Lynne Pasta Salad

Serves 5-8

16 oz Pasta (I've tried rotini, and large elbows)
Kalamata or black olives (halved)
Peppers (red, yellow, orange) chopped
Red Onions (slivered)
1 pkg of Cherry tomatoes (halved)
5 Mini or english cucumbers (they are more dense and crisp than regular cucumbers)
8 oz Feta
Dill
Olive oil, garlic (powder or minced), vinegar
Salt and pepper

Cook pasta, cut veggies, mix in feta, dill, oil, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Delicious and fresh!!!
Great leftovers for 2 days, then on day 3 the cucumbers tend to go soft and slimey.

Greek Pitas

Chicken
onion chopped
lemon pepper seasoning
tomatoes chopped
Lettuce
olives
Pitas

Tazaki Sauce
1 Cucumber grated
Sour Cream or yogurt
1 tsp Ranch Packet
milk



Season chicken with lemon pepper seasoning, Saute or grill chicken with onion
Make tazaki sauce

Another version

Chicken Marinade

1 pound boneless , skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup olive oil
4 lemons
4-5 cloves garlic , pressed or minced
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Add the chicken, Greek yogurt and olive oil to a medium size bowl. Zest one of the lemons and add to the bowl. Juice that lemon into the bowl with the zest. Slice the other three lemons and set aside. Add the minced garlic, oregano, kosher salt and black pepper to the lemon juice and zest and stir. Pour half of the marinade into the freezer bag or the bowl with the chicken pieces and reserve the other half of the marinade for basting. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours in the refrigerator.

• When ready to grill, prepare the grill by lightly oiling the grate with vegetable oil or cooking spray and set to medium high heat.
• Grill the chicken, basting with the reserved marinade and turning often so each side browns and has light grill marks, until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear. During the last 5 minutes of cooking add the 3 sliced lemons to the grill, turning once or twice. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serve with the grilled lemons. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

Tzatziki Sauce- Food and Wine

1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Toasted pita or pita chips, for serving

allow cucumber to drain or squeeze in a cheese cloth to remove excess water.

Stir together the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon juice and dill in a medium bowl. Season with the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Before serving, garnish with more fresh dill and serve with toasted pita.

Crockpot Taco Dip

Moms with crockpots

Moms with crockpots

Ingredients
1 lb Ground Beef Browned & drained
1 16oz can Refried Beans
2 cups Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend divided
1 cup mild or medium salsa
1 8 oz package cream cheese softened
1 cup sour cream plus additional for serving
1 package taco seasoning
Tortilla Chips for serving
Taco Toppings for serving sliced olives, jalapenos, tomatoes, guacamole, etc

Instructions

In your crockpot stir together browned ground beef, refried beans, salsa, 1 cup cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning. Once blended well spread out evenly with a spatula.

Top with remaining shredded cheese, cover and cook for 2 hours on high.

When done remove lid and top with additional sour cream, sliced olives, sliced jalapenos, or whatever taco toppings you like.  

• Enjoy with some tortilla chips. 

Crockpot Hawaiian Haystacks

1 c sour cream
1c plain yogurt
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 of the can fill with water
chopped onion
Frozen Chicken Breasts
Garlic powder and Italian seasoning
rice

Put everything in crockpot 2-3 hours on low. Then take out all the chicken and shred it, then put it back in to cook for 1-2 hours.
After it has thoroughly cooked add 1 c of sour cream and 1 c plain yogurt

Top with sliced olives,
chopped tomatoes
chopped celery
sliced pineapple
crunchy lo mein noodles
shredded cheese
green onions
red, orange, yellow peppers

Mickel Potato & Egg Scramble

Feeds 4-5

1 large baked potato (can use frozen hashbrowns)
1 onion chopped
garlic cloves or garlic powder
4 eggs scrambled
Oil
Spinach and/or broccoli chopped
1/2 can of black olives sliced
leftover meat (I did sliced deli meat, but you can use any leftover meat, like shredded beef/chicken or chunks of chicken, ham)
dash of cayenne
salt and pepper and/or season salt
2 Tomatoes chopped (could use salsa, I used a tomato that was soft, I didn't want it in a salad)
1 avocado

Saute onion in oil for 10+ min.  Then add chopped baked potato, let cook for 10 min and get browned. Push potatoes and onions to side of pan and cook eggs on open side. When eggs are cooked combine/mix potatoes, onions, and eggs. Add seasonings, olives, spinach,  and leftover meat cook for a few minutes. Right before you eat add tomatoes and avocado.

You could put all this inside a burrito for breakfast and can freeze for future breakfasts.

Lentil Tostadas

Interesting information to read about Lentils- nutrition content and diff types of lentils

To Cook Lentils

1 cup uncooked lentils
Medium pot water     

• Cook the lentils: In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils and water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 17 to 20 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Drain any excess water, let cool. Use in any recipe that calls for cooked lentils.

1 lb ground turkey or beef
2c previously cooked lentils ( brown the onion then cook the lentils w/ water)
1 to 1/2t cumin
1 to 1/2t garlic

1/2t chili powder
salt and pepper

Saute an onion till brown, then cook the beef with the onion till cooked. add seasonings and add

, zucchini, yellow squash, garlic , salt and pepper

hard or soft shell tortillas- optional with soft shell- you can  frie with little oil

top with:
- cut lemons to drizzle on top of taco or tostada

-lettuce
-olives
-sour cream or plain yogurt
-avocado & tomato salsa- onion, a handful of halved grape tomatoes, some fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, drizzle of oil, a big clove of garlic and sprinkle of salt and pepper
-cheese

(freeze the seasoned lentils for quick dinners)