Easy Greek Lamb Chops with Garlic-Yogurt Sauce

This Easy Greek Lamb Chops with Garlic-Yogurt Sauce dish served over orzo along with Greek salad is one of the best meals I have prepared lately! These super tasty, super tender lamb chops got an enthusiastic thumbs up from the pickiest of eaters (won’t mention names).

Even I get into a rut where I start running out of dinner ideas, but I’m learning it’s important to get out to restaurants and look through magazines and cookbooks for inspiration (staying cooped up at home, buried in dirty dishes and two huge loads of wash everyday is not exactly inspiring). I’ve been making so much lentil soup lately my family has been accusing me of serving the same batch for weeks, so I now refer to it as “fresh batch lentil soup”. This receives even more “ughs.”

However, on this particular night, I got all excited because we had just recently eaten at my favorite Greek restaurant, Ponto’s in Norwalk. I absolutely love Greek food (maybe because my Genetic Ancestry 23andme testing showed I have Greek origins!) but as far as Greek recipes, I pretty much had only made Greek salad and my friend Kiki’s Avgolemon Soup. I immediately went to the Greek specialty store and stocked up on imported oregano, Greek olive oil and feta cheese. The result was perfectly browned, super tasty lamb chops and it was all so easy! I strongly urge you to use Greek olive oil (it’s thicker) and imported Greek oregano which has a hundred times more flavor than store bought oregano (I used a brand called “Herbs Mt. Taygetos”). You might be wondering why there is no dipping sauce in the photo and that’s because I ran out of Greek yogurt. We hardly missed it. Continue reading »

Quinoa Bowl with Chicken, Mushrooms & Onions

I think I could eat this simple, healthy and easy Quinoa Bowl with Chicken, Mushrooms & Onions every day and not get tired of it! I can’t say that about too many foods except for Greek salad with grilled chicken maybe. You can make a nice little quinoa bowl by adding some pickled vegetables like kimchi (I like Sunja’s brand the best… the other ones sometimes have a fishy taste) or Indian pickled mangoes along with some assorted roasted vegetables. If you don’t have pickled vegetables on hand, you can serve this with a salad using a vinegar based dressing – the important thing is the vinegar because the flavors balance each other out so perfectly. Continue reading »

Roasted Basil Pesto Vegetables

My sister-in-law made these Roasted Basil Pesto Vegetables last summer and they have been a staple in my house ever since. I love vegetables and it doesn’t take much for me to eat them but I have to say this is the best vegetable recipe I have ever tried! You can eat these delicious roasted basil pesto vegetables alone or with fish, chicken or shrimp and sometimes I throw in some grilled chicken and rigatoni to make a delicious pasta.

You can use store bought pesto or make your own (see recipe below). I’ll often skip adding the cheese in the pesto and it really is just as good without it! Remember, you want these browned and crispy! Continue reading »

Paleo Shepherd’s Pie

I threw this healthy, anti-inflammatory Paleo Shepherd’s Pie together a while ago when I was inspired by a traditional shepherd’s pie recipe I saw in a magazine. Instead of regular potatoes, I switched them out with sweet potatoes and I have been making this delicious, healthy comfort meal ever since. The first time I made this Paleo Shepherd’s Pie I made a huge batch of it and we ate it non-stop, completely devouring it like cavemen. You can really use any vegetables you have on hand, but I highly recommend the ones listed in the recipe. I use grass-fed ground beef and make my own chicken stock. Continue reading »

Baked Brie with Puff Pastry & Cranberry Red Pepper Relish

I first tasted a version of this amazing Baked Brie with Puff Pastry and Cranberry Red Pepper Relish appetizer at my sister-in-law’s house for Thanksgiving a few years ago. It was a simple baked brie topped with Stonewall Red Pepper Jelly, which was wonderful but I wanted to step it up a little to give it more wow factor.

The result is not only beautiful and festive looking, but it is so addicting you will have a crowd surrounding it until every last bit is gone! 

The cranberry red pepper relish is so good, my husband demands it instead of traditional cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. It has a slight kick to it, but for extra heat you can always add an extra jalapeño. I stopped making my own puff pastry a long time ago once I discovered Dufour. It is undoubtedly, the best puff pastry available. During the Fall and holiday season you can usually find leaf cookie cutters at Williams-Sonoma. Continue reading »