Today’s post is both a delicious and sad one. Now I’m sure you’re probably wondering who describes a food post and/or a salad as deliciously sad, but let me explain. We’ll start with the delicious part first, because I don’t know about you, but I like to focus on the positive. Plus, hearing good news first always makes sad news easier to hear, right? So, as they say, let's stick a fork in it and get started, all we?

I’ve always been a sucker for Greek salads, but it wasn’t until we visited Santorini and I had a life changing Greek salad, that I really fell for them. I have yet to have a salad that comes close to touching the one I had during our trip, but that hasn’t stopped me from continuously making my (not-quite-Santorini-standard) own at home.

I tend to find myself reaching for Greek salads on repeat during the summer months. They’re always so light, crisp and refreshing and they make the perfect side along with some grilled meat or seafood. That is until I realized you could make the whole thing into one delicious grilled Greek salad. I know, I know, right?! So Greek-ing fantastic (Sorry, couldn’t help myself with that little pun right there!)!

Also, this salad couldn’t be any Greek-ing (Ok, last one, I swear!) easier to make. You make a simple 6-ingredient marinade (which also happens to be the salad dressing), toss it on some Shady Brook Farms turkey chops or cutlets (the perfect pieces of meat for soaking up the ideal amount of flavor from the marinade), prep the rest of your ingredients, do a little grilling (the turkey, romaine, peppers and pitas all take a turn on the grill) and then assemble it into one big fat Greek salad loaded with onions, peppers, feta cheese, olives and fresh oregano. Opa!

One of my favorite parts of this salad is that everything that needs to be cooked, is cooked right on the grill (three cheers for not having to turn your stove on in the middle of a hot summer day). Another favorite thing about this recipe is that you can easily double or triple the amounts for more people, and, just like I did in the photos, you can set everything up for a make-your-own style salad bar (aka summer entertaining done easy and right).

While I used the turkey breast cutlets for this recipe (you can just as easily use the chops), I love that Shady Brook Farms offers so many other great products for easy grilling, from turkey brats to turkey sausages (you might remember me using those in my last post for the brand) to ground turkey (our meat of choice when making burgers). Even better, I love that all their products come from independent family farms where the turkeys are raised without growth-promoting antibiotics, a combination that always makes me feel good about what I’m buying, eating and serving at dinner. FYI, for all you Midwest and West Coasters, you can find all these turkey products under Shady Brook Farm’s sister brand, Honeysuckle White.

And now for the part you knew was coming, the sad part. This is my last post in my ambassadorship program with Shady Brook Farms.*Insert all the crying eye emojis*. I feel like I just wrote my first post for them way back when and now here we are, four posts later. Time sure flies when you’re having fun and eating well! I’m beyond grateful that I got to partner with a brand that I’ve known, used and loved long before blogging to create and share delicious turkey recipes for you to use all year long. I hope you’ve enjoyed eating them as much as I have enjoyed creating them (if you missed any of my previous Shady Brook Farms posts, you can find them here, here and here).

Now, I’d love to know- have you ever tried grilling salads/lettuce, and if so, what are your thoughts? Yay or nay?

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE MARINADE/DRESSING

2/3 cup olive oil
The juice of 6 lemons
8 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup fresh oregano, shredded or chopped
2 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

FOR THE SALADS

1 pound Shady Brook Farms turkey cutlets or chops
2 Romaine lettuce heads, ends trimmed off and heads sliced in half
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Olives (I like to use Kalamata but feel free to add in your favorite variety)
Tomatoes (I use cherry tomatoes, but diced beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes would also work well)
2-3 small cucumbers, sliced
1 red bell epper, sliced into thick strips
½ a red onion, thinly sliced
Pita bread
Fresh oregano

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices.
Place the turkey in a shallow glass dish, then pour about 1/3 of the marinade over the meat. Use tongs to flip the turkey over, making sure all sides are thoroughly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge, allowing it to marinade for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.
When you’re ready, prep your grill. If using charcoal, light the coals and let the grill heat up for 10 minutes. Add the turkey cutlets/chops to the grill and cook for about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the turkey has cooked, scrape the grill down, and then toss on the peppers and romaine lettuce heads. Be sure to brush the veggies with a little bit of the leftover dressing/marinade. The peppers should take about 3 minutes (depending on how roasted you want them to be) and romaine heads need about 1-2 minutes (just enough to give the heads some grill marks and flavor).
Finally, brush a little of the dressing on the pitas and toss them on the grill for about 30 seconds to a minute, again enough to lightly grill and toast them.
Turkey tip: loosely wrap the grilled turkey in tin foil, and place the packet on the back of the grill so that the meat stays warm and juicy. Then, slice it after everything else is ready, and serve.
Place all the toppings out in bowls or on platters/plates, then allow each person to assemble their salads with the toppings of their choosing. Finish with a drizzle of reserved dressing, an extra sprinkle of feta cheese and a touch of fresh oregano.
Store any leftovers in separate airtight containers (extra romaine can be stored in a ziplock bag or on a plastic wrap covered plate) in the refrigerator.
These salads make a pretty complete meal on their own, but it never hurts to have extra olives, stuffed grape leaves and maybe even some hummus on the side or as an appetizer. And nothing goes better with grilled foods, salads or summer than a nice glass of rosé! Enjoy!