A Mediterranean feast

Tonight we made one of my hubby's favorite types of foods, Mediterranean! We always used to do grilled chicken lettuce wraps filled with homemade hummus and tabbouleh. Now we tried a different take on it. We used some recipes from www.health-bent.com, and modified them a little to our tastes and to what we had on hand. My kids loved it because they got to have meat on a stick, hubby loved it because he got to eat his favorite flavors and I loved it because it was veggie loaded and delicious! Something I didn't think of, but feel free to take the meat off of the stick and enjoy in a tasty lettuce wrap with the dipping sauce and salad. I am sure it would be amazing!

Meat on a stick (aka. meat kabobs)

2 lbs ground beef (grass fed preferable)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp dry parsley
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
pepper to taste

Soak bamboo skewers for 30 minutes or more. Heat grill to Medium-High. Mix beef and seasoning in large bowl. Form meat into large hot dog or sausage like shapes around skewers. Grill until brown throughout. Enjoy!

Veggie Baba Ganoush

5-6 summer squash
7-10 cloves garlic, with skin on still
olive oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste, can also use sesame seeds or sesame oil)
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Remove steams and halve summer squash. Place on sheet to roast, drizzle with olive oil. Place garlic on sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil and wrap up in foil. Place the squash and garlic in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Remove and allow to cool until garlic can be touched with bare hands. Place the squash, garlic, olive oil, juice, tahini, salt and pepper in food processor. Blend until pretty smooth. Serve along side the beef kabobs for a delicious dipping sauce.

Tafooleh salad

1 english cucumber, diced
1 pint grape/cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 sweet onion (vidalia), minced
4 lemons, zested and juiced
handful of fresh mint leaves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and allow to sit in the fridge for about an hour or two before serving.