Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Gyros

I love lamb. It's delicious and flavorful and lends itself to some great flavors. I will admit that lamb is not for everyone (read: my husband) because it has such a distinct flavor, but one of my favorite applications of said meat is gyros.

Recently, I decided I was going to make them myself because I was seriously craving some lamby goodness. I found some recipes from a few places online and sort of made my own. I also made my own tzatziki sauce to go with it. I think that was my favorite part! Here's the result!

I even wrapped the whole things in foil like you get it at the little greek joints! It was so good that I think I might have to try it again, only I'll make it with beef so Matt will eat it!

Gyro Meat (Think of it more like a meatloaf)
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
  • 2 pounds ground lamb
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
  • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary chopped as fine as you can get it
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • extra virgin olive oil (if needed)
  1. Chop the onions into chunks and blend them up in a food processor or blender until they are almost a paste. Then put the onion into a tea towel and wring out the excess moisture
  2. Add the onion to the meat and spices and mix well with your hand, trying not to squish the meat. Mix in the egg and the bread crumbs (If you think your mixture is a little too dry, add some olive oil. If the mixture is too wet, add more bread crumbs).
  3. Form the meat into a flat log (about an inch and a half thick) on a greased baking sheet (It needs to had sides) and place it into a preheated 325 degree oven. Bake for 45-55 minutes.
  4. Then turn the broiler on and move the rack to the top so the loaf gets crispy on top, about 5 minutes. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.
Tzatziki Sauce
  • 2 - 6 oz containers of nonfat greek yogurt
  • 1 english cucumber
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon good olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3 teaspoons minced fresh dill
  1. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard the seed mush. Cut the cucumber into small pieces
  2. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl. (So, I think these are about the right measurements, but I'm not really sure. Tweak the amount of acidity (lemon juice and vinegar) with the creaminess (yogurt and sour cream) first, and then add the rest of your flavoring ingredients. I like mine really dilly, but if dill isn't your thing, try mint instead!)
Gryos
  • Use indian naan from the grocery store for your wrap. It's softer than a pita and won't crack when you try to roll it.
  • Take the tzatziki sauce and place a layer along the diameter of the naan longwise. Layer strips of your lamb on top of it. Add lettuce, tomatoes and feta.
  • Roll the gryo, making one end a little smaller and wrap in foil to enjoy!
Alright, so I know it looks like a lot of work to get this ready, but it isn't I promise! Make your tzatziki sauce while your meat is cooking and let it sit in the fridge to let the flavors mingle. The longest part was waiting for the meat to fully cook because I was guessing on how long it would take. Let me tell you, the end result was outta this world! You should definitely try it!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Winter Olympics

I love watching the Olympics! And as much as I hate the cold and the snow, I don't mind watching other people play in it so much. In fact, one of my favorite things growing up was watching figure skating with my mom. She was obsessed! Any way, I love sitting and watching other people exert themselves excessively, especially sports like short track skating or cross country skiing. I like the short track because the race is relatively short ( I have the attention span of a... oooh what's that over there?!) and there is actually a lot of strategy involved in the race.

And much like Michael Phelps is my pretend boyfriend during the summer games, Apollo Ono is my pretend boyfriend during the winter Olympics. However, he's facing some pretty steep competition (on the pretend boyfriend front) from figure skating's Evan Lysacek. It's no surprise that the guy is a model during his down time (although I'm not convinced Olympic athletes know what down time is). He placed second in the men's short program tonight and I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the free skating on Thursday!

What are you favorite events in the winter games? Leave your favs in the comments!

 
                            Apolo Ohno                                                              Evan Lysacek 

Images courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Vegas baby!

On March 19, Matt and I will have been married for five years (I can't believe it)! And since it's a milestone in our relationship, we decided to do a big trip. After debating, and almost booking, a cruise to the Caribbean and thinking about recreating our first honeymoon (I don't really count it as the real one), we decided on Vegas. The closest I've ever been to Vegas is McCarran airport and I've always wanted to see what the hubbub was all about.

After doing a little digging online, I was able to find a really good deal on a flight and hotel. Now the question is, what to do while we're there! I definitely want to do some window shopping and I know that we're going to be hitting up the spa on our anniversary, but other than that, I'm not really sure what to do! I'd be grateful for any ideas! Leave your suggestions in the comments!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

For all the band geeks...

I felt strongly about posting these two items. One should go without saying, and the other is a link to a forum posting from OK Go. They're a band that get's what is happening to the music industry. And they are trying to succeed. So enjoy the video, it's worth it.

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Recipe time!

Ok, so I love recipes that are super simple (ie. less than 10 ingredients and less that 5 steps) and this one is so great! A couple of weeks ago, our Relief Society teacher brought in these bags and asked up to smush them up with our hands. So, we smushed! And at the end of the lesson (which I cannot for the life of me remember what it was about), we had fudge! Crazy, right? It was delicious! I was craving chocolate big time tonight so I decided to try it out myself. I even got a little crazy and mixed in some mini marshmallows in half of it.

Family Fudge
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter or margarine

  1. Place all ingredients in a zip lock back.
  2. Force all the air out of the bag.
  3. Mush around until the mixture is homogenous
This is a great idea for an FHE snack! During the lesson, have everyone in the family take turns squishing the bag and at the end, you'll have fudge! I found that double bagging was a necessity as I popped the first bag with my overzealous squishing. If you have leftovers (which I highly doubt), store them in the fridge in an airtight container. 

Monday, February 1, 2010

Snow

Reasons why I hate snow:
  1. It's cold - There is nothing worse than being cold. I hate being cold. I would much rather be too warm than be too cold. I cannot find the words to express my deep, unswerving hatred of the cold.  Maybe it's my southern upbringing, but I'm a wuss when it comes to cold.

  2. It's wet - The only thing that comes close to my hatred of cold is being wet. Now, don't get me wrong, being wet has its place (ie. shower, ocean, etc.) but it's the partial wet that I hate. Either I need to be all wet or all dry. There is no half way for me on this point. Being partially wet makes me feel itchy and gross. (p.s. - I think if Truman had a middle finger, he would have been using it) 


  3. Makes going places impossible - Because in the south, it warms up enough during the day to melt some of it. Then it refreezes into balance (and self-esteem)-killing sheets of ice. Plus, I have things I have to do! Places to go! Now, I'm just stuck inside. (I suppose it could be worse. Matt is home this week, but I could be stuck inside by myself)

 Image courtesy of failblog.org
P.S. - Dear cold/phlegm rattle that has lodged itself into my chest, I think you've overstayed your welcome.
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