Greek Pita Pizzas

Confession time....

Didn't know what you are in for when you click on to read this!!! ;)

It's not bad, really...

Or maybe it is... I dunno, you be the judge!

So this recipe calls for Feta cheese. I've never and I mean N-E-V-E-R had Feta cheese! I am all for sticking with my cheap cheddar and mozzarella. I don't do fancy recipes. I do easy ones!

Ok, so this one is easy, really easy! And REALLY good! I also discovered that I like Feta cheese. Not a ton of it, but a little sprinkled on the top like this recipe calls for!

I did try a little piece by itself to see how it tastes, and it's a bit salty. So I couldn't eat a whole lot of it like I can co-jack! But like I said, sprinkled on top was really good!


Cook you meat and sauce (I had some leftover ground beef all ready cooked in my freezer, so I just chopped off a chuck of it, so one less step to do!)


I couldn't find any pitas, so I used the flatbread (wheat)


Layer the meat/sauce on top of the flat bread


Then layer some cheese on top- pop it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes


Then take it out of the oven and put on chopped tomato, olives and the feta cheese


The kids gobbled it right up!!! It was VERY tasty!!!! :D





Greek Pita Pizzas

6 ounces lean ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 8 ounce can (no salt added) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary of 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 6 inch whole wheat or white pita bread rounds
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach
1 small tomato, chopped and seeded
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
12 pitted Kalamata or ripe olives halved, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic until meat is browned, drain off fat. Stir in tomato sauce and rosemary into meat mixture in skillet. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes.
Carefully split the pita bread rounds in half, place pita halves rough sides up, in a single layer on a large baking sheet or stone. Bake 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned.
Top toasted pitas with meat mixture and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 2 to 3 minutes more or until cheese on top is melted. Remove from oven and top with spinach, tomato and feta cheese and if you want, the olives.
Serve immediately!

*It sounds like a alot of taking out of the oven and back in, but it goes really quick! And it's sooo tasty!!!
I didn't have any spinach, so I didn't add that, but will next time! ;)
I also used good 'ole black olives right from the can! I didn't get those fancy ones, but don't let me stop you, by all means, go ahead and try it! You know you want too!!! :)
Again, very tasty, very easy and the kids LOVED it!! That's alright with me! :)

B-B-Q Chicken

I made this chicken to go with the sweet potato fries... Then I used the leftover chicken to make b-b-q quesadillas.

Anyways, it doesn't get much easier than this!

I just put a bit of bbq sauce, a tad bit of water so it wouldn't be so thick. I popped the chicken in the pan on top of the sauce, then added more sauce right from the jar. Spread it all over the chicken and cooked it at 375 for an hour!

I used chicken tenders. They are perfect for the kids and they cook more evenly, atleast I think. Or they cook quicker I should say. ;)


Layer all the chicken in the pan, as you can see, I REALLY packed it in!!!

Pour more sauce on top. As you can see, I drowned my chicken in sauce!!!

All done...

Nice and moist and perfect! YUMMY!!!!

Sweet Potato Fries

These are sooooooooooo good!!!!!!!! My kiddos could NOT get ENOUGH of these!!!!!!!!! I cut up 3 sweet potatoes and may very well need to double the recipe for next time!

My youngest kept asking for more... Not that he can really ask for them, but I guess I should say he kept pointing to the pan!

I fixed some bbq chicken to go with this. Super DELISH!!!! :D

These are sooo easy too! They called from Old Bay seasoning and let me tell you, I am not a fan of Old Bay... Ok, go ahead, throw something at me or say boooo.... Whatever... I know living out here you have to like (if not LOVE) fish and Old Bay, it's just a given... But me, I don't really like either...

BUT, I will redeem myself here, a little bit anyways... ;)

I REALLY and I mean R-E-A-L-L-Y LIKED Old Bay seasoning on these fries! Just the combo of everything really blended really well!


3 washed sweet potaotes (cut out the bad spots)


I thought it would be fun and used my Pampered Chef crinkle cutter to cut them up!!! :)


Place them all in a baggie with the oil and seasonings


Spread out on foil covered pan


Yummy! See the Old Bay on there? It smelled soooo good!!!!!!!!!


All done!



