These are my favorite Greek Chicken recipes you’ll want to add to your dinner plans.

Greek Chicken Kabobs

In this recipe, I alternated chicken with summer yellow zucchini. Feel free to switch the vegetables and for a twist try add fresh peach slices.

These only take about six minutes to grill. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice. RECIPE HERE

Greek Chicken Thighs on the Grill

Grilled Greek Chicken Thighs can be done either reverse sear (my choice) or direct grill. Reverse sear is longer, but worth it. RECIPE HERE

Ingredients for Greek Chickenb Marinade

This marinade is so good. I suggest you do use the honey at the end and don’t skip the dill. You will marinate chicken in half, and reserve the other half for the end.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fresh Lemon Juice
• Fresh Oregano (dry if you don’t have)
• Fresh Thyme
• Fresh Garlic
• Fresh Dill (DON’T SKIP THE DILL)
• Honey (optional, put on in marinade that is used for serving).

Grilled Spatchcock Chicken with Greek Chicken Marinade

You can grill the chicken or roast in the oven. You can either prepare a whole chicken spatchcock style or buy it at already prepared (Bell and Evans sells spatchcock chicken at Whole Foods). If you prepare it yourself, you cut the backbone out with a sharp knife, press down and flatten the chicken. Rinse in cold water. Dry with paper towel before marinating. RECIPE HERE

Serve with this delicious Greek inspired cauliflower.

Summer Vegetable Recipes

• Grilled Zucchini
• Honey Baked Goat Cheese Salad
• Green Salad Blackberry Corn
• Grilled Corn and Tomato Salad
• Triple Crunch Cabbage Salad
• Olive Feta Salad

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Grilled Spatchcock Chicken, Greek Style

Greek Style herbs and honey marinated Spatchcocked Chicken on Grill

Course Entree

Cuisine Greek

Keyword Greek Chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Marinade Time 3 hours hours

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cups olive oil
• 1 lemon zest and juice
• 1 tablespoons fresh oregano chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon honey (use at end)

Instructions

Marinade

• Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and all herbs except the fresh dill.
• Use 1/2 marinade to marinate chicken for up to one day or at least one hour. Reserve the other half for once chicken is cooked.

The post Greek Chicken Marinade with Recipes for the Grill appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Try this for your next fancy spring dinner, or maybe even part of your Easter holiday.

Grilled lollipop lamb chops using the reverse sear method opened up a whole new way for me to approach meat. It was spectacular.

What is a lollipop lamb chop?

There are three types of  lamb chops. The lollipop chop cut off of what we know as the rack of lamb has the long thin bone, is the most tender, and most expensive chop. You want to cook this right! You can find an affordable rack of lamb at Costco.

The average price is around $18 and will feed two or make four lollipop lamb chops with double bones. I know that’s expensive, but this same dish out in a restaurant will cost an average of $30 per person, and I promise you, if you follow this recipe, it will rival any fine dining.

What is a reverse sear?

A reverse sear means you cook the meat first up to a certain internal temperature low and slow or on indirect heat, and sear the outside on high heat at the end. I had no idea it would make such a difference, but it does. The chops were tender and juicy, and perfectly seared. I’ll never go back to my old way of doing things.

How do you prepare the lollipop lamb chops for the grill?

The first thing you need to do before you cut the chops on the rack is trim all the fat and remove the silver skin, that very thin transparent sheath. Then salt the lamb and if you choose, marinate. 

Should I marinate my lollipop lamb chops?

• If you have the time to marinate, use some chopped garlic and olive oil, perhaps some herbs like rosemary and thyme.
• Salt your chops first to increase their flavor.
• Marinate up to three hours. I’ve made successful chops marinating for only twenty minutes using this method.
• Cook to medium rare to medium. Anything past medium and the lamb tastes gamey.

What is mint pistou?

Mint pistou is made with only garlic, mint, parsley,  and olive oil. Pistou is different from pesto which contains nuts, as I did here with a pistachio mint pesto. Either of these would be great with this lollipop lamb chops but I prefer the pistou for simplicity.

