Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Greek Meatball Gyros with Tzatziki Greek Yogurt Cucumber Sauce)

Greek style MEATBALLS -- Trim Healthy Mama (THM)

2 pounds of lean ground meat, beef, pork, turkey , venison -- whatever you have on hand

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
salt
pepper
fresh grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2 eggs
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce


Add dry oats, salt, pepper and spices to your Vitamix or Blendtec and pulse 1-2 times. That makes an oat binding flour, seasoned, of course. Add onion, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, and blend again until you have a smooth mixture with no chunks. Now add meat and just pulse quickly to incorporate meat, but don't overblend. 

Place it all into a bowl and mix by hand to make sure it's all evenly incorporated . Don't worry if it looks mushy or runny, it just needs to lay about in the refrigerator for an hour or 30 minutes in the freezer (but don't forget it for much longer or ICE!) Preheat your oven now to 375*.


Use a click release small diameter icecream or portioning scoop and form iquickly nto 1 inch diameter meatballs or use a teaspoon and it goes slower.

Put them on an oiled cookie sheet, not touching. bake for 20ish minutes, at 375*. Cut one in half to be sure it's cooked through, as your cooking time will vary with density of your meatball and choice of meat. If you prefer, you can make this into 20 flatter patties, and use them to make a Gyro sandwich. This makes about 60 meatbals..

These can be Meatball sandwiches, spaghetti and meatballs, or my personal favorite:  Gyro style sandwich: Greek meatballs in a wrap, with lettuce, tomatoes, a little red onion, and topped with Tzatziki sauce. Use a THM plan approved wrap, like half a Joseph's Lavish, or a Low carb whole wheat Mission wrap, or a Joseph's pita, and it's delicious.

If you don't have lettuce or cucumbers, you can drizzle some garlicky greek yogurt, add grilled onions and peppers, chop up some cilantro like this photo. But I do highly recommend the Tzatziki sauce.. you'll love it. PS your kids can eat pitas, and stuff this in regular ones, but do stick with the Joseph's low carb pitas for slimming!






Tzatziki Sauce (Greek yogurt and 

cucumber sauce or salad or dip)


2 Cups thick Nonfat Greek Plain Yogurt
Take a pita or wrap, smear with some of this lovely thick dip, and then add some meatballs (room temperature is fine too) some tomato wedges, some lettuce and onion, and fold in half and enjoy!

2 cups of small dice peel-on cucumbers (prepare by sprinkling with 2 tsp. salt, and put over a colander to drain out extra water, and top with a heavy plate topped with a can of food to weight it down for 30 minutes)
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 finely minced or crushed garlic clove (or 1/2 tsp. powdered dry garlic)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon (1.5 Tablespoons from a jar may be subbed)
1 tablespoon of fresh chopped dill weed, or 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh mint, or use a pinch of crushed rosemary plus a pinch of dried basil plus a pinch of dried dill weed if you don't have the fresh herbs.
 Drain the salted cucumbers, and sprinkle with the herbs you chose, and the garlic. drizzle the lemon juice over the top, and then gently fold in the yogurt. Cover and chill in refrigerator. After it has chilled, stir again and taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Some people use up to 3 cloves of garlic which can make this very spicy. This version is milder, but suit your own taste.