Move over! Man in the kitchen!

One of the best surprises is when your husband says these few words... "I'll take care of dinner tonight." Another added surprise is when you come home to find him BBQing (this is especially surprising if said BBQ has been sitting in your yard out of commission for months due to lack of propane...) That's totally the cherry on top!

My wonderful spouse ground some lamb, beef and onions with our new meat grinder attachment for our kitchenaid mixer. Forming them into patties, he BBQ'd them up, melting some shredded mozzarella on top.  We took a large piece of pita and spread some homemade hummus over the whole thing and on one half layered some mixed greens, sliced cucumbers, the burger and crumbled feta. Then fold the top half over to make it look like a huge taco. It's a taco/pita/burger. And it's amazing.

For my vegetarian friends, you can omit the meat and make a grilled veggie version with some grilled onions, peppers, tomatoes and lots of yummy cheese. Or if you're feeling adventurous, try making a base for veggie patty by pulsing some onions, carrots, potatoes, sundried tomatoes and other veggies of choice in a food processor. As a matter of fact, even thought I'm (clearly) not a vegetarian, that sounds pretty good, too...

I'll never come between my man and his mission to make a meal!

What to do with leftover lamb?

As the follow-up to my last recipe post about my leg 'o lamb... here is how I ended up using the remaining scraps...

One night I made a pizza. A Greek pizza. Roll out some fresh pizza dough from Trader Joe's. Sometimes I cook pizzas on a regular cookie sheet which I think works just fine. Lightly oil the pan with some olive oil on your fingertips and press the dough into a rectangular shape. Spread some oil on top of the dough and layer on shredded mozzarella, crumbled feta, diced lamb, sauteed onions, roasted garlic and dried oregano. Bake according to the directions on the pizza dough... usually about 10 minutes at 400 degrees but eyeball it until it's done to your desired crispiness.

Feeling like I was close to being "lamb-ed out" the following night I used all of the remaining meat and made lamb stew. Here is my brother, my sous chef, who helped and requested a shout out...

Anyways, here's what you do. Dice up the lamb, as much as you have left, and put in the crock pot along with a sliced onion, a can of garbanzo beans, a can of Italian style diced tomatoes and a carton of beef stock. Sprinkle in some salt, pepper, a pinch of oregano and a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes (I always season more once the dish is done cooking, too, based on what I think it needs.) Because I had limited veggies on hand, I didn't add some "stew staples", but would recommend adding some diced celery, carrots, potatoes or anything else you have laying around. Despite the lack of veggie presence, the stew ended up fantastic so no need to stress. Cook on low for 10 hours and serve with some piping hot Pillsbury Grands biscuits!

Next, take a break from lamb for a while :)

Greek Lamb and Feta Sandwich

We are big fans of Greek food. As a partially Greek gal, I like to keep several items on hand at all times: Greek Seasoning (as I mentioned last week in my pasta post, I discovered that you can order it online! You're welcome), oregano, a block of good feta and olives. With those at your fingertips you can add some Mediterranean flair to just about anything you're cooking up. Once every couple months, we try to make a visit to Papa Cristo's in L.A. to stock up on our Greek groceries and visit our pal, Papa Cristo.

They have a Lamb and Feta Sandwich that is off the charts, in fact it was rated as one of the best sandwiches in Los Angeles. So once I got home from our visit this weekend, I decided to try to recreate it. Here's what you need:

1 leg of lamb (4-5 lbs or so)
Olive oil
Whole garlic cloves
1 onion thinly sliced
Juice from 2-3 lemons
Greek seasoning
1 fresh crusty french baguette
Tzatziki Sauce (I made my own, see recipe below)

First, get started on the lamb. Put some garlic cloves in the meat, using a knife to cut some slits all over. Rub down with some seasoning, olive oil and lemon juice. I top mine with some sliced onions. Depending on the size, you'll want to cook it for 25-30 minutes per pound at 350 degrees, but keep an eye one it. Mine was 4.5 lbs. and I cooked it for about 1 hr. 45 min.

Once the lamb's in the oven, get started on the tzatziki sauce. Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. plain Greek style yogurt
1 cucumber peeled and diced
A few sprigs of fresh dill
2 cloves garlic
A splash of olive oil
Salt to taste

Combine everything in a bowl...

and mix with an immersion blender. Or you could use a regular a blender or food processor. They'll all get the job done. You just want it to look like this:

Put in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the sandwiches. You'll have plenty and it will keep for a few days. It's great to have on hand especially during the summer, too. Yum!

As I completely forgot about our vegetable side for dinner, I threw together some really easy brussell sprouts. Toss some sprouts on a cookie sheet with a diced shallot, some olive oil and S&P, pop them in the oven when the lamb has about 10 minutes left and you're done.

Once the lamb is done, it will look like this:

You'll notice I also put a lamb shank in with the leg, why not. Take a chunk of the meat and carve into bite sized piece to put on the sandwiches. You will have PLENTY of lamb leftover, my plan is to use the rest in a lamb stew crock pot creation next week, stay tuned. To assemble the sandwiches, slice the bread in half and drizzle some tzatziki on each side like so...

Add some feta to one side of the sandwich halves...

And then add the lamb...

Put the top half on the bottom half and press with a panini press for a few minutes, just enough to warm it  and make all the elements blend together.

Slice in half and plate with the sprouts and a small dish of tzatziki for dipping. Can you say amazing??

 Enjoy!!