Recipe for Mint Pistachio Pesto here. Notice the nuts. Leave those out and you have pistou. 

How do you reverse sear grilled lollypop lamb chops?

• Once you are ready to grill, heat only one half of the side of the grill.
• You will be placing your chops on medium indirect heat, the side with no fire. Leave your lamb chops there until the internal temperature reaches 115 Degrees F.
• Turn that other side of the grill up to high and move the chops over to the direct heat.
• Grill about one minute per side.

What temperature should we eat lamb at?

We want a pink inside with a well done, seared outside, either medium rare or medium.  

• Lamb is done medium rare when the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F. and is my preference.
• Lamb is medium when the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F. 

Allow to rest for ten minutes. Top with Mint pistou. 

This is a delicious, easy recipe, one I know you will make over and over, once you get the love for the reverse sear as I have. 

You may also love this post: Seven Scrumptious Lamb Recipes You Need to Make Now

What sides go well with lamb chops?

• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cider Vinaigrette
• Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette  
• Lemon Dijon Roasted Potatoes
• Dijon Garlic Roasted Potatoes
• Smashed Buttery Fingerling  Potatoes

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Grilled Lollipop Recipes, Reverse Sear, Mint Pistou

How to do a reverse sear for a medium rare grilled lollipop lamb chops.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword lamb, lamb chops, lollipop lamb chops, mint, pistou

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Marinating Time 1 hour hour

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

Lollipop Lamb Chops

• 1 rack of lamb about 8 bones
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Marinade (optional)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rosemary chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped

Mint Pistou

• handful fresh mint
• handful fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 lemon juice and zest
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Prepare Lamb Chops

• Trim the fat off of the lamb. Lamb rack is covered in thick fat and silver skin. It will take about 15 minutes to carefully trim. I leave the meat around the bones on.
• Cut rack into 4 lollypop chops (two bones each).
• If you decide to marinate, mix marinade ingredients together and set lamb in dish with marinade. I only marinated for twenty minutes and chops were very tender. Marinate up to three hours.

Reverse Sear Grill Lamb Chops

• Take lamb chops out of refrigerator 30 minutes in advance to take the chill off of them.
• Light one half of gas grill on medium heat. Place lamb on indirect heat until the internal temperature is 115 F. degrees.
• Turn the other side of grill up to high. It's time to sear. Place chops on the hot side of grill for one to two minutes per side until the internal temperature is at 135 degrees for Medium Rare. Or if you prefer, 145 degrees for medium.
• Allow to rest for at least five minutes before eating.

Mint Pistou

• Mix all ingredients except salt and pepper in blender.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lamb.

The post Grilled Lollipop Lamb Chops, Reverse Sear, Mint Pistou appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

We quickly looked up a few recipes and made garlic confit. They he and the boys ate nearly a loaf of sourdough bread with the softened garlic. You can call that a good day.

Since then, I thought of of a way to improve that first go around. But before I get into that let’s answer a few questions about garlic confit.

What is Garlic Confit?

Confit is cooked covered in fat. Duck confit is slowly cooked in duck fat. It was a method of preservation. Vegetables can be cooked confit style slowly cooked in olive oil.

Garlic confit is peeled, covered in olive oil and either cooked very slow and low on top of the stove or in the oven.

How Long Does Garlic Confit Last?

Although confit was originally discovered for preservation, I suggest making garlic confit in small batches and eating within a reasonable time.You can keep your garlic confit in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and frozen for up to 3 months.

How Do You Peel Garlic?

My method is simple. I put the garlic heads in a stainless bowl, cover it with another bowl and shake up and down. The skins will fall off. Please don’t buy pre-peeled garlic. Use fresh whole garlic heads for this recipe (or any recipe). Pre-peeled garlic goes rancid quickly.

How to Make Garlic Confit in the Oven

• Peel garlic.
• Put in oven proof dish. I use an onion soup crock so I can pile up the garlic cloves and completely cover with olive oil.
• Add olive oil and some peppercorns.
• Add fresh thyme sprigs.
• Bake at 275 degrees F for 1 hour until the cloves turn soft and golden.
• Spread on bread and be in heaven.

