Greek Nachos

In my latest favorites post the other day, you got a sneak peak at our meal the other night but I knew it needed its own post.

I mean…it’s not every day we come up with such fun dinner ideas!

Last Monday, I made some whole wheat pitas (using the same recipe I used the last time) and we filled the pitas with hummus and spiced turkey with big salads on the side.

But as we were sitting at the table eating dinner, I looked over to Nick’s plate and saw just a pile of cut-up pitas, blobs of hummus, and ground turkey. He had already finished his salad and was working on the rest – but I swore it looked like a big plate of nachos, just without the nasty liquid nacho cheese sauce.

So, instead of just reheating the leftovers the next night and having the same exact meal – we turned them into Greek Nachos.

And it was one of our best ideas ever.

 

For the “nachos”, we layered:

• cut up whole wheat pitas (we just crisped them up in a pan with some oil, but you could toast them, too)
• hummus
• spiced ground turkey
• romaine
• tomato
• red onion
• kalamata and green olives
• olive oil and balsamic

 

I loved eating this dinner – it was so much fun to have "nachos” that tasted completely different than what you would expect.

Plus, we still got in a few servings of veggies and it was a new way to use up leftovers.

 

I wonder how many different variations of nachos we could come up with…Italian? Thai?

The options are endless!

 

If you could make your PERFECT version of nachos, what would it be?

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Homemade Hummus

One of the easiest things you can make at home is hummus. It’s so much cheaper to make it yourself and so quick!

I made a batch the other day that turned out great.

Basic Homemade Hummus

• 1 15. oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-2 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• salt
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice

1. Put garlic and chickpeas in blender and blend up until the garlic is chopped and the beans are starting to break up.
2. Pour in the oil, salt, and lemon juice and blend again.
3. Add extra oil or a little water until you get the consistency you want.
4. Enjoy!

Easy, right?

The only hummus I can buy here is at least $3.29 and goes up to $5.29, depending on the brand/size of the tub.

A can of chickpeas costs me .79 typically, and I always have the other ingredients on hand.

I also use the sesame oil since I don’t have tahini in the house – it still gives it that sesame flavor.

I think this recipe would be great with other added flavors, too! I may make a spicy batch next or roasted pepper…who knows   🙂

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Dough-y Lunch

I guess I’m on a bread kick today  🙂

I brought lunch today, but then remembered how long it had been sitting in the fridge and decided not to chance it. I hate wasting food, but I really didn’t want to risk getting sick when we still have a bit of Honduran weirdness coursing through our bodies.

So off to lunch it was! it was quick + to go since I have to eat at my desk today.

We went to The Easy Chair today and they had their hummus! I ordered their hummus + veg on focaccia bread. It has tomato, lettuce, red onion, carrots, cucumber (we’ll see if I leave these on) and hummus. Yum.

I also got their unsweet blueberry iced tea

Their iced tea flavors are always good. This one and their ginger peach are my favorites.

I also had the sides I brought with my lunch:

2 of our golden jubilee tomatoes that needed to be eaten and some raw zucchini from the market. Look how stripey it is! I brought MORE guac to dip  🙂  This will be my first time ever trying raw zucchini…wish me luck. It just tasted so good cooked the other night, and I knew I needed to eat it soon since I already sliced it up.

Back to work for me! We have to leave a little early for Nick’s dr. appointment, which is why I’m working + eating at the same time.

What’s on your lunch plate today?

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Fried Friday

Thank goodness the weekend is here!

I felt like this week took forever to get through – every day just felt endless. At least the rain has cleared up a bit – it looks like we may have a pretty good weekend after all.

I think the slower-than-normal workdays have been kicking my snacking into overdrive.

Today, I brought some celery and carrots with some hummus and salsa.

Hummus + salsa is so good together!

And I am still not a big fan of raw carrots. I’ve tried them and tried them, but I guess it’s just not my thing.

I also added a small handful of pretzels for a little salt.

Even though today took forever to end, I did get a lot of stuff done and just have a few things left to finish on Monday before we head out of town.

