Friday, July 27, 2012

Greek Street Pork Kabobs


There is an interesting story behind these kabobs.  This recipe was created by my mother, after she recreated some yummy oregano pork kabobs she had from vendors on the streets in Greece during her travels there.  My father was based in Tripoli, Libya during the late 1960's with the Air Force.  (In fact, they were there the day Muammar Gaddafi took the country over, but that is another story in itself!)  They were right on the Mediterranean Sea, and took many little excursions to surrounding countries, Greece being one of them.  They loved these simple pork kabobs you could find from street vendors.  They are seasoned heavily with oregano, and have that whole lemon/garlic/olive oil thing going on as well.  What's not to love with that combo?  In fact, there is so much garlic used, and even cooked with the pork, I joked that I should call them "I'll have some pork with my garlic kabobs"... ;)

Here is what you will need...

Pictured above is a pork tenderloin,  olive oil, garlic salt, Greek seasoning, ground oregano (must be the powder kind, not the leaf), pepper, garlic, and lemon.  You will also need some 8 to 12 inch skewers as well.   It is best to get the pork marinating in the morning.  You simply cut up your pork tenderloin into very small cubes.  (Probably just over a 1/2 inch)  They need to be small and bite size, just large enough to fit on a skewer, much much smaller than normal sized pieces of meat you would normally see on a kabob.  I then also slivered almost a whole head of garlic cloves, and juiced an entire lemon.  The pork should marinate most of the day in a plastic bag with the garlic slivers, lemon juice, and olive oil.  Once the pork is marinating, you can make your spice mixture that you sprinkle onto the kabobs right before grilling.  When it is about dinner time, you simply skewer the pork and garlic onto some skewers, and sprinkle on the spice mixture.  I probably placed a sliver of garlic every 2 to 3 pieces of pork!  Believe me, this is what makes it so good!

Here is a photo of skewering the pork and garlic...

And the spice mixture being sprinkled on... Ready to be grilled baby!

Mmmmm, so good!

Here is the recipe:

Greek Street Pork Kabobs

1 Pork tenderloin
Olive Oil (Probably somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 cup)
Juice of one lemon
Garlic, almost a whole head, cloves slivered thin
1 Tbs. ground oregano (powdered form, not leaf)
3 tsp. Greek seasoning
2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. pepper (preferably freshly ground)
8 to 12 inch wooden or metal skewers, probably around 8 of them

Cut pork tenderloin up into very small bite sized pieces, about 1/2 an inch or so.  Place pork in a ziploc plastic back along with the garlic slivers, lemon juice, and olive oil.  Marinate in the refrigerator most of the day.

Mix remaining spices in a small bowl and set aside til ready to grill.

Shortly before dinner, skewer the pork onto the kabobs, placing a garlic sliver every 2 to 3 pieces of pork.  Sprinkle generously with the spice mixture on all sides.  Grill about 2 minutes per side until just done.  About 4 to 6 minutes total on the grill.  They meat is cut small so they cook fast!

Enjoy!

Some yummy side suggestions...

As you can see in the picture above, I served my kabobs with a nice orzo salad, and this cucumber and chickpea salad from Bush's.  To make the orzo, I simply cooked a 1/2 pound of orzo in some chicken broth, drained it, then tossed it with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, a Tbs. of olive oil, 2 Tbs. of toasted pine nuts, 1/3 cup of crumbled feta, and a little chopped flat leaf parsley.  YUM!


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Monday, July 16, 2012

4th of July 2012

We were excited this year to celebrate the 4th in Lake Mills, WI...and doubly excited that Chris actually had the holiday off!  Fun activities were a boat ride, swimming, and a BBQ cookout with family and friends.  We even timed it just right seeing some fireworks in the town of Milton on our drive home.  Matthew was so happy to see them!


Matthew having some sparkler fun the evening of the 3rd...

Jacob's 1st boat ride...

Matthew, our cool dude...

Chris and his boys on Rock Lake...

The boys swimming with Chris and his good friend Steve...

J and I on the boat...

My attempt to be festive, a "flag" jello cake...

Enjoying the fireworks with my buddy!  (Who had fallen asleep in the van, but was more than happy to wake up to see them!) :)



Sunday, July 15, 2012

Life Group "Farm" Social

Recently our Life Group from church had a "social" get-together at the farm house of one of couples, Dan and Kim Hill.  They live on 8 acres just Northwest of our town, and they have several chickens, pigs, and even a goat!  Also several kittens roaming around were a hit with the kids. It was such a fun evening for everyone, especially the kids, who were in heaven feeding the animals, and having a blast running around. 

A view from the road of their house...

Feeding the pigs...

And the goat...

Hammock fun!

Matthew loved pulling Jacob around on this wagon...


Chris and Jacob...


Kitty love...



Playing Badminton...

Our awesome group!  (Several families missing.)  We are so blessed by these people...

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner


This past Spring, one of the "crafts" we did in my MOPS group was make this homemade all-purpose cleaner.  There is a big movement right now to "green your clean".  It is always a good idea to look and see what kind of chemicals are in your normal everyday household cleaners.  If something is cheaper, works well, and has less toxic chemicals, why not use it?  I happen to love this cleaner!  It is easy and cheap to make, so that is a bonus!  It also works like a charm. 

Here is what you will need:  A Spray Bottle, Borax, White Vinegar, Castile Soap, and Hot Water.  That is it!


You can find Borax about anywhere.  I got mine at Target, and it was just a little over $2 for a 4 pound box!  Since you only need a teaspoon every time you make it, it will last a LONG time.  (I am told there are also other great uses/cleaners/detergent you can make with Borax, so I will look into that soon...) Also needed is Castile Soap.  Now my local grocery store had this big bottle for only $8.09, but have seen it elsewhere for a little more, and you can always buy it online.  I like the peppermint scent, but have fun, and use any variety of scents you prefer.  It is the most pricey ingredient, but at only a 1/4 cup for each bottle, it still is cheaper than buying a cleaner off the shelf.  Vinegar and water are the other two ingredients, and they are super cheap as well. :)

To make it, it is helpful to have a small funnel to pour the ingredients into the bottle, start with the borax, then the vinegar, then the castile soap.  Lastly pour in 3 cups of very hot water.  Screw the spray top on, and shake well until the Borax dissolves.  You might want watch it carefully, as it can bubble up really quickly when you first shake it.
 

Now you can be all fancy-schmancy and create a nice label for your bottle.  Or if you are like me, I simply wrote on the bottle, with a permanent pen, the title and recipe so I will always have it handy when I make more. (Insert joke about my oh so great handwriting as well...) :)

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

3 Tbs. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Borax
1/4 Cup Castile Soap
3 Cups Very Hot Water

~Shake until Borax dissolves. 

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Monday, July 9, 2012

June Random Instagram Update

I really love Instagram.  It is fun and addicting.  It makes every picture look beautiful (or better at least!).  Here is an update of some June happenings I missed blogging about via some Instagram pics...

We celebrated our 13th anniversary at Abreo!

Fun times on Rock Lake in Lake Mills, WI...

Cousins swimming together...

Jacob going down the frog slide at Magic Waters for the first time...

Matthew still enjoys it too!

Happy Father's Day!  (Chris was about as lucky as I was on Mother's Day getting a photo with these two...) :)

Chris celebrated his 45th birthday!

LOVE this picture of my sweetie...

Summer blooms...

Hydrangea...