greek

Easy Homemade Yogurt (& Greek Yogurt)

By in Gluten Free, Snacks 19 Comments Tags: , , ,

homemade yogurt

Yogurt. Who knew it was so easy to make at home? Not me. Every time I read a recipe for making yogurt it always required special equipment that I didn’t have. Until now. And you know what? It is so easy and yummy. And, so much cheaper (by at least half)! Plus you can make regular or Greek yogurt depending on what you fancy that week.

We go through a lot of yogurt. We enjoy it in fruit bottom yogurt, smoothies, muesli, cooking, baking, desserts, popsicles and parfaits. We especially love Greek yogurt, but it’s so expensive and all they really do is drain out the whey for you. After trying this recipe, I’m converted. It’s so simple, I’m hoping you will be to.

All you do is heat up milk, let it cool a bit, stir in 2 teaspoons of prepared yogurt, tuck it into your oven for night and in the morning you wake up to homemade yogurt. See? Easy peasy. Get on this!

Easy Homemade Yogurt or Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is thicker and less tart then regular yogurt, and is made by simply straining out the whey. You can decide which way you like it. 

  • 2 quarts milk (your desired %)
  • 2 teaspoons yogurt (with live cultures)

Warm the milk in a medium-sized saucepan, stirring often, until the temperature reaches between 175-180ºF. Allow milk to cool, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches between 100-115ºF. Whisk in the yogurt and pour mixture into a large ceramic or glass bowl, or round casserole dish.

Starting with a cold oven, turn on the heat for one minute just to take the chill off. Cover the bowl of milk/yogurt with plastic wrap or a lid; wrap with a couple kitchen towels and place in the oven, with the oven light on (to keep it warm). Let inoculate for 8-12 hours or until thickened into yogurt. Stir and store in the fridge for regular unsweetened yogurt or strain out the whey for Greek yogurt.

To make Greek yogurt: Line a fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth or a clean dish cloth. Set this over a large bowl. Pour yogurt into the cloth-lined sieve. Allow to strain for about an hour or until the consistency you like (that’s the best part about homemade yogurt, you can make it how you like!). If you are not straining it immediately after you make it, or you will be leaving the house, you can put it in the fridge, it will take a little longer to drain but that’s no biggy. Once drained, pour into a storage container and whisk to smooth it out. Store, covered, in the fridge.

Will keep for at least one week in the fridge.

Good to Know
  1. If your homemade yogurt is fresh enough you can use it as the starter next time. To do this easily, without feeling like you constantly need to be making a fresh batch of yogurt, you can freeze a tablespoon of your fresh homemade yogurt to save as a starter so you can have it on hand to make it when it works best for you.
  2. If you make Greek yogurt you can either discard the whey or put it to use with these smart ideas.

Makes approximately: 7 cups | Greek version makes approximately: 4 cups

I’m avoiding going information heavy in this post because I want you to see just how easy it is to make yogurt. But if you would like to understand more about the process and how it works visit Annie’s Eats and Salad in a Jar, my sources for this yogurt recipe.

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

By in Sides 3 Comments Tags: , , , ,

greek orzo pasta salad

In the summer I crave side dishes that are easy and light. When the weather is gorgeous I want to spend as much time on the patio enjoying the grill and mosquitos, not standing in my house slaving over a hot stove. And, with all those meats, hamburgers and hot dogs cooking on the grill, we need something light and fresh to round it out.

Pasta salad is definitely a summer staple, but I find many of them to be a bit heavy, and every once in a while I like to switch up the flavours. This Greek Pasta Salad goes great with pretty much any grilled meat and the flavours and textures are light, fresh and crisp. In my opinion, a standby recipe for summer grilling.

I should probably mention that the photo above shows quite a bit more olives than are in the actual recipe. My family is crazy for olives so I went a little overboard the first time, haha.

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

The orzo may be substituted with couscous.

  • 1 cup orzo pasta
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 of a red onion, diced small
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 handfuls baby spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions. Strain. Place in a salad bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons dressing. Allow to cool.

Add feta, olives, onion, celery and spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with remaining 1 tablespoon dressing. Add more, if desired, to taste.