I had some leftovers to work with tonight, but Nick and I decided to spend the last of our “spending money” for this month on a fun dinner out to one of our favorites. Thanks to the blog, I know how long it’s been since the last time we ate there  🙂  We haven’t been in 2 months! 2 months to the day, actually.

It was definitely time to satisfy my onion ring craving.

I had my usual: Buffalo burger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and onion + onion rings.

Just as good as I remembered  🙂

I’ve got a busy day tomorrow – lots of errands to get done to make sure we’re ready for this trip next week.

I hear my pajamas calling….and it’s almost time for What Not to Wear!

Oh, and Sarah? I saw this tonight in the grocery store and thought of you:

Is there something you’ve tried and tried but just don’t like?

I love cooked carrots, especially roasted, but I just do not like them raw for some reason! I also do not like any kind of applesauce. I can’t take the texture.

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Cookie Failure

Well, I tried making the cookies tonight but I guess it was still just a little too humid. They’re not totally ruined, but they definitely didn’t set up like normal.

No worries though – we always find some way of finishing them, even if we just have to scoop them off the parchment paper with a spoon  😉

I was so busy at work today! Tons of submissions, emails, plus I had to send reminder letters, do my leave report….it felt like today was never going to end!

I brought out my afternoon snack around 4

I packed some celery + some spicy three pepper hummus. Man! I forgot how spicy this hummus is! My eyes were watering a bit, but it was good.

We got home and I got started on the cookies that didn’t quite make it while Nick finished pruning our pear tree. After working on that stuff for about an hour, I got dinner ready.

Dinner was pretty easy since the major part was leftover pasta pie.

Or pile o’ noodles  🙂

It may not have stayed in “perfect pie slices” but this pasta pie sure is tasty!

I also roasted some asparagus for about 10 minutes while I reheated the pasta.

I’m going to finish watching some HIMYM  with Nick and pack lunch for tomorrow.

Make sure to check out even more giveaways – there’s tons today!

• There’s a Sahale + Ooba Giveaway over at An Apple A Day
• Hangry Pants is offering up some MojaMix cereal

What is your favorite cookie?

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Dang Typhoid Shot

Well, we got our shots! The Hep A one hurt when she was giving it, but now my right arm is killing me! It’s so sore from the typhoid shot and Nick’s arm feels the same way. I keep forgetting that it hurts when I move it a certain way and then catch myself moving in strange ways to do stuff at work – it’s probably pretty funny to watch, actually.

I’ve been talking to a coworker, Nick, and Heather all morning about LOST last night! There were some things answered, but SO many new questions and it’s driving me crazy! I can’t wait until January to find out, but I guess I’ll have to. I feel like I need to watch the finale again -I know I must have missed stuff considering it was 2 hours long.

I had no leftovers or specifically-for-lunch prepared foods today, but my lunch turned out great with what I had! That’s one thing I don’t like about being gone over a weekend – I don’t get to plan/prep for the week.

I made a wrap with a flat out multigrain, some spicy pepper hummus, spinach, mushroom, and roma tomato

I almost didn’t get it wrapped up!

I had to keep pulling out my McGyver wrap moves to keep everything IN the wrap while I was eating. Of course, it didn’t help that I was still trying to not move my right arm. Nick and I were a sight at lunch, I’m sure.

I also had a cup of tomato soup – it’s pretty gloomy here again, so I thought soup would be a nice way to balance my cold wrap.

Plus an apple for some crunch

We read through a bunch of posts on the ABC website that people had written about their theories of what’s going on. Some of their explanations are interesting, to say the least. I’m just sad this season is over!

After giving a receiving a one-armed hug, I’m posting this and going to read my new book until my lunch break is over.

What’s your favorite thing to do on your lunch break (besides eat)?  🙂

Sometimes we catch up on shows online, but usually that’s when we run any errands that we need to (post office, bank, etc). I am happy that I get to spend every lunch break with Nick, though. Much better than being by myself. We ride together to work every day to save on gas and he works in the building across from me, so that has worked out pretty well.

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