How to Use Garlic Confit

• Spread on Sourdough Bread.
• Add to ground meat, like meatballs. The sweetness of garlic confit is better than adding raw garlic. I did this yesterday and so yum.
• Add to soups, stews, tomato sauce.
• Spread on steak
• Add to mashed potatoes.
• Add to cooked vegetables like eggplant spread or white beans dip.
• Spread on burger buns or hoagie buns.

Store in airtight jar in the refrigerator.

Don’t forget to try duck confit.

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Garlic Confit

Garlic Confit, baked in olive oil and thyme to spice up your favorite dishes.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Keyword garlic, garlic confit

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 3 garlic heads
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 1 cup olive oil more if needed
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns

Instructions

• Peel garlic cloves. An easy way is to place garlic in stainless steel bowl. Top with another stainless steel bowl and shake. The peels will come off.
  
• Place garlic cloves in oven proof bowl. I used a soup crock. Top with olive oil. Cover with foil.
  
• Bake at 400 degrees F. for about 1 hour, 15 minutes, until garlic is golden and softened.
  
• Store in jar in refrigerator for up to two weeks.
  

The post How to Make Garlic Confit in the Oven appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This is only the second time I’ve made duck confit. The first time I used a crock pot. This time I discovered making duck confit in the oven is more optimal if you have the luxury of baking in the oven for 3 hours.

What is Duck Confit?

Confit is French for preserve. When we refer to anything “confit” we refer to food salted and cooked in its own fat using a technique that was originally meant to preserve meat.

This cooking technique goes back at least five centuries as hunters and cooks would salt the meat, cook and preserve in its own fat. Stored in a cool place, the meat could be preserved for months.

We no longer need to worry about preserving meat for months, but the technique is still used, especially with duck legs which require a long cooking time. Other meats that you can confit include goose, pork belly, turkey, brisket. Sometimes you will see even vegetables confit or another favorite, garlic confit, (baked in olive oil).

Baked Vs. Slow Cooker

Now that I’ve made baked duck confit and the slow cooker method, I prefer baked. When the duck is baking even at a very low temperature, the skin browns a little. The slow cooker method is great if you’re wanting the meat for pasta or tacos, but it’s harder to keep the legs from falling apart.

Best Process for Oven Baked Duck Confit

• Step 1 – Salt duck legs. Prepare herb mixture and marinate duck overnight.
• Step 2 – Arrange duck legs in roasting pan. If using duck fat, heat and pour over duck legs. They should be fully covered. You can use olive oil if you don’t have duck fat and will not need to heat.
• Cover with foil. Bake at 190 degrees F. for 3 hours. Remove foil for last hour.
• Step 3. Heat a cast iron pan to high heat. Brown the duck legs skin side down to get a very crispy skin. I cover with parchment and place a heavy pot for about a minute. You could also cover a brick with foil. The point is to press down the duck legs to ensure crispy skin.
• Serve with prepared white beans, side of fingerling potatoes and a simple salad with vinaigrette to cut through the richness.

Garlic Rosemary White Beans

Beans are a great accompaniment to duck confit. Cannellini beans are especially creamy and serve as a great foundation to the dish, but you can use any kind of canned white beans.

• Plan on three to four cans of beans to four duck legs.
• Rinse beans under cold water, removing excess sodium. Drain well. Dry with paper towels.
• Heat olive oil and sliced garlic in frying pan.
• Add beans to olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
• Top beans with chopped rosemary.
• Top with more olive oil if needed before serving.
• Serve duck over a bed of beans.

What to Serve with Duck Confit

A simple salad with a lemon thyme vinaigrette is a perfect side for such a rich dish.

• Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette
• Red Wine Shallot Vinaigrette

Favorite Baking Tools for this Recipe

• Oxo Baking Dish with Lid (My favorite as it’s great for storing)
• Tongs for Turning the Duck Legs
• Mezzaluna My Favorite tool for chopping herbs

More Recipes

• Stovetop Chicken Thighs with White Wine
• Chicken White Bean Soup
• Duck Confit with Lentils in Slow Cooker

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Oven Baked Duck Confit with Garlic Rosemary White Beans

How to Make Duck Confit in the Oven with Rosemary White Beans

Course Entree

Cuisine French

Keyword duck, Duck confit, duck legs

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Marinating Time 12 hours hours

Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

Duck Legs

• 4 duck legs with thigh
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 shallots sliced
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme thyme, sage, rosemary
• 1 cup duck fat See Notes for Substitute
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley for ending garnish

Garlic Rosemary White Beans

• 3 cans white beans see notes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 squeeze lemon
• dash red chili flakes
• 2 rosemary

Instructions

Duck Legs

• Marinate Legs in fresh herbs, salt, pepper, overnight. Rub garlic onto the meatiest part of the legs.
• If using duck fat, gently heat before pouring over duck. If using olive oil, no need to heat.
• Rinse off under cold water. Use large baking dish for oven. Don't overlap and make sure you fully submerge in fat.
• Oven Bake: 290 degrees F. for 3 hours, prior to taking out of the fat and crisping.
• Crisping Duck: FRY METHOD: You can transfer skin-side down to frying pan to crisp skin. You can place something over to press duck into frying pan. I take parchment and then place heavy pot over the duck to ensure a crispy skin. BROIL METHOD: You can place duck skin side up under the broiler.
• Save the fat. You will now have some duck fat. Drain and freeze.
• Freeze: You can freeze the duck confit in the fat prior to crisping skin for up to three months. Defrost and then follow instructions for crisping.
• Rosemary Garlic White Beans
• Rinse canned beans and drain well. Dry with paper towels to get most of water off.
• Slice garlic thinly and cook in olive oil until golden. Add beans. Season with salt, pepper, chili flakes. Hit with squeeze of lemon.
• Add chopped rosemary and stir.
• Serve crispy duck over white beans.

Notes

Herbs: Use fresh thyme and Bay Leaf for Duck. Add in some sage if you have it. 

Fat: Duck fat is expensive. You can use a light olive oil or avocado oil in its place. I  also used a little broth in the crock pot. 

Lentils:  Use French Lentils or Brown Lentils. 

The post Oven Baked Duck Confit with Garlic Rosemary White Beans appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

You may be asking the same thing I was asking when you saw this recipe for grilled lamb loin chops with mint chimichurri. Allow me to answer a few general questions you might have.

Lamb Loves Mint

I love that my deck is full of fresh herbs, and I always have one pot devoted to mint. It’s great for drinks, lemon water, pesto, pistou, garnish and more.

What are Lamb Loin Chops?

These chops come from the loin, which is located between the ribs and the leg of the lamb. They are thicker than rib chops and have more meat.

Kitchen Items in this Recipe

• Herb Chopper
• Tongs for Grilling
• Pan for Grilling Vegetables (game changer for grilling asparagus)

What is difference between Lamb Chops and Lamb Loin Chops?

• Lamb Loin Chops are thicker and more meaty.
• Lamb Loin Chops are a more affordable cut.
• Lamb Chops cut from the rack of lamb are more tender, a little more flavorful, but do come with a hefty price.

First of all, just looking, you can see the difference. The lamb chops you are probably most familiar with come from the rack of lamb, and the chops are recognizable by a long thin rib bone. They are considered more flavorful, more tender, and while true, this should not rule out the lamb loin chop (similar to the T-bone steak), which is more meaty and equally delicious.

More Recipes You Might Like

• Lollipop Lamb Chops
• Greek Feta Lamb Meatballs with Mint Pesto
• Skirt Steak with Chimichurri
• Za’atar Rack of Lamb
• Mint Pistachio Pesto
• Blackberry Mint Julep
• Hunger Games Lamb Stew
• Lamb Party Bites

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Grilled Lamb Loin Chops with Mint Chimichurri

Grilled Lamb Loin Chops Reverse Sear, delicious South American Condiment, Mint Chimichurri

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword chimichurri, lamb, lamb loin chops

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Marinate Time 2 hours hours

Servings 4

Ingredients

Skirt Steak

• 6 lamb loin chops
• 1/4 cup chimichurri for marinade

Chimichurri

• 1 cup fresh Italian parsley finely chopped
• 1 cup fresh mint
• 1 lemon zested and juiced
• 1/4 orange zested and juiced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch red chile flakes
• sea salt
• black pepper

Instructions

Chimichurri

• Finely chop parsley, mint and garlic.
• Zest lemon and orange onto the herbs.
• Juice lemon and orange.
• Add all ingredients to olive oil.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Make chimichurri advance to use some of it for marinade.. Use a few tablespoons of this to marinate the skirt steak.

