The Deen Brothers' Marinated Chicken Gyro Wrap

Have I mentioned that I have way too many cookbooks? My Mother In Law used to manage housewares at Dillards and they would get in a lot of celebrity chef cookbooks. She picked up a Deen Brothers cookbook and it has some really good recipes in it. The one I chose is a chicken gyro. I love all the flavors in a gyro and this just lightens it up by using chicken. Of course Tom would not eat this because of that vexing protein so this was cut in half.



This recipe is in two steps, the marinade and then the cooking.


For the marinade you need chicken, olive oil, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.


Cut your chicken into 1 inch pieces.


Get it in a bowl and add your garlic, I just used my garlic press to mince it.


Add in the oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and olive oil.


Cover it and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.


After it has marinated it is on to round 2, cooking and eating. Preheat your oven to broil and lets gather ingredients. You need pita bread, dill, onion, greek yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, tomato, cucumber and lettuce. I didn't have lettuce so it didn't make it on my gyro.


Chop your dill and onion.


Get the yogurt, dill, onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a bowl and stir to combine.


Get the chicken out on a tray, I used nonstick foil on mine for easy cleanup. Pop it under the broiler for about 6-8 minutes.


While the chicken cooks chop up your gyro toppings.


Smear your sauce on a warmed pita and you are almost ready to eat!


Get the chicken out of the oven and layer some on the pita with your veggies.


This was so good, and so easy to make. I made way too much sauce but Tom helped me take care of it by using it as a veggie dip for the leftover cucumber. If you don't make the whole sandwich I would definitely recommend making the sauce as a light and tangy dip.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

After this week I think we all could use a little comfort food. I don't really have much to say about what happened in Boston because it makes no sense to me at all. I will just try to provide some comfort through food instead. I always go to my slow cooker when I want something warm, simple, and delicious. I am sharing this recipe from Taste of Home for BBQ Chicken Sliders.


I cut this recipe in half.


This recipe has you brine the chicken first, which I have never done before. Here is what you need for the brine. Liquid smoke, thyme, water, salt, brown sugar and some garlic.


Mix it all together and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.


Reserve some brine for later, put a lid on it and get it in the fridge.


Pour the brine over the chicken in a resealable bag. Put it in the fridge for about 18-24 hours.


When you are ready to put everything in the crock pot grab your reserved brine and your liquid smoke and add it with the chicken. Discard the brine the chicken was in. Put the crock pot on low for 3-4 hours.


Pull your chicken out, it should be falling apart at this point. I tasted the chicken and it was full of flavor even before adding the sauce.


Grab some buns and your favorite BBQ sauce.


Shred the chicken and get it back in the crock pot.


Stir in the sauce and let it heat through, about 20 minutes on high. While it heated I just made a quick side of some peas with salt and olive oil.


This is a great and easy comfort food dish that really has a lot of flavor. I will make this one again for sure, hopefully during a less crazy week.

Favorite Things #46 - Sweet and Savory Combos

If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know that I love anything that combines sweet and savory food. I love a little fruit in with my chicken or even some ice cream and potato chips! As I had mentioned at the beginning of the year Tom and I are trying to go to some new restaurants and we finally made it to a place called Croque which specializes in sandwiches.


This is their Brie sandwich that has melty brie cheese, ham, tomato, lettuce, and cranberry sauce. The cranberry sauce pushed this sandwich right over the edge of perfection for me. I also had them add some of their specialty garlic sauce. I paired it with delicious potato salad and it was a wonderful post baseball game meal.

What is your favorite bizarre combo?

Lentil Sloppy Joes

I love the Food Network magazine and can usually find a recipe I want to make right away after I am done reading it. This sloppy joe recipe looked so perfect, and it was even low calorie because I swapped out the ground beef for ground chicken. I love comfort food and foods that remind me of being a kid, and I loved these sandwiches growing up.




You probably already have a lot of these ingredients, you need some ground chicken or turkey, garlic, lentils, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, oregano, green pepper, carrot, buns, cheese and some pickles. I loved the idea of a pickle on the sandwich to add a little sour to the sweetness.


There is a lot of chopping involved, but I enjoy chopping veggies. Get everything cut up and measured.


Heat up some oil and get everything staged near the stove.


Add in the onion, carrot, pepper and 2 tbs of ketchup. Let this cook about 3 minutes while stirring. This combo smelled so good!


