recipe of the week: greek chicken pasta

we love greek food

we love pasta

so when  i found this recipe for greek chicken pasta, i decided to try it.

upon reading the recipe, however, i decided to take what i liked about it (the artichoke hearts and feta cheese, namely) and create a new recipe based loosely on it.

here's what happened

greek chicken pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

salt, freshly ground pepper, greek seasoning, oregano

1 sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound of chicken, cut into cubes (i used boneless skinless breasts)

1/2 cup white wine (this is how much was left in the bottle in my fridge...so use more or less depending on your preference)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 can diced tomatoes with oregano, basil and garlic

1 can artichoke hearts, drained

1 container feta cheese with mediterranean herbs (or reserve a bit for sprinkling on top)

penne or bow-tie pasta, cooked according to package directions

begin by heating your olive oil and spices

 toss in the onions and garlic, saute for 5 minutes

 add the cubed chicken and a second round of spices (including a whole lot of greek seasoning)

 add the white wine, and cook down for about 3 minutes

add the chicken broth, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and feta

 simmer sauce together for at least 15 minutes (enough time for the pasta to cook)

 it smells and looks amazing after that time...

 serve up over your warm & freshly cooked penne, sprinkle with reserved feta

 enjoy!

 (assuming 6 servings, pasta included)

*in the future i will likely marinate the chicken first, perhaps in lime juice and greek seasonings. i dislike chicken that is bland, and it just didn't have the great flavor of the sauce to me. however, leftovers were a little better in that regard, so i'll be playing around with this a bit!

(click this button and find more yummy recipes!!)

recipe of the week: spanakopita

i made very little changes to this recipe.
are you in shock yet?
:-)

honestly, it's greek food
and i've never MADE greek food before,
so i figured i wouldn't mess with it this time around!
the original comes from food network


spanakopita

olive oil
2 pounds frozen spinach, thawed
1 bunch of scallions, chopped (white and green parts)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper

a sprinkle of nutmeg (i lied.  i DID add this.  spinach always needs a nutmeg sprinkle.)

1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese (i used the kind with mediterranean herbs)

2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (yep, the health factor kind of disappears when you read that, doesn't it!)
1 pound filo sheets, thawed

heat olive oil in pan and toss spinach in.  cook down for about 3 minutes.  remove spinach from the pan

in the same pan, pour in another tablespoon or so of oil and add the chopped scallions.  saute them for 2-3 minutes.  add spinach, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook together for 1-2 minutes.  remove from heat to cool.

when the mixture has cooled, add the beaten egg and the feta to the spinach mixture

mix well

preheat oven to 350

brush a baking sheet with a thin layer of the melted butter.  (nope, not kidding)

carefully unroll the filo dough.  cut into 3 long and even strips.  you can cover the dough that is not being used with wax paper and a damp towel, or just work quickly :-)

brush one thin sheet of dough with butter and lay a 2nd on top.  repeat, adding a third.  the butter should seep through enough that you won't need more.
(this is not necessarily a pretty process.  but the end result is fantastic enough that you should just let.it.go)

 place a small spoonful of the filling on the edge and begin rolling the dough into a triangle form. (this is way easier than it sounds!)

bake for 20-25 minutes (it was 23 for us) until the triangles are crisp and slightly golden.

hint: this recipe goes well with the tabouli salad i posted a bit ago...and both are relatively simple!