Mediterranean-Inspired Recipes

Hello, lovelies! I know how hard we're all striving to eat better each and every day, and one of the ways I really like to do that is by eating as much Mediterranean-inspired food as I possibly can. As we know, the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest in the world. It's loaded with wonderful veggies, lots of heart-healthy fats. So today, I thought it would be fun to share five amazing ways to get more Mediterranean foods into your diet. And all of these yummy recipes just happen to be featured in my brand new cookbook, Meals Made Easy, which just hit store shelves this week. And of course, as you might expect, it is loaded with all sorts of healthy yumminess, just like the recipes I'm going to show you today. Just before we get to today's recipes, I also wanted to remind you that in honor of the book's launch, we are doing incredibly amazing giveaways all week long on my Instagram account. So if you're not following me there, go hit me up at The Domestic Geek One, and you can find out how you can enter for your chance to win. Now, without further ado, let's talk more about this Mediterranean menu I'm going to show you today. We're starting with an amazing Mediterranean-inspired breakfast, my roasted red pepper and feta frittatas. I know you guys are going to adore these because not only are they delicious, but they are super portable, which makes them a perfect, healthy breakfast on the go. Now, to get started, we are going to mix up our filling for the frittatas. It's a combination of sweet and smoky roasted red peppers, some nice salty feta, and some nice fresh parsley. I'm just going to give them a quick stir to get them all mixed up. Then I'll just divide this mixture evenly in a six-cup muffin tin. Now, it's really important to grease your muffin tin well to make sure that you can get these out. If not, go ahead and use some silicone baking cups. Those are really, really handy and make these even more portable, so go ahead and try that. I can't tell you how beautifully complementary the flavors here are. You have the sweet smokiness of those roasted red peppers with the gorgeous salty flavor of that feta, and then, of course, the freshness of the parsley. Once I've got that mixture transferred into my muffin tin, I'll turn my attention to my egg mixture. I'm going to start by cracking some eggs into a measuring cup. Next, I'll add a little splash of milk to this and then season it up with some Italian seasoning and some red pepper flakes. We'll hit that with a little salt and pepper, give it a good whisk, and then pour it into our muffin tin. Into the oven they go at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for between 18 and 20 minutes, and when they come out, they are so super delicious and ready to be enjoyed. What's awesome about this recipe is they can be eaten right away or stored in the refrigerator for up to three days, so they're a really good make-ahead option as well. Can you think of a more amazing, protein-packed way to start your day? I don't think so. Next, if you're looking for some Mediterranean lunch inspiration, look no further. I am making my creamy Greek pasta salad, and what I love about this pasta salad is the dressing for it is actually my homemade tzatziki sauce, which is just a combination of really simple but complementary flavors. Now, I'll start by shredding my cucumber with a traditional box grater, but then to remove any excess moisture, I'm going to go ahead and transfer my cucumber onto a clean kitchen towel and then wring out all of that water. So what's surprising about this recipe is that it actually calls for a whole cucumber, and you'll see once all the water comes out of it, there's not much cucumber left. The base for this amazing tzatziki sauce is actually some plain Greek yogurt. Now, I always prefer to cook with full-fat Greek yogurt, but if you wanted to use low-fat, that is totally up to you. We're going to get our strained cucumber into our Greek yogurt. Then it's time to pump up the flavor factor, and to do that, we are going for it with two full cloves of garlic. But to make sure nobody gets a big bite of garlic in their sauce, we are going to be grating it. Once we've got our garlic in the bowl, we can go ahead and get some lemon zest and juice in the bowl. Finally, I'm going to add some dill to this. Dill, of course, is really common in Mediterranean cooking, and it's the perfect complement to all the rest of the flavors in this dish. I'm going to hit this with salt and pepper, and then we will just give it a stir. Gloriously garlicky tzatziki. Just a few ingredients, but loads and loads of amazing flavor. And of course, the perfect sauce for this creamy Greek pasta salad I'm about to show you. For this pasta salad, I am using some penne pasta, but you can use any pasta you want. You just want to cook it according to package directions, drain it in a colander, and then let it cool. Once it's cooled, I'm going to toss it with some nice crunchy cucumber and some flavorful tomatoes. I've