Add in the garlic and let that cook for about 30 seconds.


Add in the lentils and 4 cups of water, bring this to a boil. Don't worry if this seems like a lot of water, it will all be absorbed and cooked down. Reduce the heat and let this simmer for about 40-50 minutes.


Everything reduced and thickened and got deliciously combined. Taste it here and add in some salt and pepper if needed.


Brown up your ground meat for a few minutes.


Add in the worcestershire and the rest of the ketchup.


Stir in the lentil mixture and one more cup of water and let this cook for about 10 minutes.


Everything reduces and thickens and becomes super tasty.


I put a little grated cheese on the bottom of the bun and topped with the sloppy joe and finished with the pickle. If the pickle seems like it might be weird, trust me, it really was delicious and added a little bit of sour and crunch to balance out the sweetness of the lentil mixture. You couldn't even tell the lentils were there so this would be a great way to hide these high fiber and protein packed morels from someone who is not a fan of beans.

The Best Thing I Ever Made - Sandwiches

I am not a huge sandwich person, but when I do have one I like them to be warm so it is no surprise my best sandwich I ever made is actually a panini! The star ingredient in the sandwich is braised leeks, which I made in this recipe paired with pasta. If you have never made braised leeks before, I highly recommend you at least try that recipe.

If you want to take it to the next cheesy and tasty level, go ahead and try the sandwich recipe



It is funny to me looking back on my blog because I made that recipe in January 2008 and I think my food photography and my blogging have come a long way.

Do you prefer a hot or a cold sandwich or sub?

Vegetarian Greek Sandwich

I have been absent this week because I have been crazy busy at work, which thankfully does not happen often. I am hoping to get back to my normal schedule this coming week, I have missed visiting all of your blogs!

As it is most definitely Summer here in AZ our eating habits change because at dinner time it is usually about 105 outside and standing over a hot stove does not sound fun. Instead of a full recipe post I am going to share one of our favorite Summer sandwiches. Yes, I said 'our' because Tom will actually eat this.



This is a 'Greek Sandwich' and could not be easier. Take some feta and mash it up with a little olive oil and spread it on some toasted sourdough. On the other slice of bread spread some hummus. Pile on some cucumber, tomato, black olive, onion and whatever other veggies you'd like and you are ready to eat. Some other veggie suggestions I would make would be artichokes, pickled hot peppers and roasted red peppers.

I hope you are all enjoying the first few days of Summer and I can't wait to get back to visiting all of your blogs.

Hungry Girl's Big Bad Burger Wrap

It is the start of a new year and everyone wants to eat better. I recently watched the Hungry Girl show on the Food Network and really liked all the tips and tricks she had for being smart about the food you eat. I picked up her cookbook of 200 things under 200 calories (not the exact name but close enough) and made these wraps and now my husband makes them at least once a week.




Most of these ingredients you probably already have. You need ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, pickles, fake burger, whole wheat wrap and some Laughing Cow Cheese.


Get your tortilla in the microwave or toaster oven and mix up your sauce.


Cook the fake burger on the stove or in the microwave.


Smear the cheese on the warm tortilla.


Chop up the burger.


Put everything on the tortilla and roll it up. It is ready to eat!


Not the most attractive thing I ever made but it was tasty, quick, and not that bad for me! The fact that my husband now makes it for himself is also testament to how good and simple it is.

Sausage, Pepper and Onion Hash Hoagies

The following meal was actually shared with my husband and he really liked it. Once again, this is from Rachael Ray. It was in her Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.




You will need some hoagie rolls, sausage, garlic, pepper, onion and hash brown potatoes.


Cook the hashbrowns per the package directions.


While those cook, chop up your veggies, including the garlic.


Get your sausage in the pan and brown it up.


Looking pretty awesome!


Keep an eye on your taters.


Get the meat out onto some paper towels to drain.


Toss in your veggies and garlic and let them cook for about 5 minutes.


Get everything in the pan together and let it cook for about 5 minutes to get all the flavors mingling.


Serve up the sausage mix on a roll and enjoy! You could even add some of your favorite hot sauce if you want. I made the full amount of hash that the recipe called for and had a great idea for the leftovers...


Pizza! I don't know which my husband and I liked better to be honest. I hope you all have a great week.