Friday 8/7 recap

Again, went in at 5:00 again so that I could leave early and take the kids to the pool before SIL/BIL and the cousins left. They had a BLAST!!! Then tried to get the kids to take a nap so I could get ready to have dinner guests. Busy day but every minute of it was so worth it. Spent a little too much on the stuff I served but it was well loved.

Menus:
Breakfast: I accidentally skipped breakfast. I didn't want to eat at 5:00 yet but got so busy it was time to leave before I got to eat. Scott and the kids had Kashi waffles and peaches and milk.
Snacks: Ritz crackers and cream cheese. And Raspberries and apple juice.
Lunch: PB&J sandwiches and crackers. SIL brought watermelon and juice for the kids.
Snacks: Raspberries, grapes, milk, monterrey jack cheese and crackers and I made a cream cheese dip with cream cheese and McCormick lemon spice marinade (really actually quite good!). Our friends brought spanikopitas from Costco too :)
Dinner: Our friends brought pork souvlaki for skewers and yogurt tahiki sauce. The pork was marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and salt and pepper. The yogurt sauce was cucumber, greek Oikos yogurt and dill and lemon. My recipes for salad and greek rice pilaf are below. I used a coupon for a free Coldstone pie that I'd had FOREVER. We got the Smores flavor... sooooo good!!

GREEK TOMATO PILAF from COOKS.COM
2 med. tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. chopped onion
2 tbsp. butter
2 c. water (I used 2 C. of the broth from my crockpot meal and no boullion)
1/8 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant beef bouillon
1 c. uncooked rice
Cook tomatoes and onion in butter for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, simmer with cover on for 14 minutes. Do not lift cover or stir. Remove from heat, fluff rice with fork. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't, it was fine). Makes 8 servings.

GREEK SALAD from MEDITERRASIAN.COM
Greek salad, or horiatiki, is a rough country salad of juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, sliced red onion, green pepper, crumbly feta cheese and plump kalamata olives. Serve this delightful combination as a side dish or as a light meal with some crusty bread.
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic—minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and extra for garnish
3 tomatoes—cut into wedges
¼ red onion—sliced into rings
½ cucumber—sliced into thick half-moons
½ green pepper (capsicum)—julienned
4 oz (120g) feta cheese—cut into small cubes
16 kalamata olives
PLACE the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake to combine. PLACE the salad ingredients in a large bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. Garnish the Greek salad with a little freshly ground black pepper. (FYI, I used a balsalmic Greek dressing from Kraft, just out of laziness and lack of Oregano but this dressing would be wonderful).