got some pitted kalamata olives headed in here, as well as some feta, because as far as I'm concerned in Mediterranean cooking, there's no such thing as too much feta cheese. Then I'm going to add my tzatziki to this. Now, if your tzatziki is a little bit thick and hard to stir, you can also go ahead and add just a little drizzle of olive oil to help thin it out. And then finally, I'm going to hit this with some Greek seasoning. Store-bought Greek seasoning will do, but if you want to make some homemade, I happen to have some in Meals Made Easy. I'm just saying, you're getting a lot of value with this stuff. I'll give that all a good toss, and this pasta salad is ready to be devoured. The longer it sits in that amazing tzatziki, the more amazing it tastes. So go ahead and make a huge batch. You can leave it in the refrigerator for two or three days. It really makes the most amazing make-ahead lunch. If you want to pump up the protein factor a little further, you could always add some canned chickpeas to this recipe or serve it up with some grilled chicken. Both are great options. Next for some Mediterranean dinner inspiration, I have my baked garlic shrimp. I say it in the cookbook, and I will say it here. It is my absolute favorite weeknight dinner, which is saying a lot. And that's because it is so simple to prepare, but packs so much great flavor. So I have got some peeled shrimp hanging out in an oven-safe baking dish, because we're going to be baking this up. Then I'm going to add some white wine to that. If you don't like cooking with wine, you can leave it out, but it really does make for some great flavor. And of course, the alcohol cooks off and all you're left with is the awesome taste. Speaking of flavor pairings that are a winner, we are also going to be adding some garlic to this. I call this baked garlic shrimp for a reason. There's a lot of garlic in it. I'm going to add a little lemon zest and juice to this recipe, as well as some red pepper flakes. These are optional. If you don't like the heat, you can leave them out. I'll hit that with some salt and some pepper and give everything a good toss so it's well coated. Then another optional but delicious step, I'm going to nestle a few lemon slices in among my shrimp. This not only is going to flavor them further, it also makes for a really pretty presentation. And then finally, for a little bit of richness, I am going to add some cubes of butter. Now if you want to skip the butter in this recipe, you could use some olive oil or just leave it out entirely. But come on, guys. Butter, garlic, lemon, white wine, and shrimp, that is a recipe for success. I'll get this into the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and in just about 10 minutes or so, you basically have dinner perfection on your hands. You'll know it's ready when your shrimp are perfectly pink and opaque and your whole kitchen smells like garlic. That's when the real magic happens. Last but not least, guys, I am whipping up what I think is the perfect side dish accompaniment for this amazing baked garlic shrimp. It's my fresh green bean salad. It is equally simple but truly equally delicious. It all starts, of course, with some green beans that I've just trimmed. I'm going to get them into some boiling water for just a few minutes until they turn tender and nice and bright green. And then I'll just lift them out of the water and straight into an ice bath. The ice bath is really important here because it stops your green beans from overcooking. Next, we'll just drain our green beans in a colander and set them aside while we get to work on a really simple dressing for this salad. When I say simple, I really mean it. It's just a combination of olive oil, some red wine vinegar, some finely mint shallot, and some freshly chopped tarragon. Tarragon can be hard to find sometimes in the herb section of your supermarket. If you have trouble finding it, you can swap in some dill instead. I'm also going to hit this with some salt and pepper, and then we will just whisk it up. Once that's all whisked up, we can assemble our salad. My green beans are nice and chilled. They're perfectly cooked. My favorite level of tenderness, so sweet. Now, all I need to do is top them with my cherry tomatoes and our dressing. I'll finish this with a good helping of crumbled feta. And oh my gosh, guys, you have a serious dinner of champions. I've been waiting for this all day. Guys, you absolutely have to try these recipes for yourselves. If you do, be sure to tweet me, Instagram me, or Facebook me a photo, because as always, I love seeing your kitchen creations. All five of these tasty recipes are featured in Meals Made Easy, so I really hope you guys will take a look for them and order the cookbook for yourselves. Keep in mind, we have huge giveaways happening all week long over on my Instagram account, so you can follow me there at thedomesticgeek1. And finally, guys, if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe, because there is lots more deliciousness where this came from.