in the kitchen ~ greek tacos w/homemade tzatziki…

Last night I was in the mood for something a little different that would not require a lot of work or time spent in the kitchen. I also needed to use whatever I had on hand. I started thinking I would make just a simple Greek salad since I had a drawer full of spices, feta cheese, jarred kalamata olives, tomatoes and pita bread. 


Then I noticed the pound of hamburger in the fridge that I was intending to make taco meat later in the week. There was a tub of greek yogurt and a lemon as well. Home made tzatziki any one?  It is my husbands second favorite after queso dip. 


Tacos + Greek spices + tzatziki = Greek Tacos. 


Opa! Opa! Opa!


Since I took photo on instagram and posted on facebook, I was bombarded by requests for the recipe. Well, that’s not true. 


Two people asked for the recipe. 


So for those two people, here you go…


Greek Taco Meat
1 pound hamburger meat (or lamb)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cloves of garlic, minced


OR


you can replace the dry spice combo above with  and use 2 teaspoons of Greek Seasoning found in the grocery store spice aisle


Cook hamburger meat and drain off the fat. Add in the fresh garlic (if using), cook one minute. Add in the spices. Serve warm. 


Taco Fixings:
pita bread (sliced in half, like a taco shell)
chopped red onion
chopped tomatoes
feta cheese
finely chopped lettuce
chopped kalamata olives
chopped parsley

Homemade Tzatziki
2 cups greek yogurt
1 English cucumber, grated
rind of one lemon
juice of one lemon
1 clove fresh garlic – grated( I used and microplane)
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped


Grate the English cucumber into a bowl. Add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Let sit one hour. Then, rinse and squeeze out all the water. I mean squeeze out ALL the water. This is a key step. I put the cucumber in a clean kitchen towel and twist it until it stops dripping. 


Place the dry cucumber in a bowel and add in the remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. 


Serve with tacos or use as a dip with pita chips.