Tzatziki Sauce

We have a favorite Greek restaurant in town and they have the best Tzatziki Sauce. I've tried several recipes at home and none of them even compare. The problem was is that I wasn't using Greek yogurt. You wouldn't think it would make much of a difference, but it's thicker and has more of a sour cream texture. But Greek yogurt was hard to find until now. Yoplait has come out with their Greek yogurt. And it's delicious. I found it at my local grocery store near the regular yogurt.

I searched internet recipes and they call for 8 oz. of Greek yogurt and Yoplait only sells it in 6 oz. containers so I winged it and made up my own recipe using several recipes from online to guide me. Here's my Tzatziki Sauce:

Tzatziki Sauce

1 (6 oz) container Yoplait Greek Yogurt
3/4 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tsp dill (more to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour for best results. You can use your food processor if you desire a smoother consistency. Enjoy!


** We enjoyed our Tzatziki Sauce with sliced steak, onions, tomatoes, cucumber in a grilled pita.

Pudding Pops

We just made homemade pudding pops today. I remember eating them as a little girl. And boy, were they good! So creamy and delicious. So when I found this recipe I was excited to give them a try. The only hindrance was finding popcicle molds. I'd been looking for them for several months thinking that they would be more readily available in the spring/summer. But I just found them at TJ Max on Thursday evening. This morning we whipped up a batch and put them in the freezer. They were enjoyed this afternoon and were really yummy...not as good as the store-bought from the '80's but still, pretty good. I think next time I might try to do a swirl of chocolate and vanilla. Give 'em a try.

Pudding Pops
makes 6 popcicles

1 small package pudding mix
milk according to package
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Add milk to pudding mix according to the package instructions. Add sugar and evaporated milk to the pudding and mix well. Pour into 3 oz. paper cups or popcicle molds. Place in the freezer. When paper cups are partly frozen add popcicle sticks. Freeze until firm.

French Vanilla Hot Chocolate

This is a modified version of El's Hot Chocolate. It's super delicious.

French Vanilla Hot Chocolate Mix

10 cups powdered milk
1 lb Nestles Quick chocolate milk
2 tbsp cocoa
1 lb jar French Vanilla creamer

Mix and store in an ice cream bucket in the freezer.

Put 1/3 cup of mix into a mug and top with 2/3 cup of hot water. Enjoy!

This makes a great holiday gift. I've tried adding different flavored creamers, but French vanilla tastes the best.

El's Hot Chocolate Mix

This is one of my favorite recipes...only I just received it a year ago. It's something that I grew up with and it was made by a family friend. We drank this hot chocolate when we went camping and when we visited their house. Delicious and fun to make at home!

El's Hot Chocolate Mix

10 cups powdered milk
1/2 lb powdered sugar
1 lb Nestles Quick chocolate milk (sugar-free)
2 tbsp cocoa
1 lb jar Creamora

Mix together and store in an ice cream bucket in the freezer.

For hot cocoa mix 1/3 cup of the mix with 2/3 cup hot water. Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Yogurt

I told you that I was on a pumpkin kick. ;) Anyway, I had more canned pumpkin in the fridge and I didn't want to waste it (since there's a pumpkin shortage and all) so I decided to mix up some pumpkin yogurt and it's surprisingly good.

Pumpkin Yogurt

3/4 cup pumpkin
1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix and enjoy.

You can adjust the brown sugar and cinnamon to your liking. I didn't even really measure when I added so I hope the measurements are correct. You can also add some allspice and nutmeg to make more of a pumpkin pie yogurt. Have fun mixing!