Our meal, bbq chicken and sweet potato fries! :D



Sweet Potato Steak Fries

3 sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Cut potaotes in wedges, lengthwise.
Place potatoes in a ziploc bag (gallon size), dump in the oil and seasonings. Zip it up and shake to mix it all around. Dump on foil covered pan.
Bake for 20 minutes on one side, turn over and back for another 20-25 minutes or until soft and golden brown.


*I probably had a bit more oil, I also used coconut oil...
I know I had more than a teaspoon of old bay, I just kinda dumped it in, then when I put them on the pan, I sprinkled a bit more over the top! ;)
I use foil over the pan so the clean up is SUPER easy!!!!

ENJOY!!!! :D

Navajo Fry Bread

I made this a few nites ago, but I was in a rush so I didn't take any pictures! I made the bread the same way, but the toppings were different! The toppings are endless! You can do whatever you want! The first time I made these, we had re- fried beans, shredded cheddar cheese and then lettuce. It was sooo good! The kiddos call gobbled it down too!

Tonite, i made them and put scrambled eggs, shredded cheddar cheese, and bacon! I am thinking you could use a sausage patty, then an egg and cheese. Even top it with some salsa? Again, you can do whatever you want with these!!!

The kiddos loved these as well, the scrambled eggs one.

Flour and baking powder in bowl


Add the milk and water


Stir it with a fork to mix it up...


Then lay it on lightly floured surface and....


Knead away! (this is so easy you can do it one handed, like I did! :))



All kneaded and ready to go!!
If your dough is still too sticky, if it's sticking to your counter top and hands, just add a little bit of flour and knead it til it's not sticky!)

Take a golf ball sized portion...


Flatten it out with your fingers (you can use a roiling pin, but really, it's just as easy to do it with your hands)


Poke a small hole in the middle


It can be even a bit smaller than this...


Place in your hot oil


Fry until it's golden brown on one side


All nice and golden brown, sooo good!!!!


Everything you need to make the egg Navajo tacos! Scrambled eggs, shredded cheddar cheese, bacon and your Navajo bread


Start off with your bread


Place some scrambled eggs


then some cheese



Then some bacon


Ready to eat!! Yummy!!!! :)




Navajo Fry Bread

Sift into a bowl:
4 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
Stir in:
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cups milk

Knead with hands. Pat or roll into circles approximately 5 inch in diameter. With fingers make a small hole in the center. Fry in several inches of hot oil at 400 degrees, an electric skillet is very convenient for this. Dough will puff and bubble. Turn when golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot with honey or for Navajo Tacos.

(options: use half whole wheat flour)

*The second time I didn't use any salt. I honestly didn't notice a difference!
Again, for the Navajo tacos, I used a can of re-fried beans (or you could make them, but I was in a hurry!), then some shredded cheddar cheese and a bit of lettuce for the top!
When I made them into breakfast Navajo tacos, I used 4 scrambled eggs, made those in a pan, then put them on the bread, then added some shredded cheddar cheese and topped with crumbled bacon. Super good!
Again, you can do whatever you want! Please let me know if you try these and what you add to them! ;)
I was just thinking tonite as eating them that they would be really good with butter and then sprinkle some cinnamon sugar, yummy!!! :oP
Also, I used coconut oil to fry, so it's healthy, right? ;)

(got the bread recipe from my more-with-less cookbook)

Coconut-Oatmeal Cereal

I wasn't too sure about this stuff. My kiddos really haven't had any type of coconut, so I didn't know if they would like it! They know what a coconut is, they just haven't really had it! The hubs is NOT a fan of it and I'm, well, it's not my fav, but if it's cooked or in something, just a little bit of it, then I'll eat it. But to have it all over a cake just sprinkled on, most likely I won't eat it...

So that being said, I went for it making this oatmeal cereal. It's really easy to make and you just store it in a zip lock baggie.

I've been trying to make more cereal and oatmeal (and other things) for the kiddos for breakfast lately. I mean, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You do need to start your kiddos off on the right foot, right?

I'm not gonna lie, mornings are pretty tough around here. Granted, they are getting oh so much better! My little man was getting up at 5 and wouldn't go back to sleep... I don't roll like that! Now if coffee would work for me, then maybe, but I was only getting about 2 to 3 hours of sleep a nite, he was up during the nite too. I would have to rock him back to sleep...