Grill Lamb Loin Chops

• Take 1/4 of the chimichurri and marainate lamb loin chops for 2 hours up to overnight.
• Take lamb chops out of refrigerator 30 minutes in advance to take the chill off of them.
• Light one half of gas grill on medium heat. Place lamb on indirect heat until the internal temperature is 115 F. degrees.
• Turn the other side of grill up to high. It's time to sear. Place chops on the hot side of grill for one to two minutes per side until the internal temperature is at 135 degrees for Medium Rare. Or if you prefer, 145 degrees for medium.
• Top with chimichurri.
• Allow to rest for at least five minutes before eating.
• Season again with salt and pepper as needed.

The post Grilled Lamb Loin Chops with Mint Chimichurri appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

What is Braciole?

Braciole is thin slices of steak, (round or flank) stuffed with parmesan, garlic, parsley, prosciutto and bread crumbs, browned and braised in a tomato sauce. I skip the bread crumbs and I add wine and broth to the tomato sauce and allow it to cook down for several hours. You end up with a flavorful and tender Italian braised steak.

This is a simple dish, which helps to stretch the budget, using a less expensive cut of meat. I like to make this with flank steak, but round steak is cheaper and will still be delicious if you opt for that.

However, you must use fresh parsley, freshly chopped garlic and a very good cheese such as pecorino romano or parmigianna reggiano.

Often a braciole recipe will call for prosciutto, which is a nice addition and adds more flavor like these prosciutto meatballs. I’ll leave that as an option. Prosciutto is expensive and as prices are today, I found that chopped pepperoni is a great addition. Make your own simple tomato sauce from scratch, which is nearly just as easy as opening a jar. Trust me.

You can choose to serve braciole with pasta, mashed potatoes or just an Italian salad and bread. This is a dish that is better the next day, and one in which you should make plenty and freeze.

When I made this braciole recipe a few years ago, I got kids involved. They enjoy the pounding, stuffing and wrapping in string. Please do engage your family in the kitchen. I know, I  say this all the time, but it’s one of the few joys in life and makes amazing memories.

How to Pound Steak for Braciole

You can use flank or round steak. I use round steak, which is not that easy to pound. If either steak is too thick, try to get your butcher to slice through it butterfly style.

Put the meat on either parchment sheets or a plastic cutting board with colored mats that you only use for meat. I like this set from Amazon. Use a meat pounder like this (which I’m an Amazon affiliate).

If your round steak is not wide enough to roll from short side up, roll it cross wise. You will need to use string. If I can roll it all in one piece, I will do that and then cut it into more individual pieces. These are easier to fry and put into the sauce. Don’t worry how it looks. By the time it’s fried, braised and sauced, it will look delicious.

Don’t worry if your rolled steak does’t look good before you fry it. Just make sure it’s tied enough to be able to fry without falling apart. Once it is in the sauce, it will look just fine. Serve with more sauce, and smattering of cheese and parsley.

Add wine and broth (beef or chicken) to the Sauce to add more flavor, and let the braciole cook for hours. You’ll know it’s ready when you jab at with a fork and it wants to comes apart.

