Greek Stuffed Pitas

We love to cook and eat and try new recipes...it's kind of a big deal in our house. Whether I want it to be or not food has a bit of a sentimental/emotional connection within my family. That's just how I grew up, and I think we all have foods we grew up with that take us back to a place or a memory...or even foods that help us celebrate new memories.

We don't have a lot of written family history in my family, but the little that we do have does mention a few favorite recipes, and I LOVED that my ancestors included it. It gave me an insight into what they liked to eat and what was available during that time in their region of the world.

So, every now and then I like to record a recipe in our family journal that my family enjoys. It's not necessarily some spectacular, gourmet recipe, but it's simple and yummy and one we like to eat. This time it is "Greek Stuffed Pitas," which I adapted from my "Taste of Home" magazine that my mother so thoughtfully subscribes me to every year as a Christmas gift. I LOVE that magazine, because it has a lot of good, home-cooked style recipes that are used by every-day families.

GREEK STUFFED PITAS

Prep Time: 25min

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons lemon-pepper seasoning, DIVIDED

1 lb  lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 (10 oz) pkg frozen, chopped spinach - thawed and squeezed dry (I chop spinach further for finer texture)

4 green onions, chopped

1 (2.25 oz) can sliced black olives, drained

1 large tomato, chopped

6 pita breads, halved

12 lettuce leaves (I prefer green-leaf lettuce over iceberg)

1 cup (4oz) crumbled feta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small bowl mix yogurt, mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon of lemon-pepper. Chill in refrierator while preparing the remaining ingredients

2. In a large pan/skillet break up and brown the ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Add the spinach, green onion, olives, garlic salt and remaining 1 teaspoon of lemon-pepper. Heat through then stir in tomatos. Remove from heat.

3. Open pita halves. Line one side with leafy lettuce and fill with beef mixture - topping with feta cheese and yogurt sauce.

NOTE: For a more kid-friendly adaptation (since many little ones don't like tangy feta/yogurt flavors) you can replace the yogurt sauce with ranch and the feta with any shredded cheese of choice.