The basic falafel recipe comes from my Dinner Illustrated cookbook, and the tzatziki recipe comes from an online recipe I found for gyros quite a few years ago. 

A good prep-ahead option

I sometimes prep these before some work shifts so that I can come home and get dinner ready in no time flat (and with almost zero thinking involved).

The falafel can be mixed up and left in the fridge so that you can easily just take it out, shape the patties, and fry them when it's time for dinner. 

(Or you could shape the patties and refrigerate them until you want to fry them.)

Also, it's actually ideal to mix up tzatziki sauce ahead of time so the flavors can meld as it sits in the fridge. 

The tzatziki sauce makes a nice salad dressing or dipping sauce, so I sometimes double it. And I just really like a lot of tzatziki sauce in my pitas. 

"More sauce!" is one of my life mottos. 🙂 

The Method

A quick rundown of the recipe, in photos:

First, grate a cucumber. If it's the sort with big seeds, you can remove them first. Otherwise, just grate it, peel and all. 

Then place the shreds in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the extra liquid.

Combine all the rest of the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Then stir in the cucumbers, and refrigerate. 

To make the falafel patties, tear up half of a pita bread and process it in the food processor until it's pretty finely ground.

Then add the rest of the falafel ingredients.

Pulse until it's all finely chopped and holds together. 

Shape the mixture into sixteen little patties.

Heat a shallow layer of oil in a pan until it's almost smoking, then add the patties and cook them for about 3 minutes on each side.

Drain on a paper towel.

Broil or toast halved pitas until warmed, then fill with patties, lettuce, tomatoes, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese, if desired. And you're done! 

Scroll down for a printable recipe!

Falafel Pitas with Tzatziki Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Print

Ingredients

Tzatziki Sauce

• 1 cucumber, seeded
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp. white wine vinegar
• ½ tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Falafel

• 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• pita bread (½ of a pita for the falafel, others for serving)

To serve

• grape tomatoes
• feta cheese

Instructions

Make tzatziki sauce ahead of time to let flavors meld. Peel and grate cucumber coarsely; squeeze cucumber shreds in a tea towel to remove excess liquid.

Mix cucumber with the rest of the ingredients; refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tear half of one pita into small pieces. Process in a food processor for about 15 seconds. Add drained chickpeas, egg, parsley, cumin, salt, and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped.

Form falafel mixture into patties, using 1 tablespoon at a time (16 patties). Set aside on a plate.

Heat a shallow layer of oil in a skillet until it is nearly smoking. Add the patties and fry for 3 minutes per side; they should be a deep golden brown. Drain on a paper-towel lined plate.

To serve, heat halved pitas under a broiler until warm, then split and fill with falafel, halved grape tomatoes, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese.

The post Falafel Pitas with Tzatziki Sauce appeared first on The Frugal Girl.

Luckily, WilliamB sent it to me in an email last night, so I'm just copying and pasting it here for you guys. By the way, as long as you use gluten-free certified oats, this should be safe for gluten-sensitive people to eat!

Apple Oat Squares (9x13 pan)

The original is from Kitchn. 

I've modified it by using honey (or, once, leftover failed apple cider caramels, aka cider caramel sauce) instead of maple syrup, on the theory that the maple syrup flavor wouldn't shine as it deserves to, and homemade applesauce instead of storebought. I also left off the apple chunks which The Kitchn spreads across the top.

The recipe is dirt easy and not sweet, a good breakfast or snack with staying power. You can top with PB for some protein to go with, or jam for some sweetness.

I found them a little dry so I modified the recipe to make sandwiches. I cut the recipe in half, bake it thin, cut the batch in half, spread PB on one half, top with the other half, squish it down, cut into serving pieces.

This is the halved recipe; for thicker ones, double the below. If you do that, you could add nuts or choc chips for a sweeter version.