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More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Italian Pork Chops
• Italian Pork Steak
• Beef Ragu
• Brined Pork Roast
• Italian Cheese Stuffed Meatballs
• Italian Pot Roast
• How to Cook Pasta Like an Italian
• Mashed Cauliflower for Low Carb Option

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Authentic Braciole (Stuffed Rolled Steak)

Flank or Round Steak stuffed with parsley, cheese and garlic, braised in tomato sauce.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Keyword braciola, braciole, flank steak, round steak

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
• 2 pounds flank steak or round steak
• 1/2 cup Itallian Parsley chopped (more for garnish)
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup Pecorino or Parmesan freshly grated (more for garnish)
• 1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs optional
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Tomato Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 28 ounce cans San Marzano whole tomatoes
• 1 cup broth or water can be beef or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Steak

• Pound steak very thin. Depending upon the size of steak, you may get more steak slices. You may stuff two large pieces and then you will roll lengthwise and cut into pieces.
• If you are using prosciutto, lay a piece across the steak before filling.
• Chop parsley, mince garlic, grate pecorino or parmesan cheese together along with pepperoni.
• Add this mixture to center of each piece.
• If you want to add a little heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
• Roll up from short side to long. You might also roll lengthwise as stated above, depending on what is easier.
• Tie with string. If rolling lengthwise in large piece, cut Into pieces before tying. You will will get 6 to 8 pieces.
  
• Fry in large frying pan, browning all sides.
• I prefer to make my sauce separately and add braciole to pot.

Tomato Sauce

• Add olive oil and a few garlic cloves to pan. Remove garlic once it turns golden.
• Using hands squeeze tomatoes into oil, along with the juice.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add browned braciole to sauce and braise on low for 2 to 3 hours.
  
• Remember to remove string before eating.
• Freeze: Braciole freezes well and can be reheated in oven or microwave.

The post Braciole Recipe, Italian Stuffed Steak appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

What is Compound Butter?

Compound butter is butter mixed with ingredients to add flavor. Examples would be herbs, perfect for proteins or vegetables, or made sweet with ingredients such as honey, maple syrup, and fruit, perfect for breakfast and bread items.

How Do You Make Compound Butter?

• Make sure your butter is soft. I prefer unsalted.
• Chop fresh herbs very finely and mix in a little at a time to get the amount you like. A tablespoon of chopped herbs for 1/4 cup butter is a good ratio, but you might prefer more or less, depending on what the herb is.

How to Roll Compound Butter

Shape your butter into a roll on plastic wrap. Twist the ends, and freeze. Freezing makes it easier then to cut into pats of butter to use with your favorite foods.

What is the Best Compound Butter for Steak?

My favorite compound butter for steak is compound butter made with thyme. Thyme is my all around favorite herb. If you could only have one herb, thyme is the most versatile.

Thyme Compound Butter

Making Thyme Butter – Make sure you take the little green leaves off of the woody stem first.

Another good compound butter for steak is garlic or garlic parsley compound butter.

Garlic Compound Butter

Mince your garlic very fine before adding to butter.

• Garlic Compound Butter – One garlic clove per 1/2 cup butter is a good measurement, but more if you really want more. Add herbs such as parsley or thyme.

Recipes that Benefit from Compound Butter

• New York Strip Steak
• Roast Chicken (I just recently put a pat of herbed butter on a roast chicken during last ten minutes, and it was amazing)
• Whipped Cauliflower Mash
• Our Best Steak Recipes

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Compound Butter

Compound Butter with various herbs, perfect for steaks, veggies, etc.

Course condiment

Cuisine American

Keyword compound butter, herb butter

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup grass fed butter divided
• 8 tablespoons various chopped herbs parsley, rosemary, thyme, etc.
• 2 garlic cloves, minced optional

Instructions

• Chop herbs finely. Keep separate, so you can have parsley butter, rosemary butter, etc. You can also add in some minced garlic if desired or just make garlic butter.
• Make sure butter is soft enough to stir herbs into. Use 2 tablespoons per 1/2 cup butter (1 stick).
• Once herbs are incorporated, roll into a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Make a roll shape and place in freezer to keep for up to three months.
• Use frozen, and slice as needed. Keep frozen.

Garlic Butter

• Use 1 clove garlic per 1/2 cup butter.

The post Make Compound Butter for Steak, Chicken, Fish appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Knowing the best way to roast garlic is basic cooking, easy to do, and can make all the difference in some of your recipes.

