Time to go BOATING!

It’s summertime! In our family that means getting on the boat as much as possible! We went to the Greek Isles earlier this year, and other than the incredible views everywhere we went, the food was the thing! Remembering amazingly fresh seafood, chicken, pork, and oh those tomatoes!!!

One of my favorite dishes while there was Chicken Souvlaki. Tender chicken marinated in an olive oil (fresh from Greek olives naturally)/garlic/lemon base then grilled to perfection and served with fresh tzatziki is my idea of Heaven!

So, when I came across this recipe, I absolutely had to make it to try and transport myself to Mykonos, if only for a meal… Sigh…

I’m making the chicken souvlaki into Gyros for this dinner. I’ll make everything in advance and wrap the warm chicken in foil and head off. Easy peasy to set up a “gyro station” on the boat and enjoy a delicious meal. Simple brownies will round out the dinner.

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI GYROS

(Adapted from Closet Cooking)

1 lb boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lemon, juiced and tested

1 TBSP Greek plain yogurt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Mix the garlic, lemon, yogurt, EVOO, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Marinate the chicken in the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes to overnight.

Place the chicken on skewers.

Grill the chicken over medium-high heat until cooked, about 2-4 minutes per side.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated and squeezed to drain on paper towels

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TBSP fresh dill, chopped

2 TBSP lemon juice (~1 lemon)

salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, and let chill in the refrigerator at least one hour.

GYROS

2 pitas, cut in half with pockets opened

1 lb chicken souvlaki, warm

2 tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup red onion, sliced

1/4 cup tzatziki sauce 

1/4 cup fresh feta, crumbled

2 roasted red peppers sliced

Assemble the gyros with above ingredients and ENJOY!

KAHLUA BROWNIES IN A PINCH

This recipe is hands down THE EASIEST RECIPE EVER!  The key is buying a pre-packaged brownie mix that’s really good.  I always use Ghirardelli, and I especially love the Double Chocolate one that includes chocolate chips in the mix, and there is no Trans Fat in there.  It tastes as close to homemade as you can get I think.

SO the only difference is that you add Kahlua to the mix instead of water.  Everything else is the same.  It’s over the top delicious!

1 box Brownie Mix (18oz)

1/4 cup Kahlua

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

Preheat 350 degrees F.  Grease an 8×8 or 9×9 pan.

Put the kahlua, oil and egg in a medium bowl and stir until mixed.  

Then add the dry brownie mix, and stir until well blended and no dry mix shows. 

Spread the mixture (it will be very thick) into the prepared pan.

Bake for 31-38 minutes in an 8×8 pan or 27-33 minutes in a 9×9 pan. Check these as they are getting near the end of cooking, as you don’t want to overcook!

Brush top with additional kahlua if desired.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

You can easily fix these in advance and freeze until ready to serve.