Broiled Tilapia Gyros

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
Fish:
1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Tzatziki:
3/4 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced

Remaining ingredients:
4 (2.75-ounce) Mediterranean-style wheat flatbreads (such as Toufayan)
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion (about 1/2 small onion)
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into 12 thin slices
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 small English cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler.

2. To prepare fish, brush fish with oil; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or desired degree of doneness.

3. To prepare tzatziki, combine yogurt and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor or blender; pulse until smooth.

4. Spread 2 tablespoons tzatziki in the center of each flatbread. Divide fish evenly among flatbreads. Top each serving with 2 tablespoons onion, 3 avocado slices, 2 tomato slices, and about 6 cucumber slices; fold in half.

Comments:
A couple steps, but overall not too hard. I left some stuff out, but it seemed to be ok. Of course, I don't know firsthand, but Adam didn't complain!

Spicy Chicken Shawarma

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
5 tablespoons plain low-fat Greek-style yogurt, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tahini
4 (6-inch) pitas, halved
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup prechopped red onion

Directions:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in 1 tablespoon yogurt, 1 tablespoon juice, and 2 garlic cloves. Add chicken; toss to coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until browned and done, stirring frequently.

2. While chicken cooks, combine remaining 1/4 cup yogurt, remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, remaining 1 garlic clove, and tahini, stirring well. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons tahini mixture inside each pita half; divide chicken evenly among pita halves. Fill each pita half with 1 tablespoon cucumber, 1 tablespoon tomato, and 1 1/2 teaspoons onion.

Comments:
I skipped the coriander and tahini, but followed everything else. These are a teensy bit spicy. Ok, a lot spicy. But remember, I'm a wuss. Adam really liked this and ate the leftover chicken plain. The prep on this is what takes the most time. The actual cooking is minimal. This also ended up sitting for about 20 minutes or so after it was done (aah, the unpredictability of life...) so we ate it lukewarm, which seemed the perfect temperature to not melt the yogurt but also not be gross and cold.

Cinnamon-Apple Breakfast Pockets

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
1 whole-wheat pita, cut in half
4 tbsp fat-free vanilla or caramel-apple yogurt
1/2 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced
ground cinnamon to taste

Directions:
Preheat the broiler.

Place the pita halves on a small nonstick baking sheet. Set the pan 6" from the heat source. Broil for 30 to 60 seconds per side, or until just warmed and barely toasted. Carefully open one pocket and spread half the yogurt evenly inside. Insert half the apple slices over the yogurt. Season with cinnamon. Repeat with the other half.

Comments:
Now, I haven't had this yet (I made Adam's for lunch since he's going to some Super Bowl thing tonight) so I can't judge the taste. It's ridiculously easy though. I actually used the toaster oven rather than the broiler. Worked splendidly.

Spicy Turkey (or Chicken) Jack Flats

From Everyday With Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 pound store-bought pizza dough
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 onions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 cups shredded Butter-Basted Turkey meat
One 5-ounce bag baby spinach
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:
1. Position a rack in the lower half of the oven, place an inverted large baking sheet on the rack and preheat to 500°. Divide the pizza dough into 6 pieces and roll into balls; transfer to a lightly floured surface and cover with a towel.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 12 minutes.

3. Stretch the dough balls into 7-inch rounds. Brush each round with 1 teaspoon olive oil; place on 3 sheets of parchment paper.

Comments:
I altered the recipe a little bit. (What? I never do that...) I used chicken because, well, that's what I have. This was from the November issue and I guess you're supposed to use leftover turkey. I do have a turkey downstairs in the freezer, but since we didn't host the meal here, I had no leftovers. Also, I skipped the pizza dough fuss and just bought flatbread at the store. Much easier if you ask me. So, other than that I stuck to the plan. These were tasty - not too spicy.

(Indian) Chicken Salad Pockets

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp mayo
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp curry paste
3/4 cup chopped grilled chicken breast
1 1/2 tbsp seeded, chopped cucumber
1 1/2 tbsp chopped red onion
1 whole wheat pita, cut in half
2 leaves lettuce

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the mayo, lime juice, and curry paste. Whisk to blend. Add the chicken, cucumber, and onion. Mix well.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the pita halves. Add the lettuce.

Comments:
I don't do curry. So that's why the "Indian" is a parenthetical. These were pretty good. I had issues with the pita pockets (can you see the one tearing on the side?), but I can't really blame that on the recipe. It's pretty good the next day too. I put the lettuce in first so that's why you can't really see it in the picture.

Adam Cooks: Steak Salad Stuffed Pockets

From EatingWell.com via Yahoo! Food



Ingredients:
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound top round steak, 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed
4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 large tomato, diced
8 small (4 inch) whole-wheat pitas, split open

Directions:
Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.

Whisk lemon juice, oil, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place steak in a shallow dish and pour half the dressing over it. Let marinate at room temperature, turning once, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the salad by adding lettuce, cucumber and tomato to the remaining dressing in the bowl; toss to coat.