How to Choose Garlic

Select garlic bulbs, with intact clinging paper skins. Don’t buy bulbs that have soft spots, or dark spots and don’t feel heavy enough for their size. Do not refrigerate, but store in dry, cool place in your pantry.

The Best Way to Roast Garlic

Cut top of garlic bulb, wrap in foil and place on a baking sheet. Garlic is done when it is soft and spreadable, anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes.

What to do with Roasted Garlic

One of my favorite ways to eat roasted garlic is to spread it on keto flatbread or when crusty sourdough. I have a very easy sourdough bread recipe here.

• Homemade sourdough bread.
• Keto flatbread.
• Add to soups, sauces.
• Spread on raw chicken before roasting.
• Mix into ground beef for meatballs, hamburgers.
• Add to vegetables.
• Add to a salad dressing. Roasted garlic is less pungent and will work in almost any dressing or vinaigrette.

More Garlic Centered Recipes

• Chicken Thighs with Wine and Garlic
• Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Garlic Kale Mashed Potatoes
• Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

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Best Way to Roast Garlic

Roast Garlic in the Oven for Bread and Other Recipes

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword garlic

Prep Time 4 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 2 heads garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut top off garlic (about 1/4 inch).
• Brush with generous amount of olive oil.
• Wrap in foil.
• Place on baking sheet. Roast for 40-50 minutes.
• Store in tight container in refrigerator for up to a week. I store in a mason jar.

The post Best Way to Roast Garlic and How to Use it appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

The first time I had whole roasted Greek style chicken was at an East Nashville restaurant, Greko Street Food. Although I used the main recipe from Food Network, I added a little honey inspired by the Greko Street Food version.

Greek Spatchcock Chicken with Fresh Herbs

The recipe called for fresh dill to my surprise. I had fresh dill, fresh oregano and fresh thyme on my deck and decided to use all three. The dill was quite a surprise as I have never used dill in a chicken recipe before. The dill is added to the marinade that is reserved to be poured over the chicken at the end. The honey is added to the marinade in the end and is, of course, optional if you want to leave out sweetener.

Spatchcocked chicken is the perfect chicken to put on the grill, and I’ll tell you why.

First of all, I  like chicken on the bone, as it’s much more tasty,  but I am not that good at grilling it. A spatchcocked chicken makes it so much easier, especially after a Greek style marinade.

This chicken was so tender, so flavorful and one of my favorite chicken recipes of the year. I’ll be making this again and again, and I  think you will too.

Grilled Spatchcock Chicken Greek Style in the Oven

If you don’t have access to a grill, roast it breast side up at 450 degrees F. Marinate the same way as above, wipe marinade off. Use reserved marinade to pour over once out of the oven. If you do roast in the oven, add some potatoes to the pan.

More Chicken Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• One Hour Roast Chicken
• How to Bake Chicken Legs
• Parmesan Mayonnaise Chicken
• Za’atar Baked Chicken
• Chicken

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Grilled Spatchcock Chicken, Greek Style

Greek Style herbs and honey marinated Spatchcocked Chicken on Grill

Course Entree

Cuisine Greek

Keyword Greek Chicken, Spatchcocked Chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 Spatchcocked Chicken

Marinade

• 1 cups olive oil
• 2 lemons zest and juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Prepare Chicken

• To spatchcock chicken, cut out the backbone (discard, use for soups) and press down on breast/thigh to flatten. Turn chicken over, cut out the back, leaving breasts, thighs, legs.

Marinade

• Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and all herbs except the fresh dill.
• Use 1/2 marinade to marinate chicken for up to one day or at least one hour. Reserve the other half for once chicken is cooked.

Grill Chicken

• Take chicken out of refrigerator an hour before grilling.
• Light the grill hot.
• When ready to grill, wipe off marinade of chicken, turn off half of the grill and place chicken breast side up on the side with no heat.
• Close lid, roast for about 50 minutes until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F., 68 C.
• Place chicken breast side down on hot side of grill for about ten minutes until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. or 75 C.
• Once chicken is placed on serving dish, add dill, honey, to remaining marinade and pour over chicken.
• Allow chicken to rest 10 minutes prior to carving.

