Greek Bites!

This blog post is brought to you by my dear friend Erin, author of the Low Fat Sugar Free Whole Wheat Diet Food Blog. She generously contributed jumbo pasta shells, broccoli, and dried figs. I am determined to use them all, and I'm thinking Greek appetizers! Also, I have some cucumbers that need to be used yesterday, so it works out perfectly.
These recipes are designed as part of a set. Each recipe makes 4 small servings, adjust your amounts accordingly.

*GREEK BITES*

Grilled chicken strips with tzatziki

Fig and feta pizza

Greek stuffed pasta shells

...Too much fun. :)

Grilled Chicken Strips with Tzatziki

Chicken:

2 large raw boneless skinless chicken breasts

Vinaigrette dressing

Sauce:

1/2 cucumber, grated

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Prep these together:

Cut each breast into 4 long equal strips. Marinade in dressing for 1 hour in the fridge.

Combine sauce ingredients. Cover and chill in fridge for 1 hour. 

Grill the marinated chicken, or pan fry. Serve with cold sauce.

Greek Stuffed Pasta Shells

8 jumbo pasta shells

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli

1/4 cup finely chopped olives

1 minced garlic clove

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup cream cheese

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup marinara sauce

Boil the shells for 10 minutes. Rinse in cold water and drain open-side down.

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine all remaining ingredients except feta in a bowl. Scoop a small spoonful of the mixture into each shell, and top each shell with feta. Garnish with basil, oregano, or parsley if desired.   Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce into a baking dish. Add shells. Loosely tent with foil and bake for 20 minutes covered, 5 minutes uncovered. 

Fig and Feta Pizza

1 pizza crust (make half of this, rise once, stretch into a pizza crust)

1 Tbsp butter

12 figs, fresh or dried, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 425. 

Melt butter in a skillet and cook the figs for a minute or two. Add honey and balsamic vinegar,  reduce for 4-5 minutes or until the mixture thickens. 

Spread the fig mixture evenly onto the crust and top with feta. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until the crust is browned.