Sugar & Spice by Celeste

I couldn't post my Homemade Naan Bread recipe without also sharing my favorite homemade hummus!  They go together like peanut butter and jelly, after all! I'm fairly certain our daughter could live off of hummus.  She loves it with soft pita bread, pita chips, grape tomatoes, sweet peppers and sliced cucumbers.  Really, our whole family loves it.  I've even been known to spread it on lightly toasted slices of my Homemade Naan Bread  with a  sprinkling of Everything Seasoning and sliced turkey for a quick turkey sandwich. For convenience sake, I often buy the individual snack packs of hummus at the grocery store to make snack time easy, but nothing beats making it homemade.  The lemon juice adds a terrific freshness, and this recipe reminds me of the hummus at Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe. Celeste's Favorite Hummus Ingredients: 1 (15 oz) can chick peas, drained (reserve liquid) 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup tahini 1 clove garlic, minced 2 Tbsp Extra...

Eating healthy is really important around our house, but every now and then, a girl just needs a plate of delicious fries, I tell you!   Am I right?!? This recipe is a keeper.  Large wedges of russet potatoes are coated with a quick vinaigrette of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, shallot, garlic, oregano and parsley (which comes together in a flash with the help of a food processor).  Next, they bake up all beautiful and golden brown in the oven for about an hour. The flavor is fantastic, and you could even add a little Greek feta cheese as a garnish if you really wanted to take them over the top.   Next time, I will probably cut the vinaigrette quantities in half, because I did end up with extra vinaigrette.  This isn't a terrible thing, though, because you could use it up in other dishes.  I bet it would be delicious on a roasted chicken. Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Bon Appetit, my friends! Greek Potatoes with L...

Some of my best memories growing up revolved around vacations spent along the Gulf of Mexico.  Those vacations were filled with fun in the sun, time spent with family, and delicious meals made unforgettable by the amazingly fresh seafood right out of the Gulf near my home state of Alabama. To this day, I still love a big plate of fresh shrimp, grouper, snapper, flounder or yes...even raw oysters (with hot sauce and a saltine cracker, of course!).  The wonderful thing about seafood is that it cooks quickly, plus it's really healthy (as long as it's not fried).  That's always a combination worth smiling about! This dish for Roasted Greek Shrimp with Orzo has become one of my recent favorites.  It's packed with vibrant flavors that will have your tastebuds singing.  I love Greek ingredients almost as much as fresh seafood, so I'm particularly proud to say this is an original recipe.   And you know what?  It's SO Easy! For this dish, fre...

***Shrimp have always been one of my favorite kinds of seafood.  Growing up, I can remember always ordering fried popcorn shrimp when we went out to eat.  Those mini little pieces of yumminess were always so much fun to eat as a kid.  While my taste in shrimp dishes have become a little more refined over the years, it's hard to deny that an occasional fried shrimp isn't still delicious. Now, if you've visited my blog before, you may know that I also love greek-inspired food.  This dish from Ina Garten is a clear choice...The roasted shrimp in this dish are perfectly accented by the feta and tomatoes.  It's a fairly easy dish that is a great remedy when you need a dish to impress your dinner guests.  They'll think you spent a lot more time in the kitchen than you actually did.  ;-) Ina's presentation of this dish also gives it that extra special "something." Arranging the shrimp upright in a circle around the saute pan makes it so pretty. Bon Appeti...

***Succulent shrimp...citrusy lemon...flavorful feta cheese...fresh cucumber...parsley straight from the garden....These are just a few of the ingredients that are combined to form this scrumptious dish! This dinner is sure to please your family.  It's packed with serious flavor...each bite just pops in your mouth.  It comes together beautifully, with an array of different colors going on.  I guess you could say it's a delight to both the tongue and eyes!  Haha. I really love the addition of orzo in this...I think it's the perfect pasta to pair with the other ingredients.  If you don't have orzo onhand, I could definitely see other kinds like penne or rotini working just fine, too. Bon Appetit!*** Roasted Shrimp & Orzo Source:  Ina Garten - Barefoot Contessa at Home Ingredients: Kosher salt Good olive oil 3/4 pound orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta) 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons) Freshly ground black pepper 2 pounds ...

***If you haven't noticed, I love Greek flavors and cuisine.  Feta cheese...kalamata olives...cucumber...cherry tomatoes...Mmm, mmm good!  This salad has all of the above!  I can always count on Martha Stewart's cookbook, Great Food Fast when I need a flavorful, but quick & easy weeknight dinner.  This salad fit the bill perfectly. It includes a recipe for Seasoned Flatbread, however, I did not have the ingredients for this side item the night that I whipped up this salad.  I served mine with a baguette and dipping sauce (grapeseed oil + seasonings).  It tasted fantastic together! Good, quality ingredients are key to this salad.  Make sure to purchase high-quality feta cheese and olives.  You can also add additional ingredients if you like...Pepperoncini and shredded greek chicken come to mind!  Just keep it fairly simple. Bon Appetit!*** INGREDIENTS For the Flatbread: 2 pieces lavash (or large pita bread, split in half)...

***Brad and I just love Greek food...especially if it involves seafood and feta cheese. So naturally, I was excited to try this recipe when one of our best friends, Dustin, shared it with us. He found it over at EatingWell.com. Not only is this dish healthy, but it is packed with intensely delicious flavors! Shrimp, garlic, tomatoes, capers, onions, feta and a dash of red pepper flakes to add a little heat. In fact, this dish almost has a cajun flair to it...it has just the right amount of spicyness. We recently got to indulge our love of Greek food at a wonderful little place called Nabeel's Cafe . I've shopped at their market several times before, always meaning to eat in the cafe when I had a chance. Well, we happened to be in the area around lunch time last weekend. We started the meal with an amazing appetizer called Feta Theologos. It's actually a recipe from the Monastery of St. John in central Greece. It's essentially a fresh slice of feta cheese wrapped in foi...