The post Grilled Spatchcock Chicken Greek Style appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This time I made the macadamia nut pesto. They are probably the best substitute for pine nuts because they are sweet and don’t make pesto bitter like walnuts or other nuts sometimes can.

I made this recipe twice in the last week. The second time I used organic spaghetti from Trader Joe’s and served to company. Everyone loved it. I have to say it was definitely my favorite pasta dish of the year.

Ingredients for Macadamia Nut Pesto Pasta with Trader’s Joe’s Shrim

• Macadamia Nuts
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Fresh Basil
• Salt, Pepper
• Pecorino or Parmesan (optional)
• Pasta (spaghetti or for low carb this edamame option)
• Shrimp

The shrimp I use most often are the Argentinian shrimp from Trader Joe’s. They are peeled, frozen and sweet, ready to jump into any recipe. See below for all the ways I’ve used these shrimp.

Once you have the pesto made, a quick sauté of the shrimp while the pasta is boiling and you will have a fantastic dinner. I added in a few sliced grape tomatoes for color.

Make this Dish Keto, Gluten Free Friendly

Low Carb Option: If you want to keep your dish low-carb, you can use edamame pasta, hearts of palm pasta or zoodles. You can find edmame pasta it in various stores or on Amazon. I find it works well in this dish.

My Favorite Food Processor

I recently purchased a Braun food processor on Amazon that does just about everything I need in the kitchen and is amazing. It juices lemons, chops nuts, makes the BEST buttercream, heavy cream, chops, grates and for this recipe makes the best pesto. If you are in the market for a food processor, you will love this one. It costs a little more than the average processor, but it does so much more. Made in Europe with German engineering, it’s not like any food processor I’ve ever owned.

More Low Carb Shrimp Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Keto Shrimp and Cheesy Cauliflower Grits
• Shrimp with Spaghetti Squash
• Shrimp Creole Cauliflower Rice
• Spicy Tuscan Shrimp
• Keto Shrimp Scampi
• Shrimp with Olives, Italian Spicy Zoodles

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Shrimp with Macadamia Nut Pesto

Fresh basil, macadamia nuts, lemon juice make a delightful summer pesto, perfect for shrimp.

Course Italian Sauce

Cuisine Italian

Keyword basil, cajun shrimp, edamame pasta, macadamia nuts, pesto

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 Servings

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Macadamia Nut Pesto

• 2 cups tightly packed fresh picked basil leaves
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cups roasted salted macadamia nuts
• 1 cloves of garlic finely chopped before processing
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• dash of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• For completion by hand
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup parmesan or Pecorino cheese optional

Shrimp and Pasta

• 1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1/2 pound pasta
• 1/4 cup pasta water
• 8 grape tomatoes optional

Instructions

Macadamia Nut Pesto

• Place all ingredients except cheese into a food processor. You must chop the garlic first, which makes it much better to process and doesn’t become a juice.
• I don’t like to use a food processor for this because I can pulse it and keep some texture, which I prefer.
• I skipped the cheese in this recipe, but if using, add by hand at the end, before adding butter.
• Shrimp and Pasta
• Add oil to a frying pan and sautè shrimp for about one minute on each side, until there is no pink showing. Set aside.
• Cook pasta according to directions. (Save about 1/4 cup of pasta water).
• Add drained pasta to pan with shrimp. Add enough pesto to cover pasta. You can add a little pasta water back in, as the starchy water helps to thicken. Add a tablespoon at a time.
• Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Add as garnish to pasta dish.

Notes

Regarding cheese, sometimes I just use pecorino romano. You can also use parmesan cheese. I  skip the cheese when using seafood.

Shrimp: We use a pound of shrimp, half pound pasta for 4 small servings. You can double this for larger servings or to serve six.

If you are adding this to pasta, reserve some pasta water (3 tablespoons or so) a little at a time to extend the pasta.

You may also heat the pesto on very very low and add in heavy cream for a creamy pesto pasta.

The post Macadamia Nut Pesto, Shrimp, Edamame Pasta appeared first on Spinach Tiger.