Serves: 6

Greek Chicken Kabobs and Salad

By in Main Dish, Meat, Poultry 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Greek Chicken Kabob Salad

I always seem to make salad for supper on the night my husband is most hungry and a hearty meal when he comes home without an appetite. I could be a good wife and let him know ahead of time what we’re eating, so he could prepare his stomach accordingly, but why ruin the surprise? Besides, if I make salad for dinner you better believe there’s going to be dessert. It’s all about balance. :)

The first night I made this we gobbled it down in no time flat and I was craving it for days afterwards. So much so, that I put it on the menu again for the next week.

It uses my favourite Greek Dressing, which is tangy and packed with flavour - it’s a breeze to throw together and stores well at room temperature for quite a while. The chicken is marinated in the dressing, soaking up all that flavour, then threaded onto skewers and cooked on the grill. Throw together a simple salad, with the same dressing, while the meat cooks and you have dinner on the table in no time.

On super-hot days, when appetites are practically non-existent, it makes a light and tasty dinner. But just to make sure, I like to serve it with a side of Foccacia. That way, if James comes home extra hungry he doesn’t have to starve (or eat a double portion of dessert). :)

Greek Chicken Kabobs and Salad

Greek Dressing
  • 1 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1.5 teaspoons pepper
  • 1.5 teaspoons salt
  • 1.5 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1.5 teaspoons dijon
  • 3/4 cup olive oil

Place vinegar, seasonings and dijon in a blender or food processor (or use a handheld blender); pulse to combine. With the blender running, slowly pour in oil and process until creamy (emulsified). Store, covered, at room temperature.

Makes: 1.5 cups

Greek Chicken Kabobs
  • 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into chunks
  • 1/4 cup greek dressing

Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag or tupperware; coat with dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to marinate (or leave at room temperature for 30 minutes).

Thread onto metal or soaked-wooden skewers. Grill over medium heat until cooked through.

Salad
  • 130g baby spinach (8 cups)
  • 1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and chopped
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup cubed feta
  • 1/2 cup olives, cut in half lengthwise
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • greek dressing, to taste

Place spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, olives and onion in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Add dressing and toss again. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Greek Dressing adapted from Allrecipes.

Chunky Cucumber Salad

By in Sides 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Chunky Cucumber Salad

I”m not a great salad person. I love salads, don”t get me wrong, but I seem to enjoy them more as a main dish because you can add things like grilled chicken and black beans. Most of the time they fall flat as a side dish for me since I seem to have absolutely no creativity when it comes to vegetables. (Fruity salads on the other hand don”t seem to be a problem.) One of my goals is to try to find more side-salads to add to my repertoire. So, if you know any good ones feel free to shout them out!

We”ve been making this salad since last year. It started out as just a cucumber and tomato salad since the guys love cucumber. Then we made a few more additions and turned it into a favourite. So much so that it”s pretty much the only salad we eat. And so far we haven”t gotten tired of it (that”s saying a lot).

I wasn”t sure what to call this salad. It”s pretty reminiscent of a greek salad but it tastes nothing like it since it”s coated in ranch dressing rather than a greek vinaigrette. It goes great with pretty much any main dish or grilled meat and it takes advantage of those plentiful summer cucumbers and tomatoes.

One thing I have learned is that the key to a tasty salad is seasoning the vegetables with salt and pepper before dressing. This seriously makes all the difference and I strongly encourage you to try it in all your savoury salads.

What”s your go-to salad at dinnertime?

Chunky Cucumber Salad

Feel free to adjust the amounts to your taste. I always just toss things in until it looks good, so this is an estimation of the amounts you use. Do what”s best for you.

  • 1 english cucumber, quartered and chopped

  • 1 heaping cup cherry tomatoes, halved

  • salt and pepper, to taste

  • 1/4 cup (heaping) olives, sliced lengthwise

  • 1/2 cup chopped feta

  • 1 cup croutons

  • 2 tablespoons ranch dressing

  1. Place cucumbers and tomatoes in a medium-sized bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. Add olives, feta, croutons and dressing. Toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Feeding a crowd? To make this salad stretch further add a head of chopped romaine lettuce.