Tzatziki Sauce

The Best Tzatziki Sauce

This Greek Tzatziki Sauce recipe is about as good as it gets and it can be used for many different recipes.  My personal favorite is with Greek Gyros, just like the recipe I posted last week.  I promised you I would show you how to make this secret sauce so that you could finalize your own personal experience making these your self and I’m making good on that here today.  This sauce is sweet, creamy and full of flavor.  It’s exactly what every home cook needs in their refrigerator on a regular basis because it pairs so well with meats, seafood, vegetables and baked goods like Pita Bread, Pretzels and Bagels.

The Secret to Tzatziki Sauce

In my opinion, there are a few key ingredients that gives Tzatziki Sauce its unique and authentic taste.  Greek Yogurt is one of them.  It’s very rich, creamy and doesn’t taste much like American or other foreign yogurts.  White Wine Vinegar is the other ingredient that gives this recipe it’s flavor.  Not only is it added to the yogurt, it’s added to the grated cucumber with a pinch of kosher salt so it can marinate and release the juice that needs to be strained before it’s added to the sauce.  Dill is the herb that really enhances the flavor as well, so feel free to add as much as you like because Tzatziki Sauce is usually swimming with it.

Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients:

1 Cucumber, grated & juiced
1 pinch Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar, mix with cucumber
1 cup Greek Yogurt, Honey flavored is best
1 Garlic Clove, minced
3 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar, mix with yogurt
1 tbsp Dill

Be sure to strain the cucumber juice after marination is complete and follow the instructions in the Tzatziki Sauce video recipe.

Roasted Stuffed Peppers

Roasted Stuffed Peppers Main Pic

The Best Stuffed Peppers

I’ve been wanting to film these Roasted Stuffed Peppers for quite some time now, because they are so easy and very delicious.  One of the things that makes them easy is that you’re able to cheat and pull some ingredients from a box.  This is a Cajun Rice and Black Beans mix I borrowed from Zattarain’s but you can use anything you want.  My Dirty Rice, Spanish Rice or my Jambalaya recipe would be perfect in this as well.  In this recipe, I decided to throw in some Italian Sausage to spruce it up a bit.  If I were stuffing this with Jambalaya, for example, I’d be adding Shrimp and Andouille Sausage.  So just realize that there are several different ways you can stuff peppers.  I have a Tex-Mex style Stuffed Pablano recipe and Jalapeno Poppers that are out of this world!

Bell Stuffed Peppers

For this Stuffed Peppers recipe, I just to use Bell Peppers and I chose a rainbow assortment, just to show how pretty this dish can be.  Buying all of these different colors, however, can ten to be a bit pricey.  Sometimes the Red and Yellow Bell Peppers are 3 to 4 times the price of a regular green Bell Pepper.  So don’t think for one moment that this dish has to be an expensive one.  Save the money, and buy the Green peppers.  The flavor will be the exact same and everyone will love it.

Roasted Stuffed Peppers Ingredients:

4 Bell Peppers, cut in Half
1/2 lbs Italian Sausage
1 box Cajun Rice and Black Beans, cooked
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
1 Celery Stick, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 tbs Fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 tbs Cooking Wine
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Broil Peppers for 5 to 8 Minutes and Bake Stuffed Peppers at 425 degrees f for 10 minutes.  Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make these Roasted Stuffed Peppers.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Mashed Potatoes main pic

The Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These Garlic Mashed Potatoes are awesome, simple as that.  And I can go on about it for several reasons.  But first, know that most mashed potato recipes are very similar if not exactly the same.  So, how are you going to reinvent something that cooks think they have already perfected?  The answer is simple.  Just think Potato.  There are so many different kinds of potatoes, plus many ways to cook potatoes.  So all you have to do is go back to the basics, keep it simple yet powerful.

My Mashed Potatoes Secret Ingredient

For me, I love potato chips.  One in particular, in fact, Potato Skins.  That’s one of the reasons I leave my skins on in this Mashed Potatoes recipe; that and the nutrient factor, of course.  Also, when I eat chips or a baked potato, I usually have Sour Cream.  Now, there isn’t Sour Cream in this recipe but most recipes use milk, half and half or cream.  But why hasn’t anyone tried to use Buttermilk?  It’s sweet and sour, just like sour cream, and most folks like it with their baked potato.  Believe it or not, it is the perfect balance; that and the other ingredients I’ve added down below.  Anyway, these potatoes are great anytime but I think they’re even better around the Holidays.  So give this a try and don’t forget to leave your comments.

If you’d like to try my Green Bean Casserole or my Pan Fried Asparagus, just click the links down below.

CLICK HERE for Green Bean Casserole:
CLICK HERE for Pan Fried Asparagus:

Garlic Mashed Potatoes Ingredients:

6 to 8 russet or red potatoes, boiled
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 cube butter
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Black pepper
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk

Be sure to watch and follow the instructions in the Garlic Mashed Potatoes video recipe tutorial.