Pita Burgers

If you are looking for a a serious Greek burger, this is not it. But it's tasty, quick on the grill, and a fun change of pace from regular hamburgers, which is just what I was looking for. And since I hate and despise cucumbers, I use diced tomatoes in our creamy yogurt sauce, but you could use cucumbers instead if you prefer.

Pita Burgers

2 cups plain fat-free yogurt
1 (1 oz.) pkg. ranch dressing mix
2 tomatoes, diced**
few dashes lemon juice
pinch or two of salt
few dashes garlic powder
few dashes olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 tsp. salt
6-8 pita bread rounds
shredded lettuce
crumbled feta cheese

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of plain yogurt with the envelope of ranch dressing mix and stir to mix well. Remove half of the mixture to another bowl. Into one of the bowls, add the remaining cup of plain yogurt, diced tomatoes, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder and olive oil; mix well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Preheat grill and lightly oil grate. Mix the ground beef, salt, and the remaining half of the yogurt ranch mixture. Shape into 6 or 8 hamburger patties (depending on your needs). Grill patties on medium heat for 7 minutes each side, turning once. Cut each burger in half. Cut the pita breads in half, and fill with the yogurt-ranch-tomato mixture, shredded lettuce, grilled burger half, and a sprinkling of feta cheese. Eat and enjoy!
**You can use 1 cucumber peeled, seeded and chopped in place of the tomato in the yogurt ranch sauce if you prefer.

Grilled French Bread

We love any excuse to use our grill during the hot summer months, especially since it means I don't have to fire up the oven so the house stays that much cooler. Soft on the inside and a crisp crust on the outside, it's a heavy favorite at my house, and there are never any leftovers. Ever. And frankly, this isn't really a recipe so much as it's a general outline of how we like to heat up a loaf of store bought french bread that we have slathered butter on, wrapped in foil and tossed onto the grill. But it's delicious, so there.

Grilled French Bread

1 (1 lb.) loaf of French bread, sliced
1/2 cup butter melted
foil

Preheat your grill to a medium heat. Lay out your foil, making sure there is enough to completely encase the entire loaf of bread. You may need to use two sheets of foil to so this. With a pastry brush, brush the melted butter on one side of each slice of bread. Stack them upright on the foil, recreating the original loaf shape from start to finish. Wrap the foil around the loaf, making sure none of the bread is exposed. Place the foil covered loaf on the top rack of the grill, close the cover and let cook for about 17-20 minutes. Check it halfway to make sure the heat is not too high or too low and that your bread is warming up properly. When done, remove from the grill, open the foil and enjoy your yummy bread!
*note* you can also add 2 cloves of minced garlic to the melted butter for a yummy garlic bread if you prefer.

Tortellini Primavera

This is a delicious and easy meatless main dish that is great to make on a hot day since you don't need to heat up your house using the oven, this all cooks on the stovetop. When I made this I tripled the sauce part of the recipe and used 2 lbs of tortellini and 4 lbs. total of a frozen cauliflower and broccoli mix for an extra punch of veggies. Every single one of my kids devoured this and went back for seconds, including my meat loving husband. So you may want to consider toying with the tortellini to vegetables ratio for your own family.

Tortellini Primavera

1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
2 TBSP. all-purpose flour
1 TBSP. extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded Italian mix cheese or 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen mixed vegetables (such as broccoli and cauliflower)
1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen cheese tortellini

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the tortellini according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Steam your frozen veggies either in the microwave or on your stovetop, cooking until they are until they are crisp-tender, or to your level of liking. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, whisk broth and flour in a small bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth mixture to the pan, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cheese,parsley and salt. Add cooked and drained tortellini and cooked veggies to the sauce and stir to coat.
Makes about 5 generous 1 cup servings.

S'mores Bars

These simple bar cookies were a huge hit at our family 4th of July party. They were super simple to make, and even easier to devour!

