Greek Burger Bowls
We're 1 month in to our new home, and we are at capacity this weekend! But in a good way. My in-laws & their 3 dogs have arrived, so to say we've got a full house here in our modest fixer upper is a bit of an understatement. They have arrived in the midst of the home renovation craziness, so I am personally pretty excited to have some extra hands on deck to help with the current home projects. The gardening, the painting, the decorating - oh my! In all honesty, Jordan's parents are always THE BEST when it comes to getting in and getting dirty to help us with any at home jobs, and truth be told they have so much knowledge when it comes keeping up a home. I NEED THAT KNOWLEDGE!!! Even though we've made our way through maintaining 2 homes previously, those 2 AZ homes were new and literally move in ready. This is our first older home that needs some serious rehabing. They did raise four kids and have lived in several homes through their 30+ years of marriage, so ya - they know the drill and how to get a job done. & are the perfect mentors for me right now! Even just the cleaning tips - I mean my mother in-law, and her mom as well, are two women who have all the tricks of the trade when it comes to home cleaning. The products to use, the at home mixtures that will get any stain out - they have the 411 on all that stuff. I mean my mother in law has only been here 3 days, and we have already reviewed how to fix a dishwasher and explored the power of oxy-clean and dawn mixed together (FYI- a powerful concoction for any mess !)
But it is their first time in our home, and it can't all be "let me put you to work and jump in to one of the gazillion projects we have going on." As visitors come through, the only thing that really matters to me is that everyone feels welcome and happy in our home. Soooo a fun dinner to kick off our time together and to celebrate all 4 of us relocating to the PNW is crucial. Lucky for me they are healthy, adventurous eaters as well, and totally willing to put up with my kitchen experiments. I am sure they have choked down a few things that were one degree passed edible in years past because I used to be soooo nervous to cook for them. It was such a weird juxtaposition of wanting to be the perfect hostess and make them the most perfect & most well presented dish, definitely having a "look at me and look what I can do moment," but then psyching myself up so bad that the whole thing would go to shit. Trying to do too much or make something out of my wheelhouse lead to burning something, forgetting an ingredient, or just temporary chaos. Let's just say that your first time cooking Beef Wellington shouldn't be when you have the pressure of cooking for a crowd. & why was I so nervous? Or trying desperately to impress them? Who freakin' knows. My in-laws are the nicest and most down to earth humans, and we've always gotten along so great. I guess it took 7 years for me to be confident & to get my own self-conscious tendencies under control so that I can host a fun, relaxing, and no stress night at home (with anyone for that matter) where we can enjoy good food, good tunes, each other, & the BEST cider.
So they are lucky enough to come during my detox from vacation week, so a healthy and scrumptious meal it is. No usual pizza and fancy desert - I'm committed to being consistent and sticking to loading my body with all the nutritious clean foods this week. But of course I want to keep it fun - a dinner with guests has to have a fun undertone! So I am keeping tonight interactive and lively by putting everyone to work to build their own salad bowl. We are giving Greek Burger Bowls a try tonight, and a burger bowl is like the burger equivalent to going to Chipotle when you want a burrito, but you're being healthy so you skip the tortilla and get the bowl to keep it light. Same concept with this one.
Me and Jordan loooovveee Mediterranean food! Even just the staples are so good - baba ganoush, a tangy Greek salad, & refreshing tzatziki are some of my favorites. I recently saw a recipe for a Greek burger stuffed in a pita, and it was loaded with all kinds of herbs and some hidden veggies. I immediately thought incorporating just the patty would be such a fun addition to a typical Greek salad, and provide the opportunity to whip up some extra loaded salad bowls while satisfying my never ending craving for a delicious burger. Some fresh & crisp vegetables, a tangy tzatziki (that I am so proud to have made myself!), and grass fed beef. All the best things in this bad boy! My husband was so impressed with tzatziki that throughout the weekend he kept telling me he needs some tzatziki in his life, which lead to me watching him dip any vessel on deck into said tzatziki and polishing it off. Which is always a re-assuring sign that Jordo realllyyy likes something and is not just being polite. I think he really liked this one. & disclaimer - I definitely strayed from the traditional tzatziki. I don't personally love the flavor of dill, which is what is used a lot in Mediterranean cooking, so I played it safe and used parsley. & LOTS of parsley at that to keep it real herb-y. It paid off, and this tzatziki may now need to have a permanent home in my fridge.
For the Burgers & Salad
1 lb grassfed ground beef (best you can find)
1 grated zucchini
2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
6 cups lettuce (I used a combo of arugula and butter lettuce)
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 English cucumber, chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 c. kalamata olives, halved
1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
Your favorite hummus (I love the Mediterranean hummus from Trader Joe's)
2-3 whole wheat flatbreads or pitas, each cut into 6 triangles
EVOO
Salt & pepper
Balsamic glaze
For the Tzatziki
3/4 c. nonfat Greek Yogurt
1/4 c. fresh parsley, minced
1/2 English cucumber, grated
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt & pepper
pinch of cayenne
Prep step #1: Start by making your tzatziki. Take the grated cucumber and place it in a strainer over a bowl and let strain for at least 1 hour to get as much moisture out of the cucumber as possible. After an hour you can use a paper towel to squeeze additional moisture out of the cucumber. In a separate bowl, stir together the yogurt, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and cayenne - just the smallest pinch of cayenne. Gently stir in the dehydrated cucumber. Let sit in the fridge until your ready to assemble your bowls.
Prep step #2: Next we can assemble the burgers. Spread the grated zucchini on a cutting board and pat as dry as possible with a paper bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the zucchini, ground beef, mint, and a tsp of both salt and pepper. Oh course, use your hands to really get in there and fix it well. The zucchini will seem overwhelming, but Set aside in the fridge for all the flavor to get to know each other for at least 1 hour.
When your ready to eat, remove the meat mixture from the fridge and form into 5 equal patties. Heat a skillet over medium-high with about 2 tbsp of EVOO. When the skillet is screaming hot, place the patties on the skillet. Cook for 4 minutes, on each side.
Pour the lettuce into a large mixing bowl and toss with either a drizzle of EVOO pinch of salt or your favorite Greek dressing. You can leave the prepared tomatoes, olives, feta, and cucumbers on a cutting board so everyone can prepare their own bowl. buttttt this is how you do it right:
Place a small handful of lettuce in each bowl
Layer a pinch of tomatoes, olives, feta,& cucumber on top of the lettuce
On one side of the bowl, stack 3 flatbread triangles and a small dollop of hummus
Top the bowl with a burger patty & a spoonful of tzatziki
Finish the dish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze
Ta-da!
