Monday, April 19, 2010

Gyros...A lot easier to make at home than trying to find a Greek restaurant!!

My mother-in-law, father-in-law and I stopped at a little snack shop one day while I was pregnant and tried a Gyro for the first time.  Let me tell you, I was in loooooooove.  I haven't had one since...it's been a long two years....but I finally found a recipe that sounded easy enough to do myself.  The recipe I found was from Alton Brown on Food Network, and the recipe for the Tzatziki Sauce to go with it I found on my web-friend's blog The Frugal Gourmom.  I changed both recipes around a little to make them quicker and easier...to fit into my time limits...plus things I could actually afford to buy!!! (Ever notice how Food Network stars expect us to be as rich as they are?!?!?)  So, here are my "adapted" versions of the recipes...

YOU WILL NEED:

GYRO

1 lb ground veal
1 lb ground turkey
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp rosemary 
1/2 small onion
1 large clove garlic
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 package pita pockets
shredded lettuce, for topping
chopped tomatoes, for topping
sliced onion, for topping


SAUCE:
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cucumber
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder


*MAKE YOUR SAUCE FIRST!!!! This the flavors all have time to meld together, so it's even better if you make it in the morning, or best yet, the night before!
*Grate your half cucumber and sandwich between layers of paper towels.  Press down, and keep replacing paper towels until the cucumber is as dry as you can get it!
*Combine ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready :)
*For your sandwiches, chop the onion as fine as you can, then press between paper towels to get out as much of the water as possible (I never knew onions had so much water in them until today!) Mince the garlic and rosemary.
*Combine veal, turkey, onions, rosemary, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and mix together with your hands until all is combined evenly.  The meat will be really sticky!  I was kind of weirded out by the texture at first, but it gets better after it cooks!!
*Spray a skillet and get HOT HOT HOT!!!  Pat meat out to the size of your pitas, but get it as thin as you possibly can.  Drop into the hot skillet and let get very brown on each side, then flip.  This recipe will make about 12-16 pita-sized patties.


*Split open your pitas, spread in some of the Tzatziki Sauce, then put in your patty.  Add lettuce, onions and tomatoes.  I also liked a little extra sauce to dip my sandwich in.
 

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Family Cookbook

So, I"ve decided that the immediate family is getting copies of our family cookbook, but for everyone else, or people who live too far away, I'm going to type up the recipes as I get the time on here, so the WHOLE family can actually get this :)

Monday, April 12, 2010

A Week of Milestones

A big week this week!

Last Friday (April 9th) was John and I's 5 year wedding anniversary.  Things are still rough going though, so we didn't really do anything.  I made Nana's Steak & Gravy for him for dinner, he played his Xbox and I worked on the family cookbook.

We had a few big discussion this week, namely on whether or not we're going to stay together.  Sadly, it's starting to look in the "not such a good chance" direction.  I love John, and I love having a family with him, but I'm just not happy any more, and evidently he isn't willing to change the things I'm not happy WITH.  I'm trying my hardest to change the things he said he was unhappy with, but evidently it's not having as much of an effect as I was hoping it would.  Many of the things are things I haven't really had a CHANCE to prove I can change on, but somehow....I don't really even think it matters anymore. 

Whether this relationship wins or loses, I'll always be thankful for the time I've had with him.  It's been a great almost-7 years, and we have a beautiful daughter out of it.  We've had our good days and our bad ones, but they've all been memory makers, and I don't regret one second of our time together.

So every night I pray that things will magically be different in the morning, but somehow, having a man who barely touches me and would rather go to movies with his friends than me....isn't exactly my idea of a healthy marriage.  I get that we each need our alone time, but well....mine so far HASN'T been scheduled during important times.  Oh well, on to a different topic.

Charlee had her first allergic reaction Saturday.  She woke up covered in HUGE hives all over her body.  They've kept on getting worse, so we went to her doctor today, who's brilliant revelation was "she's allergic to something".  Dear God, the angels must have whispered it in her ears...no one else could have EVER came to that conclusion.  Gee, can you sense the sarcasm here?!?!?

So, I'm going to call her allergist and see if we can reschedule her appointment from next week to THIS week, see if maybe HE can have an educated guess and figure out what she's reacting to that's causing her to look like this!


Next big deal...tomorrow, Charlee Jean will be 18 months old!!! It's hard to believe that I went to bed 18 months ago tonight, not realizing it was my last night without a baby to watch!!  I remember the nesting instinct kicking into high gear and knowing it was coming soon, but not realizing it would be within a few hours LOL.

Today was also Charlie's birthday.  How I miss my "DeDee" and wish he was here to see his namesake!  He would love and spoil her just as much (if not more) than he did me and Katie when we were kids.  The day Nana introduced us to him, was the best day ever!!!  He stepped in and really took up where our other grandpas had lacked.  He was the greatest guy, and was always there to help with whatever the problem was...and he could fix anything in the world.  I miss him every day, but I know he's still around here watching over us. 

It's so crazy, some mornings I'll wake up to Charlee talking in her room, and when I get her up, I'll ask her what she was doing, or who she was talking to, and she'll say "DeDee".  It's sweet, and I REALLY think it's him here, because when the rest of us talk about him, we always just call him Charlie now.  I like to think he's her guardian angel, because I SWEAR I could smell his cologne in the delivery room!

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About Me

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SAHM to a beautiful, wonderful, miracle princess named Charlee Jean. Married to my high school sweetheart for over 6 years now, and expecting another miracle baby in October 2011