S'mores Bars

4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
1 (10 1/2 oz.) pkg. mini marshmallows
1 (12 oz.) pkg. milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350* F. Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil and spray it with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the crumbs, sugar and melted butter together. Press a generous half of the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan to form the bottom crust. Sprinkle the milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips over the crust. Sprinkle the entire bag of mini marshmallows over top of the chips. Sprinkle the remaining scant half of the crumb mixture over top of the marshmallows, and press down lightly. Bake @ 350* F for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press the top, gently but firmly with a spatula. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, remove the bars from the pan using the edges of foil to lift it out, peel the foil from the edges, cut into squares and enjoy.

Hearty Hash Brown Dinner

With my stove broken, I have been trying to find crock pot recipes that will utilize the current ingredients I have on hand until my range gets fixed. The original recipe was one I found on 'allrecipes.com', and I only modified the ingredient amounts to suit our needs. It looked great going into the crock pot, and smelled great while it was cooking, but it did not look appetizing at all once it was finished. Frankly, it looks like slop. We were all prepared to hate it, and I even apologized in advance to everyone for the awful supper. We all reluctantly took a bite, and we were shocked to find that it's actually quite delicious. In fact my kids raved about it the rest of the time, and all but two went back for seconds. The following recipe is my version and it makes enough to feed all nine of us with no leftovers.

Hearty Hash Brown Dinner

1 (32 oz.) bag frozen hash browns
2 (16 oz.) bags frozen California style vegetable mix
1 lb. ground turkey or beef, browned and drained
1 (26 oz.) can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 - 2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
few shakes each onion powder and garlic powder
16 oz. Velveeta, cubed
1 large can french fried onions

Place the hash browns, veggies and browned ground turkey into a 6 quart slow cooker sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together the soup, milk, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Pour over top of the mixture in the crock pot. Cover and cook in 'High' for 4-6 hours. Stir. About 30 minutes before serving top with the cubed Velveeta, and replace the cover. Once its melted, top with the french fried onions, cover and let sit for about 10 minutes. Serve.
Makes about 8 servings

Kit-Kat Bars

This was a huge hit at the family July 4th party, with every piece devoured before the evening was over. So yummy, and so easy! Also, I used natural peanut butter, as it was what I had in my pantry, and it still came out perfectly.

Kit-Kat Bars

1 cup Butter
½ cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (16 oz.) box Club crackers*
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
⅔ cups peanut butter

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add milk, brown sugar, and white sugar. Bring that to a boil and add graham cracker crumbs. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5-6 minutes. Place a layer of Club crackers on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Pour half of the graham cracker mixture over that. Add another layer of crackers, then the other half of the graham cracker mix, followed by a third layer of crackers. Melt chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter. Use to frost the bars by spreading it evenly over the top layer. Chill in the fridge to help it cool and set. Once chilled completely, cut into small squares and enjoy.
* one (16 oz.) box of Club crackers has 3 sleeves of crackers in it, and for this recipe you will end up using about 2 1/2 of them.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

A yummy recipe Mark sent me that we tried out for our family July 4th party, and it was delicious! Oh so good!

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

3 cups water or beef broth (beef broth adds richness)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 bay leaf
2 pkgs. dry Italian salad dressing mix
3-4 lb. rump roast or chuck roast (chuck shreds better)
sandwich rolls
provolone or Swiss cheese slices

Combine water with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix in a saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil. (You can also simply toss it in the microwave and heat for a few minutes). Place roast in slow cooker, and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat. Cover, and cook on' LOW' for 10 to 12 hours, or on 'HIGH' for 4 to 5 hours. If cooking on low, at the 8 hour mark, use two forks to shred the meat, and then let it continue the rest of the cooking time (if cooking on high, do at about 1/2 hour left); this allows the flavors to really soak into the meat. When done, remove bay leaf. Serve shredded beef on rolls topped with a slice of provolone or Swiss cheese. Enjoy!

Frito Lay Bean Dip

This is a copycat recipe of Frito Lay Bean Dip, and a totally delicious one at that! The best chip with this dip is the Frito's Scoops, yum!

Frito Lay Bean Dip

1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans drained
4 bottled jalapeno slices
1 TBSP. juice from bottled jalapeno slices
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper

Combine drained pinto beans with the other ingredients in a food processor. Puree ingredients on high speed until smooth. Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving.