Greek Week! Day One - Greek Salad & Accoutrements

I'm going to be doing something a little different this week. I was talking with my boyfriend about easy ways to stretch a dollar and told him about something I used to do when I was single and cooking for myself. I'd do some research and planning (that's the analyst and organizer in me!) ahead of going to the grocery store, and try to find recipes that all used similar ingredients. This makes your meals for the week both cost-effective and efficient. You spend less money on fewer things AND get to use all of your ingredients instead of having pieces leftover you never end up getting to that inevitably go to waste, which I hate. It just makes good sense all around.

We decided to implement this idea in the form of a theme that I dubbed "Greek Week." We came up with three or so meals that were all Greek inspired, thus pretty much all use the same ingredients, and built our grocery list around them. On top of the money & waste saving benefits, it also gave me a chance to cook something different and to experiment a little. We were both excited to get started - he more so for the eating, and me for the challenge. (... Okay, me too for the eating!)

Day one is my Fresh Greek Salad with Flatbread Chips & Travis' Greek Dressing to go along with it. I don't know if it's because I am a vegetarian, but I love a good salad. They can include pretty much anything you want, they're often healthy, and pretty filling. Before I broadened my horizons and palate, my meal of choice when eating in restaurants was a salad, and often times, a Greek salad. I love feta and olives and the tangy dressing always appealed to me. My favorite Greek salad I've ever tasted was in Tarpon Springs, FL, while on spring break in Tampa one year. It had potato salad at the bottom of it, under all of the lettuce and veggies! It was quite the culinary surprise and I mean to recreate that one day, but for now, this fresh veggie and cheese version is a great substitute.

Let's get cookin'!


Flatbread Chips

Servings: 2
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: about 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 piece of store-bought flatbread (or homemade if you're that talented!)
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch of ground red pepper (cayenne)
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the piece of flatbread on a cutting board and cut it into eight equal slices. Drizzle with the EVOO, sprinkle with S&P and cayenne. Spread out the flatbread slices on a baking sheet so they all have room to bake, and place in the oven to toast for about ten minutes. Check periodically to make sure they're not burning. Lightly touch them with your fingers (don't burn yourself though!) towards the end of the cooking time to check, and if they feel toasted enough to you before the ten minutes is up, go ahead and remove them from the oven. Serve alongside or crumble them over (like a crouton) a Greek salad (recipe to follow) for a little extra crunch.


Fresh Greek Salad

Servings: 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes!

Ingredients:
1 romaine heart stalk, sliced thin into bite-size pieces
1 vine ripened tomato
1/4 English cucumber, halved lengthwise & sliced into half moon shapes
1/4 red pepper, sliced thin
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
1 handful of pitted kalamata olives, chopped
2 pepperoncini, sliced thin
1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles

Note: If you're making this salad with the flatbread chips (which you should be!), make the salad while the chips are in the oven toasting. Just make sure you set a timer and check on them so they don't burn.

Combine all of the ingredients, except the feta, in a medium sized mixing/serving bowl. Toss with your hands to combine. Dish the salad into individual serving bowls. Top with desired amount of feta and dressing (recipe to follow) for each person's preference, slap a few flatbread chips alongside, and munch away!

Travis' Greek Dressing

I'm lucky enough to have a boyfriend who always wants to be in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking. We have a lot of fun joking around and I tease him that he's my sous chef. He actually likes to cook too, but when it's my turn, I know I can always count on him to help me out by whipping up some really tasty salad dressing. Why buy dressing in a bottle when you have a sous chef who loves to make it himself?! haha He's been kind enough to share his recipe for the dressing he made to go atop the Greek salad. Thanks Travis!


Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bottle (or tupperware container) with a tight fitting lid and shake until all is combined. Drizzle over the Greek salad in the amount of your choosing. How easy was that?! Salute!

Stay tuned this week for a few more Greek Week recipes. I'll be posting a veggie & steak kabob recipe, as well as a great simple salad to use up leftovers, and finally some chicken & vegetable gyros with homemade tzatziki. Don't miss it!