Transfer the meat to a broiling pan. Broil for 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare, or until it reaches desired doneness. Transfer to a cutting board, let rest for 3 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain. Mix the meat with the salad and fill each pita. Serve immediately.

Comments:
Bwahahaha! He set the smoke alarm off again!

Anyway, these were good. A nice, all-in-one meal. He decided to go with flatbread rather than pita pockets and I think I would have stuck with the pockets. It was kind of difficult to eat with all the stuff falling out. He points out that he didn't have that problem due to his huge hands. I'm resisting making an ape comment here. I'm so restrained... Anywho. Outside of the mess, they were a great meal.

Beef Kebabs with Yogurt Sauce (Take Two)

From Everyday with Rachael Ray (also seen here)



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup grated English cucumber, wrung out in a kitchen towel
1 teaspoon dried dill
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus whole leaves for garnish
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Warm pita bread, for serving

Directions:
1. Soak 8 wooden skewers in water. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, dill and half the garlic; season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate.

2. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. In a medium bowl, combine the beef, remaining garlic, chopped parsley and cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the beef mixture into 4 sections. Roll each section into a 6-inch log. Thread each log lengthwise onto two parallel skewers. Wrap your index finger and thumb around the log and lightly squeeze from top to bottom to make 4 indented rings. Rub the beef kebabs with olive oil and grill for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, or to desired doneness. Top each kebab with the yogurt sauce and parsley leaves and serve on a pita.

Comments:
Didn't follow the recipe this time since I knew they wouldn't work out on the grill (see previous entry referenced above for the disaster of my last attempt at this recipe.) I formed the meat into meatballs and baked them in the oven. It worked out well. And I got the cucumber in this time so that was good too.

Southwestern Chicken Pileup

From The Biggest Loser Cookbook



Ingredients:
1 tsp salt-free Mexican or Southwest seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 small boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 whole-wheat pita
2 tbsp hummus
2 tbsp black beans, drained
several red onion strip
several red bell pepper strips
2 tbsp chopped tomato
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
4 tsp guacamole or sour cream

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450F. Preheat a grill to high heat.

Sprinkle the seasoning and garlic powder evenly over the chicken. Place the chicken on the grill rack. Reduce the heat to medium. Grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until no longer pink and the juices run clear. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place the pita on the grill rack. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until lightly toasted. Place the pita on a nonstick baking sheet. Spread evenly with the hummus. Top evenly in layers with the beans, reserved chicken, onion, red pepper, tomato, cilantro, and cheese.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the cheese in melted. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges. Top each wedge with guacamole or sour cream if desired.

Comments:
Ok, switched this one up a little. Used Montreal chicken seasoning, left out the hummus, red bell pepper and cilantro. Didn't grill anything. Cooked the chicken in the George Foreman. It all seemed to work out. Man, was it a strong onion though. Wow!

Smoked Salmon and Mascarpone Stuffed Pita Pockets

From The Everything Glycemic Index Cookbook by Nancy Maar



Ingredients:
2 whole wheat pita pockets
2 thin slices of red onion
2 thin slices of lemon, seeded
1/8 pound smoked salmon
1/8 pound mascarpone cheese, sliced
1 tsp green peppercorns, packed in brine
Black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Using half of each ingredient, stuff the pockets with onion, lemon, salmon, cheese, and peppercorns.

2. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the pita is golden and the filling is hot.

Comments:
Yeah. So. I obviously didn't follow this recipe too well. I mean, look at the picture! I had whole wheat pita pockets. But when I went to use them they had started to grow green stuff. So I subbed a sub. Other than that I think I did ok following the recipe. I made it kind of like the ham and cheese sandwiches we like. This was for Adam (of course) and he appeared to like it.

Black Bean Pita Pockets

From Taste of Home's Cooking for 2 Summer 2008



Ingredients:
black beans
corn
bacon
red pepper (left out)
mayo
celery
sugar
onion
cider vinegar
olive oil
pita bread
romaine (left out)
tomato

Comments:
Adam chose this recipe out of one of the magazines I got him to look through. Then when I made it he said, "I don't like black beans." Uhm. Ok then. He ate it anyway. The filling was very tasty and while we ate it for dinner with warm pita and corn, it's just as good cold. I did forget to pick up romaine so I had to leave it out. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would have made. Perhaps it would have been less runny with some lettuce to soak up some of the juices.

Lamb Pitas

From Everyday With Rachael Ray June/July 2008



Ingredients:
Onion
ground lamb
oregano
salt & pepper
pitas

Comments:
If you look at the original recipe you'll see I changed a bunch of stuff (as in it's original name is Spicy Beef Pitas.) I just kind of used the original and inspiration. I swapped out the beef for lamb since I had it anyway from a different recipe I didn't make and it was more pita-ish. I left out the bell pepper, chiles, and cumin since we don't like them. I also omitted the yogurt topping since Adam doesn't like that. So, what we ended up with was pitas with lamb and onion. A little bland so maybe next time I'll try and add more spice somehow.