Now he's getting up around 6 to 7, but mostly around 7, which in my book is AWESOME!!!! So, I've been wanting to get up earlier to do some exercises, then do my devos, then shower. That way I'd be ready for my little munchkins and could fix them that nice hot breakfast that they so deserved! Now, I just have to get up earlier... ;) Easier said than done....

Ok, back to the recipe and breakfast...

So this isn't a hot meal, but it is a homemade oatmeal. And it is super easy to make, and the kiddos can pour their own and then put their milk on.



I used half white and half wheat flour


Add the coconut


Then the oatmeal


Then the sesame seeds


Then I added the sugar


Then the water and oil together. Again, I didn't think it was enough water, so I just kept adding a little bit of water at a time. I think I used about 1/2 cup of water and then only 5 tablespoons of oil.... But I honestly don't remember if it was that much water or not.... :\


Here it is after it's been baked. I know, totally yummy looking here, but it really is! The kids LOVED it and it was gone within 3 days! They ate it 3 days in a row and now I guess I better make some more! :)



Coconut-Oatmeal Cereal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine in a large mixing bowl:

3 cups white or whole wheat flour
2 cups flake coconut
2 cups quick oatmeal
3 tablespoons sesame seed
3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons oil
Mix well. Bake in 2 or 3 shallow baking pans until browned, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to produce crumbles of desired size.
Serve as cold cereal.

*I forgot to mention this is from More-with-Less cookbook... ;)
I used half white and half wheat flour
I used more like 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup water, I didn't think it was sticking together enough... So, start out with the 3 tablespoons and just keep adding a little bit til it sticks together a bit...
I used 1/4 cup of sugar and that was plenty! I may not add any the next time...
I also used coconut oil instead of oil
I also used one baking pan, it was kinda full, so I recommend using the 2 pans! ;)

Fruit Dumplings

This is sooooo good!!! What an easy fall recipe!!! If you like apple dumplings, then you will LOVE this!!! It's just a little bit different, you roll it up and pour a sugary sauce over the top, yummo!!! :oP My mouth is watering just thinking about these! I am thinking I may even have to make more. You sure, I made these a few days ago and they are gone! ;)


I used 2 large granny smith apples


Flour, baking powder and salt


The shortening


Then added the milk (you could use rice milk)


Stir it all up with a fork


Nice round ball, place on somewhat floured surface so it doesn't stick when you roll it out


Roll it out to a nice long rectangle


Place apples on the rolled out dough


Roll it up


All rolled up


Cut and place in baking dish (I used my 9x13 Pampered Chef stone)


Making the "syrup".. sugar, water, cinnamon and flour, bring it to a boil, then....


... dump it over the cut up dumplings


They will kinda swell, smells soooo good! Place in preheated oven (don't cover!!!)


All baked, oh my, I sooo wish this was a scratch and sniff picture! My mouth is watering, I think I need to make another batch of these bad boys!!!


Up close of it.... ;)


The inside of the fruit dumpling



Now with a bit of milk. I honestly didn't think I would like it with the milk, but I really did! As a kid, I never added milk to my apple dumpling, my dad and mom would, but I didn't like soggy things, but ya know, this was just perfect! :)





Fruit Dumplings

Prepare 2-3 cups finely chopped fresh fruit, like apples, peaches, rhubarb, etc... Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare 1 recipe biscuit dough (it's at the bottom)
Roll dough into a large rectangle, cover thickly with fruit. Sprinkle with cinnamon and roll up and cut into 1 inch rings. Place in greased 9x13 inch pan.
Combine this in saucepan:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup cold water
Let it come to a boil and pour over dumplings. Bake 45 minutes. Serve warm with milk.

Basic Biscuits

Sift together in a bowl:
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cut in:
1/4 cup shortening
Add all at once stirring until soft ball is formed:
3/4 cup milk

Turn dough onto floured surface and knead lightly 20-25 times.
(then do the rest like the recipe says at the top!)

*I didn't add the cinnamon before rolling, I put it in the sugar mixture I made.
This was really easy and it tastes soooooo good!!!!
Don't let the biscuit intimidate you, it is so easy to make!
I used apples, but would love to try it with other fruits!!! Even a apple and raisin combo!
I also used coconut oil (go figure huh? haha) instead of shortening. It worked GREAT!!!
You could also use Rice milk instead of regular milk. I am not sure about Almond, it may give you a different flavor...