture to a pan and put in the oven at 350degrees Farenheit for about 20 minute or until the orzo has absorbed all of the water and left only with a beautiful red sauce. Place on your plate and sprinkle with some grated cheese. I prefer kefalotiri but you can use any pasta cheese you like. 

kali Orexi!

Marinated pork chops in the oven

Ingredients 

4 large pork chops

1/4 cup of soy sauce 

 4 tbsp Vegetable oil

1/4 cup of  Worcestershire sauce

1 juice of a lemon

1 tbsp of brown sugar 

1/4 cup of ketchup sauce

500g of chopped of roasting potatoes 

1 tbsp of hot paprika 

1tsp of chilli powder

salt and pepper

Directions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
   2. In a small bowl, thoroughly blend soy sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup and all the spices and  cover pork chops to marinade cover with glad wrap and place in the fridge and allow at least 2 hours for meat to marinade
   3. Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and also spread with 1/2 the sauce on to the potatoes sprinkle some the oil on top and bake. 
   4. Bake pork chops 30 minutes in the preheated oven.

Kyra Sarakosti Tradition + Recipe FEBRUARY 11, 2015 BY ORTHODOX MOM

Λ

Next week we’ll be baking our annual Kyra Sarakosti, or Lady Lent, “cookies”.   We use the same recipe every year from  The Festive Fast cookbook and they have always turned out well and don’t require too much work.   

The boys love this tradition and it’s a great visual for counting down the weeks until Pascha!  I can’t tell you how much I love Great Lent.  Yes, it can sometimes be challenging coming up with so many fasting meals and packing fasting lunches, but the joy you feel while preparing for Pascha is unexplainable.  The reading of the Triodion and the Psalter, the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, Presanctified Liturgies, the approach of Holy Week…it’s really like living in another realm and I just love it.  The excitement bubbles up inside of me just thinking about it.

This tradition began in the olden days to keep help children (and adults) keep track of the Lenten period.  She was drawn in the image of a nun. She does not have a mouth to remind us that we are fasting and her hands are crossed in prayer. She has seven feet for the seven weeks of Great Lent. Every Saturday one of her feet are cut off.  After the last foot is cut off, it is placed in a bowl of fruits and nuts and whoever finds it receives a special blessing. The winner will write their name and year on the back of it and will keep it as a keepsake.

We have never placed ours in a bowl but I think we will this year because last year was the first time the boys argued over who would keep her!  I normally make her sort of big but if we’re going to hide it, I’ll have to shrink her a bit.  

Here is a little poem that you can also print out and place next to your Lady Lent:

Ingredients:

• 2-2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2-2 1/2 tsps cinnamon
• water as needed

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Combine flour, salt and cinnamon.

3. Add water teaspoon at a time until you form a stiff but flexible dough.

4. On a floured surface, roll dough out to approximately 1 cm thickness.

5. Use the sharp point of a knife to shape your Kyra Sarakosti.  I always start from the top and work my way down to the feet last.

• Cut the shape of a body in a dress with a cross on the top of her head.
• Then, cut two long narrow strips for arms and join them at shoulders, dampening the spots where arms will be applied.
• Make slits in dough for fingers.
• Mark closed eyelids and noise with pointed object.
• Cut bottom like a dress with seven feet hanging out.

6.  Bake until golden.  Some may sort of bubble but will flatten out as they cool.

7.  Once cooled, place on a plate or platter and cut one leg off every Saturday!  (cookies are very hard and non-edible so be sure to supervise if allowing children to do the cutting)

8. Wipe entire figure down with a lightly dampened cloth to make shiny.

9.  Bake in moderate oven until golden.

You can also head over to Crayola and print out this paper Kyra Sarakosti for children to color and hang on the fridge!

Now is also the perfect time for time to schedule an appointment for Confession, start meal planning (click here for my lenten meal plan that includes a ton of different recipes and my favorite method of meal planning), and getting everyone ready for the feast of feasts!  Click here for some great resources and ideas to help you get your families prepared.   The lenten season is upon us, y’all!  

I’ll be posting sign ups for the Psalter Groups again soon as well, so check back for that soon!

FILED UNDER: UNCATEGORIZED TAGGED WITH: KYRA SARAKOSTI RECIPE, LENTEN ACTIVIES, LENTEN RECIPES