With summer coming on, I have added these Chicken Gyros (pronounced YEE-ROH) to our menu–which by the way I am going to start posting again!  When I used to post my weekly menu, it really helped me stay on track!  Lately I have been a bit of slacker with menu planning and our evening/dinner has suffered:)  So I am getting back on track!  Look for a two week menu here later today ( I am almost done:)  Anyway, these Gyros are light, healthy and oh so good!  And this meal always puts me in the mood for the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”  and saying “Opa!”  I need to introduce that movie to my boys.  There are some classic lines, regarding the ‘Bundt cake’ and’ windex’ that my husband and I quote and our kids join our laughter, but I am pretty sure they think we are weird and have no idea why we think we are so funny!  I guess it is time to whip out our old copy for family movie night:)  But, back to the food…this dish is bursting with flavor,  it is fun to say, and hey, it just may inspire a movie night!  I think your family will enjoy this dinner as much as mine does!  I like to serve it with this homemade pita bread , but you can find it any grocery store if you are not in the mood for baking.  I did recently learn a little fact though…traditional pita bread does not have a pocket in it.  I am so happy to hear that because I find the act of creating a pocket can be very aggravating!!  Next time I will not fill them as shown. It would be much easier to just put the chicken and toppings down the center and fold over.  Either way, these Gyros are a winner!  Opa!!

Chicken Gyros
submitted by Melanie~www.thesisterscafe.com

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. For the the tzatziki sauce, shred the cucumber or you could chop in a food processor. Be sure to wrap the shredded cucumber in a towel and squeeze to remove as much water as possible.  This is VERY important!!  Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
2. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
3. Now for the chicken:  combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until well combined.  Add sliced (or cubed) chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour but overnight is even better!
4. Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips. Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, spinach or romaine, diced tomatoes, feta crumbles and sliced onions. Serve immediately.
   Recipe Source:  Adapted from Annie Eats

Talk about quick and easy… and really tasty too. These yummy meatballs are a favorite with my kids. Meatballs just make spaghetti so much more fun! ;) To be honest I had never made meatballs before… I’m one of those lazy gals that wondered why anyone would ever roll the meat into balls instead of just adding it the sauce!  Well after I tried these at my friends and saw how easy the recipe looked, I thought I would give it a try.  It was a fun change and the kids loved it!  I hope you all enjoy this simple recipe too.

Quick and Easy Meatballs
submitted by Brittany ~ The Sisters Café

1 pound ground beef
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1 egg
1 Tb milk
breadcrumbs to desired consistency (around 1/3 cup)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together, roll into balls about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Place on baking sheet in 350 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Cutest thing to watch my little guys giggling and “fishing” at snack time the other day.  And even better was when my 4 year old slowly munched his way through his celery stick!  Isn’t it funny how a lot of kids have such a hard time with textures and new foods?  I find myself encouraging, bargaining, and then threatening my own little eaters to get them to try new things.  So this snack was a major hit with me along with the little guys.  Anything that fills my kitchen with laughter AND accomplishes eating a new veggie is alright in my book.

Kids in the Kitchen: Celery Fishing Poles and Gold Fish
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

Celery, cut into sticks
Peanut Butter
Gold Fish Crackers

Sprinkle fish crackers on a plate.  Spoon some peanut butter in a mound on the plate.  Then use celery sticks to dip into the peanut butter, and go fishing!

Adapted from Creatively Blooming

So I’ve been seeing these Nutella Banana Ice Cream recipes from time to time on pinterest and floating around on the internet.  I tried a version last year, and it was pretty darn good.  I got glowing reviews from the kiddos, and the adults who tried it liked it too.  So I tried it again last week with half the Nutella, and the popsicles I made were still absolutely yummy and had a strong Nutella flavor.  I doubt I’ll ever make this again with the full cup of Nutella.  The consistency is surprisingly close to ice cream, too.  You can totally scoop it.  And it worked beautifully in my popsicle forms as you can see.  Way healthier than eating Nutella out of the jar.  Oh wait, am I not supposed to admit that?  And I suppose it is way healthier than eating Nutella Ice Cream actually made with cream.  Oh who cares.  Nutella is divine.  And Nutella Banana Ice Cream is super good!  Period.

Nutella Banana “Ice Cream”
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1/2-1 cup Nutella (I like 1/2 cup)
6 medium bananas

Combine Nutella and bananas into a blender or food processor until very smooth. Pour into freezer safe container or popsicle forms and freeze.  Approximately four hours later, enjoy!

Well, it is good to be back!   We have just returned from a work trip to Punta Cana Dominican Republic.    Have you ever been there?  It was beautiful, especially the beaches!  It was a treat to get away but it is nice to be home again with everyone healthy at my house (hurrah)!  After the last few months of sickness and poor health in our family, this really is a reason to cheer!    As you know, two of my boys have been recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease, so I am trying to learn a new way of baking.  I am now always on the lookout for good and healthy gluten free recipes.  My friend Codi gave me the recipe for these wonderful brownies.  She actually brought them over as part of a wonderful dinner for my family after my son’s recent heart surgery.  We were so grateful:)  She told me that the brownies were gluten free and they had beans in them, but that her husband had been her taste tester and thought  they were really good!  I was very intrigued– beans in brownies– Crazy, huh?!  I didn’t tell my boys about the beans, and they gobbled them right up!  I am not sure they would have been so eager if they knew they had garbanzo beans hidden inside!  Ha!  What they don’t know!  Codi kindly shared the recipe and I have since made another batch using milk chocolate chips and they were a big hit again.  We even used them as a base for a hot fudge sundaes we had for one of my son’s birthday dinners–yum!  I am thinking that maybe this gluten free baking is not so bad:)  I would think that even if you are not gluten free and just want a healthier treat, you would enjoy these brownies too!

As part of this same  birthday celebration we saw a  fantastic movie.  I posted a review here, if your interested.  I love finding an inspiring movie, which can be hard these days:)

Have a great week friends!

Fudgy Gluten Free Brownies
submitted by Melanie~www.thesisterscafe.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
3/4 cup Turbinado or Sucanat sugar (I used Turbinado)*
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee( I used Teeccino herbal coffee substitute)**
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Spray a 9 x 9-inch pan with baking spray. Place chocolate chips in a double boiler and melt until smooth.

Combine beans and eggs in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients to food processor until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the baking pan and sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Cool in pan. These are best if they’ve had time to sit overnight (if you can wait).
Yield: 16 squares

*Turbino sugar contains more moisture than regular white or brown sugar. It is pretty easy to find on the baking isle of most grocery stores.  I have even seen it my local Costco recently.  It is a great topping for gingersnaps, snickerdoodles and many cooks prefer it when making graham cracker crusts

**You can leave the coffee out of use Teeccino Mediterranean Herbal Coffee.  I found it at my local health food store.  It is naturally caffeine free and a great replacement for coffee.

Source: Naturally Tasty author Gilda Mulero, Chef and Cooking Instructor via Taste and See blog