Grilled lamb

Does this look appetizing to all of you?

I love rare meat...I don't know why...there is just something about it.

Maybe its the animalistic side of me coming out...or maybe it is just delicious.

Or maybe BOTH!

Anyway this lamb had an AWESOME rub, that gave it so much flavor, without over powering the taste of the meat itself.

Oh my so delicious.

Plus you just can't go wrong this time of year when you grill.

Everything taste better on the grill in my opinion.

So this was served with some grilled lemons and a lemon orzo...sounds really lemony, but it was perfect!

This recipe calls for a butterlied leg of lamb, but I did not buy a leg of lamb

because they are $30...and that is just NUTS! 

So instead I bought lamb shoulder, and it was just as good as I expect the leg would have been.

I think I bough shoulder...I can't really remember now if I'm being honest.  

Onto the food...you must try this one!

ENJOY!

Spiced Butterflied Leg of Lamb

2 T olive oil

1 T coriander seeds, crushed

1 T fennel seeds, crushed

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

S&P

1 1/2 lbs butterflied leg of lamb

oil for grill

2 lemons, quartered

In a shallow dish, combine olive oil, coriander, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Add lamb, and turn to coat.  Marinate at room temp for 30 min or overnight in the fridge.

Heat grill to med low, lightly oil grates.  Place lamb on grill. Cover and cook until thermometer reads 130 degrees for medium-rare, 6-8 min per side.  (remember to adjust the cooking time for different cuts of meat). Transfer lamb to a plate and cover loosely with foil; let rest 5 min.

Meanwhile, grill lemon wedges until cut sides are marked, about 1 min per side.

Thinly slice lamb and serve with grilled lemon wedges and orzo.

Lemon Orzo

1 lemon

S&P

1 cup orzo

1 T olive oil 

2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Use vegetable peeler to remove peel from half the lemon in wide strips (leaving the bitter white pith behind).  

Thinly slice peel with a sharp knife.  Halve lemon and squeeze 2 T of juice out.

Bring a large saucepan of water to boil; add generous amount of salt.  Add orzo and lemon peel.  Cook until orzo is al dente; drain and return to pan.

Add lemon juice, oil and scallions.

Season with S&P and toss to combine.  Serve warm or at room temp.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: ****

Lamb Burgers

So the next time I went to the store, 

BOOM, lamb on sale + coupon=amazing deal.

You guys, I'm so serious, these were AMAZING.

Do you like gyros?  

You will like these! 

Perfectly cooked lamb burgers + tzatziki=tasty 

What a great twist on a traditional burger.

It was such a nice change.  

THIS is the reason I love this challenge. 

Finding absolutely amazing recipes that I would have NEVER tried otherwise. 

Thank you Martha for the great recipes and inspiration.

Try these...thats an order!

ENJOY!

Greek Style Mini Lamb Burgers

1 1/2 lbs ground lamb

1/2 small onion, minced (1/4 cup)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 

2 tsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried

S&P
4 pita breads

2 med beefsteak tomatoes, sliced for serving

shredded lettuce for garnish (optional)

For Tzatziki 

1/2 english cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp chopped fresh mint

1 small garlic clove, minced

S&P

Heat grill to high.  Make tzatziki in a med bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, mint and garlic; season with S&P.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the burgers; in a med bowl, use a fork to gently combine the lamb, onion, parsley and oregano; season with S&P.  Gently form the mixture into 16 small patties, about 3/4 in thick.  Grill until med-rare, 2-3 min per side. 

To serve, warm pitas on the grill

halve pitas and fill with tzatziki , burgers and tomatoes.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: ****

Lets do some grillin'

mmmmmMMMMmmmmmm

Look at those grilled beauties. 

So this recipe called for lamb,

I had a coupon for organic lamb.

PERFECT, right?

NO!

The store didn't have the lamb that I had the coupon for. 

Because I refused to pay full price, I bought beef.

And it was still delicious. 

So you could use beef, lamb, pork, chicken, or even portabella.

The dipping sauce was amazing and the flavor from the grilled lemon totally made the dish.

I served them with an orzo salad, 

you could also grill up some veggies, potatoes or cook up some rice.  

Anything would be good with these goodies.  

ENJOY!

Lemon Garlic Lamb Kebabs

1 1/2 lbs leg of lamb, well trimmed and cut into 20 equal cubes

8 thin lemon wedges

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for grill

2 T fresh lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, minced

S&P

Feta dipping sauce (recipe below)

Heat grill to high and assemble 4 long skewers alternating 5 lamb cubes with 2 lemon wedges on each.  Arrange the skewers on a nonmetallic dish. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice and garlic.  Pour the marinade over the skewers; turn to coat.  Let stand for at least 5 min.  Season with S&P.

Lightly oil grill grates and place skewers on the grill; cover and cook, turning occasionally until grill marks are visible and the meat is cooked to desired doneness.  

1-2 min per side for med-rare.

Serve with sauce.

Serves 4.

Feta Dipping Sauce

2 oz feta cheese

1 T fresh lemon juice 

S&P

In a blender, puree the feta, lemon juice, and 2 T water.  Season with S&P.

Logan Rating: ****

200th POST!

Another momentous occasion...this is the 200th post! 

200 posts +30min/post=6000 minutes of my life dedicated to bringing you GREAT recipes!

I'm honored to have 26 followers and hope you all enjoy ready this blog,

thanks so much for coming on this crazy ride with me! 

ONTO THE FOOD!

Doesn't this look delicious!?!

Well I must tell you THAT IT WAS!

This was our Easter dinner and it was fantastic with a nice glass of red wine.

Logan was less enthused about the lamb, a little "gamey" for him...but I thought it was awesome.

The yogurt sauce was a PERFECT accompaniment and the orzo side was tasty as well.

While you will probably not eat lamb everyday, it is a nice special occasion meal and actually was not as expensive as I would have thought.  

However next time I might splurge for a more expensive cut, because this was a little fatty.

This also might taste delicious with a sirloin or some sort of beef...let me know if you try it.

Did I mention this only takes 20 min?

A restaraunt quality meal in 20 min! YES it can be done.

Try to PROVE ME WRONG!

ENJOY!

Lamb Chops with Yogurt Sauce

4 lamb rib or shoulder chops (8oz each)

S&P

2 T olive oil

1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt

1 T minced shallot

2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Season both sides of the lamb chops with salt and pepper.  Heat oil over med-high heat.  Cook the lamb until it reaches 140 degrees (med-rare), 4-6 min per side.  Let rest, covered for 10 min.

Meanwhile, make the sauce; in a med bowl, whisk together the yogurt, shallot, cilantro, and lemon juice.  Season with S&P, serve with the lamb.

Serves 4.

Orzo and Snap Pea Salad

S&P

1/2 lb orzo

1 lb sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved crosswise

2 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2 in pieces

3 T fresh lemon juice

2 T olive oil

2 T finely grated parm 

Cook orzo for 5 min in a pot of boiling water.  Add peas and squash and cook until the orzo is al dente and the veggies are crisp-tender, about 3m in.  Drain well and return to the pot.

Add the lemon juice, olive oil, and cheese.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  Toss to combine.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: ***