Greek Orzo Pasta ~ Tailgating Time!

It's week #4 for our Tailgating Time! Come on and join the fun! We have lots of recipes and ideas for all you football fans! Even if we can't tailgate at the stadium we'll have fun right here, join us! Bring over your party dish, special chili or wings, salads, dips or pitcher filled with a punch!

I originally got the idea for this from a pasta salad I got from a deli area in a local health food store. All I had was a list of ingredients, but I liked it because it had lemon juice instead of vinegar. It was a really nice pasta salad so I added a few other ingredients and tweaked it a bit the way I liked it. I do make a similar salad using Quinoa I sometimes add tomatoes to that. So feel free to do the same thing add what you like.

It's nice for a light lunch or a side dish. The seasonings as always are adjustable to your liking, sometimes I will add a few more depending on my mood, but it is easy enough to work with.

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

1 C orzo (uncooked) cooked per package directions

1/4 C Greek Olive Oil (you don't have to use Greek olive oil, but you should try it. it's great).

2 T lemon juice (I didn't have a lemon on hand so I used limes, lemons better)

1 1/2 tsp marjoram (you can use oregano, but I have a lb of organic marjoram so I use it)

1/2 tsp mint (optional)

1 clove garlic minced (or granulated garlic)

1/2 cup spinach leaves chiffonade (cut in thin strips)

1 2.25oz can sliced black olives (or 2oz Greek olives, sliced)

4 oz Feta Cheese

sea salt and fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Set cooked orzo aside and let it cool some. In another bowl whisk olive oil, lemon juice and herbs. Toss with remaining ingredients, end with salt and pepper. Let cool in refrigerator for about 2 hours.
Quick, easy and tasty!

Tailgating Time will be posted every Sunday at noon and open all week until noon the following Saturday for you to add your football favorites. We'll play each and every week until Superbowl Sunday.
Can't wait to see what you bring!

Tailgating Time is brought to you by:
Martha at ~ Seaside Simplicity
Tamy at ~ 3 Sides of Crazy
Me here at ~ The Tiny Skillet

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast

When I saw my good friend Kristy's post on Lychee Chicken Rolls on her food blog it reminded me of a chicken roll that I've made a lot, but haven't made recently. Thanks Kristy! This dish is a nice way to do something different with chicken breasts, it really dresses it up, looks impressive, but is so easy to make. Perfect for a quick easy midweek meal, or a way to impress dinner guests!

I served this with the baked beets I posted yesterday, and (as long as I had the oven on) I threw some cauliflower with olive oil and lemon juice, in another stoneware pan next to it.

First flatten the chicken breasts if you didn't buy the cutlets that are already flat. I just cut these in half and opened it up like a book. I didn't take the time to pound them out to make them all even and thinner, and it worked okay for my family. Lol! You might want to make it look a little nicer if serving it for guests. :D

Season the chicken, I used zaatar (a middle eastern seasoning of sumac, sesame seeds and green dried herbs, like marjoram, thyme, savory and others, there are many different versions) salt and pepper. Then add the the spinach and feta. For my daughter I used provolone and salami, she's okay with a little bit of spinach, but I just left it out of hers this time. The zaatar gave it a nice tang to the spinach.

Roll them up like a burrito and secure them with some cooking twine (I happened to have a lot of this and am so happy to be using it). If you don't have any butchers string you can always use 15 toothpicks ...hehehe! (Kristy that was just for you! and I'm just kidding! I couldn't resist). Try to tuck some of the ends in if you can, but don't worry if you can't, you'll just have some of the cheese ooze out if you are using a melting cheese. It's still good!

Use a skillet that you can put in the oven. Heat a little oil in the pan and brown the chicken on stove top. Finish in a medium heated oven 350 F for about 15 minutes until cooked through.

I really like it when some of the cheese and juices cooks on the bottom of the pan and all those good flavors...mmmmm!

I did get plenty of compliments at dinner, maybe it was after dinner, it was pretty quiet while they were eating! Always a good sign! This is too easy and good not to try it!

Enjoy!