Layered Greek Dip

This past weekend I thought I'd host a big family get together.  I had one of my sister's and her family (my baby sister lives too far away for an impromptu get together), my mother-in-law and my parents.  It was a big send off to my world travelling parents as they got ready to leave for France the following day. 

 

Ya, this whole semi-retirement thing my parents are trying out?  Two months in Florida, a three week visit home then jet off to France with their friends?  Let's just say it doesn't suck ... at all.  It's lookin' pretty good from where I'm sitting.  I received a picture of them standing on the Eiffel Tower yesterday with the glory of gay Paris in the background. *sigh*  Yesterday the highlight of my day was getting the laundry washed, dried, folded AND put away on the same day.  You may now marvel at my awesomeness.

 

Anyway, I had decided to make a Greek feast for my guests because we all adore Greek food.  So I marinated 30 chicken thighs in my Greek Chicken Marinade (get that recipe HERE) which is one of my top recipes here on the blog.  It is divine, oh so easy and designed to impress your guests.  Seriously, you have to try it.

 

Tip: When you buy chicken thighs (or breasts which you then cut into small pieces) put them in a freezer Ziploc, pour this marinade over them, massage those thighs and freeze them!  This way they're already marinated and ready for the grill.  Plus, as they thaw they get that little extra marinating time.

 

Along with the glorious thighs I also made Lemon Roasted Greek Potatoes (recipe to follow soon because they were ahhh-mazing!!).  My sister made dessert as well as a Greek salad (using my Mom's infamous Greek Salad dressing -- this recipe will also make an appearance soon on the blog) and we had Greek pitas and copious amounts of Costco Tzatziki to round out the meal. 

 

To keep with the Greek theme I decided to make a dip as an appetizer.  So I decided to make a trip to Costco to buy my beloved Tzatziki.  Ahhh, Costco.  You magical mega superstore that sells everything from packages of pork chops that could feed the Duggar clan, to jungle gyms, DVD players and wall safes.  I'm still suspicious that Costco uses some kind of Vulcan mind control to get me to buy waaaay too much stuff but I have yet to prove my theory.  One of my favourite things to get there (besides their yoga pants) is their Tzatziki dip.  Oh man!  This stuff is awesome on pita, cucumber slices, in wraps, on your finger ... ya, I did it.  Don't judge me. 

 

So with this dip as a base, I added some Greek yogurt for that tangy little kick, topped it with store-bought roasted red pepper hummus (hummus is my new addiction) and fresh veggies and feta.  Did I cheat by using store-bought Tzatziki and hummus?  Depends who you ask.  You could try asking one of my 9 year old nephews but you would have a hard time getting an answer because his mouth was continuously stuffed with this dip.  He apparently didn't mind that Aunt Laurie didn't make it totally from scratch and neither did anyone else.  'Nuff said. 

 

This was a really delicious and impressive dip and will definitely be making a repeat performance this summer as we enjoy the sun while sitting in Costco lounge chairs wearing suntan lotion bought at Costco while watching the kids play Bocce ball, you guessed it, bought at Costco.  



 

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used 2%)
1 cup Tzatziki sauce (I adore the Skotidakis brand sold at Costco)
I (7oz) container of Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, cut in quarters
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped OR sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1 cup English cucumber, finely diced
3/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled

In a medium bowl, combine the Greek yogurt and the Tzatziki sauce until well blended.  Spread over the bottom of a pie plate or serving dish.

Carefully spread the hummus over the Tzatziki mixture. 

Top with the remaining ingredients leaving the feta as the last addition.  Serve with mini pitas, crackers or nacho chips.  Store in refrigerator if not using right away.

Source: The Baking Bookworm

Note: If you have a moment I'd love it if you'd consider Pinning this blog post to your Pinterest account.  Just hover your cursor over the picture above (or any picture in any of my future posts) and a 'Pin It' button will appear {just like magic!}.  Click on the 'Pin It' button and share this post with all of your Pinterest peeps!  By pinning you'll also have an easy way to find your way back here!  If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest you can find me HERE.