Pick Your Own Dinner, Greek Meze Style! Lemony Asparagus & Chicken, Falafel, Pitas & More!

Hi this is Pranika! Kids love to have choices and that is no different when it comes to dinner.

When we were getting our list ready for the grocery store the other day, I asked the girls if they wanted a tray of different stuff to choose from for dinner and they thought it was a fabulous idea! This is a pick-your-own-dinner, Greek meze style!

It’s colorful, healthy, and has lots of choices for even the pickiest of people. And best of all, it is very quick!

I took out a bunch of small trays and dishes and filled them with prepared hummus, pita chips, sliced cherry tomatoes sprinkled with sea salt, peel and sliced cucumber, olives, and canned chickpeas (drained & rinsed) dressed with 1 tsp of olive oil, juice of half a lemon, and sea salt to taste. I also served pita pockets as well.

To fill the pitas, in addition to the above-mentioned, I prepared boxed falafel (we prefer the casbah brand) and we alternate baking and frying them. This time we fried them. We used a melon baller to measure and fried them in canola oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Lemons are loved by our whole family. To round out the meal, I prepared lemon-seasoned asparagus and chicken chunks to go with the meze platter.

The family and our dinner guest had so much fun with this meal. Everyone got to choose what they wanted and there were plenty of grains, protein, and veggies to go around.

Pick-your-own-dinner was a huge success. Hope your family has fun with it too. Happy cooking and eating!

Lemony Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus (about 1.5 lbs)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup water
Zest of 1 lemon

Heat oil over medium heat in non-stick pan. Combine all ingredients in pan and mix well. Cover and cook for 7 minutes or until desired texture. Serve immediately.

Lemony Chicken

1 package of chicken breast chunks, about .7 lbs
Juice of 1 lemon
½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
Zest of 1 lemon

Heat oil over medium-high heat in non-stick pan. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add contents of bowl to pan. Cook chicken for 7-8 minutes, stirring regularly. Chicken should be cooked through with some browning as well. Enjoy!