160g (2 cups) rolled oats
40 g (½ cup) rolled oats, buzzed to flour in a blender
½ tablespoon cinnamon
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
½ c. applesauce
1 egg
¼ c. maple syrup, honey, or other liquid sugar
optional peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Mix oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
Add the applesauce, egg, and liquid sugar.
Pat evenly into a greased 9x13" pan.
Bake at 350° F till done. About 10 minutes; one way to tell is that the edges will pull away a bit from the pan, although it'll be soft to the touch.

optional: make PB sandwiches by cutting in half, spreading one half w PB, top with other half, cut.

Again, if you want to make the full-thickness bars, the original recipe is on The Kitchn.

___________

And now I'm hungry for something made with oats. 😉 So, I'm including a list of other oat-based recipes for you to try as well.

Oatmeal Recipes

Five Step Fruity Overnight Baked Oatmeal

Super easy, super quick to prep ahead, and good leftover too!

Continue Reading

DIY Microwave Oatmeal for One

A super quick, super cheap alternative to oatmeal packets!

Get the Recipe

One-Serving Dark Chocolate Microwave Oatmeal

These oats take just a few minutes to throw together, and they can be made dairy-free!

Get the Recipe

No-Stir Granola

This granola requires NO stirring during the baking time! Less mess, more even baking, more clumps. Perfect.

Get the Recipe

Orange-Coconut Granola Bars

Healthy? No. Tasty? YES.

Continue Reading

Homemade Granola Bars

This recipe makes hearty bars that freeze and travel well. Super easy, and less expensive than pre-packaged granola bars.

Get the Recipe

Molasses Oatmeal Bread

Soft, sweet, and delicious.

Continue Reading

The post Oat Squares (courtesy of WilliamB!) appeared first on The Frugal Girl.

I kept trying to find a time when I could make it and take good pictures of it, but it just never happened.

So I decided to say, "screw it" and I settled for pictures that are not-that-good.

Thank you for your understanding. Nursing school and all that jazz, you know?

I found the recipe in a Cook's Country magazine some years ago, and I haven't tweaked it much except that I add broccoli into mine, so then it's a one-dish meal (rice, chicken, and broccoli).

Perks of this recipe:

• it uses boneless chicken thighs, which are affordable and also hard to overcook
• it's a pretty fast recipe
• it uses mostly pantry ingredients
• it's a one-dish meal (as I said above!)

One small note: the first time I made this, it was too salty, in my opinion. Ever since then, I've used low-sodium soy sauce, and that improves the salt situation immensely.

To make this, mix soy sauce, sugar, water, bourbon, sesame oil, and pepper in a measuring cup, and microwave it for a minute or two, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Next, cut up your chicken thighs and mix them with cornstarch plus a couple of tablespoons of the soy sauce mixture.

Then cut up your broccoli into bite-sized florets.

Heat a little oil in a pan, add the broccoli, and saute for a few minutes, just until it's bright green and slightly softened.

Remove the broccoli, then heat a tablespoon or two of oil in the same pan, and add the chicken.

Cook that for about ten minutes, stirring every now and then.

Then you'll stir in garlic, ginger, and the soy sauce mixture and cook it until the sauce is syrupy.

Stir in the broccoli until it's coated with the sauce, and serve over rice.

And that's it!

Scroll down for the printable recipe with ingredients and measurements.

And click here for more main dish recipes!

Bourbon Chicken with Broccoli

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

A quick one-dish meal, served over rice

Print

Ingredients

• ½ cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Instructions

1. In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine soy sauce, sugar, water, bourbon, sesame oil, and pepper. Microwave until hot, 1-2 minutes, and stir to dissolve sugar.
2. In a bowl, combine chicken, cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce mixture; stir to combine.
3. In a nonstick skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Add broccoli; saute for several minutes or until bright green and slightly softened. Remove to plate.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in same skillet over medium heat until shimmering, then add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.
5. Add garlic, ginger, and soy sauce to skillet with chicken, heat to boil, and cook until sauce is syrupy, about 6 minutes. Add broccoli, stir to coat, and serve over rice.

Notes

Adapted slightly from Cook's Country.

Recommended Products

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The post Bourbon Chicken with Broccoli appeared first on The Frugal Girl.