Grilled Vegetables and Chicken Pitas with Tzatziki

(my apologies for the substandard photo)

Grilled Vegetables

cherry tomatoes

mushrooms

zucchini

onion

eggplant

bell pepper

Leave cherry tomatoes and mushrooms whole. Cut other vegetables into large chunks so that all are about the same size. Place all in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with your favorite seasoning blend. Mix to coat all vegetables. Pour into a foil lined broiler pan and place under broiler. Watch closely, and when vegetables begin to char, stir and place back under broiler. Continue until they are done to your taste.

Tonight I served the vegetables in pitas with left over shredded chicken and a fabulous Tzatziki (Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce) found here. YUM!

Not back in the kitchen yet...

I had a little setback, but hopefully will be back in the kitchen soon.

But in the meantime, I wanted to apologize. I just noticed that there are several comments that were left on different posts quite awhile back without my noticing or replying. I'm not an unfriendly sort...really! So thank you all for your nice comments. Glad you could visit, and hope you'll come again.

Sent my hubby to the grocery yesterday...I hope to make something yummy tomorrow.

I have been cooking...really...

I have some surgery scheduled at the end of this week, so I've been cooking and freezing casseroles and soups so that my non-cooking husband doesn't starve or poison me while I recuperate. :) I may be off the computer for a short while.

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 exgra-large eggs
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell*

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, and flour. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add buttermilk, vanilla, and salt. Mix just until blended. Do not overmix. Pour into pie crust. (I always use my favorite pie crust recipe.)

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Do not overbake.

My note: I love buttermilk pie, but some of them are so sweet they make your teeth ache. And some are kind of bland. It took a lot of searching to find a recipe that suited me. This one is from the Luby's Cafeteria 50th Anniversary Recipe Collection. As Goldilocks says, "This one is just right."

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups split peas
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
1/2 to 1 cup ham pieces (I used ends and bone)
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (reduced sodium)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream

Directions:
In a large pot, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery, and ham to pot and saute for a few minutes till onions are translucent. Rinse split peas, and add to pot. Add chicken broth and water, as well as salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for an hour and a half stirring occasionally.

At end of cooking time, remove ham bone (if used) and remove any meat from bone. Add meat back to pot. Stir in 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream. Taste for seasonings, and adjust as needed.

Serve with a crusty bread.

My note: This was my first time to make (or for that matter to even eat) split pea soup. I read several recipes, and none of them seemed to be exactly what I wanted, so I just decided to wing it. Turned out great!

Pasta E Fagioli soup

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 med. onion, chopped

4 carrots, slivered

3 ribs celery, diced

1 24 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 can drained red kidney beans

6 cups beef stock

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

1 1/4 tsp. pepper

2 1/2 tsp. parsley

3/4 tsp. tobasco sauce

3 cups spaghetti sauce (any brand)

4 oz. ditalini pasta, cooked and drained

(Ditalini, or "little thimbles" is a small tubular pasta like a very short macaroni. If you can't find it in your store, macaroni can be used.)

Directions: Brown the ground beef in the oil in a soup pot. Drain if needed. Stir in carrots, onions, celery, and undrained tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain the kidney beans, then stir into the beef mixture. Stir in stock, oregano, pepper, parsley, and tabasco sauce. Simmer for 45 minutes until celery and carrots are tender. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and pasta.

My note: I found this recipe on PamperingBeki while surfing blogs the other day. Made it tonight for the guys, and it was a hit. Really easy too. Because I hate dirtying an extra pan unless absolutely necessary, near the end of the cooking time I just put the dried pasta into the soup, then when it was tender, I added the spaghetti sauce last. Oh, and I had some baby spinach, so I tossed that in at the end too. Even though I'm still full, I'm already looking forward to leftovers! :)

And check out Beki's blog. Today she had some awesome pictures of ornaments from her Etsy shop.

Egg Salad Whimsy

Ingredients:

8 eggs

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish

1 Tablespoon dried onion flakes

1/2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 avocado

Directions:

Place eggs in a small saucepan, cover with water, and add a little salt. Cover pan and bring to a boil, then immediately turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes or more. Drain hot water from pan, then run cold water over eggs. Drain that water off, then put cover back on pan, and holding the cover on the pan, shake vigorously to thoroughly crack all egg shells. Peel eggs immediately under cold running water. This method almost always makes getting the shells off a breeze. Place peeled eggs on a paper towel to remove excess water.

Chop eggs into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients except for the avocado. Stir just until mixed well. Top with sliced avocado right before serving. Serve with toast points or crackers, or as a sandwich filling.

My note: I'm enjoying a newly completed porch and beautiful mild weather, so I decided to have a tea party. Some iced Red Zinger tea was perfect with the salad.