Greek Meatball Pitas--"Opa!"

This wonderful Greek Meatball Pita was an easy
weeknight addition to "sandwich night".  The meatballs
are so flavorful and I nibbled on them later in the week,
too!  They were great for lunch on the run. 

Still running?  Me, too!  Still trying to find a creative way to work "sandwich night" into your menu rotation?  Me, too!  How about some DELICIOUS warm, pita sandwiches?  I love making things with meatballs!  First of all, I can make the dish in stages.  I can mix up the meat with seasonings and what have you, seal it and stick in the fridge and run out the door.  I can come in and use my handy dandy medium scoop to make perfectly sized meatballs and line them on a baking sheet, cover them, and pop them back into the fridge.  I am probably on to two different carlines and at least one run to Boni's before I can pop them into the oven and bake them to perfection!  Add the incredibly tasty yogurt sauce and you've just hit a homerun.  (Use fat free Greek yogurt and you've not only saved calories and fat, but you've added valuable protein to your meal!)

Here's how I did it:

INGREDIENTS

This Greek Seasoning is great! 
I use it in ADDITION to my fave,
Cavender's Greek Seasoning.  This
is great in quinoa and couscous, too.

1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey breast)
1 tsp. Cavender's Greek Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. Greek Seasoning (McCormick brand--it has oregano, minced onion, and majoram)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
Whole Wheat Pitas
2 cups shredded lettuce (I use Romaine)
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese (I use reduced fat)

SAUCE
1/2 cucumber, peeled and grated
1 1/2 tsp. Cavender's Greek Seasoning
1 container (~7 oz.) FAT FREE Greek Yogurt
3 T. chopped mint
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

I work in stages.  After rolling out my little meat-
balls, I popped them into the fridge to wait until I
was ready to bake them.  If you do this, too, make
sure to PREHEAT your oven to 500 and take out
the meatballs and allow them to come to room temp.

1.  Sandwiches:  Heat the oven to 500 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the beef/turkey, seasonings, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Using a handy dandy medium scoop, scoop out a portion of the mixture and roll into a ball.  I place these on a foil lined (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) baking sheet.  You can use a rack in your pan to lift the meatballs off the baking sheet to get an all round brown, but it works just fine right on the baking sheet if you don't have a rack. Bake for 10 minutes.

2.  Sauce:  Squeeze excess water from the cucumber in paper towels.  In a small bowl, stir  together yogurt, cucumber, mint, lemon juice, salt, pepper and Cavender's Greek Seasoning. 

3.  Serve:  Wrap pitas in foil and place in the oven for 3 minutes.  Remove warmed pitas from the oven, stuff with shredded Romaine lettuce, meatballs and top with sauce.  You can add a sprinkling of feta on top for garnish.
 "Opa!"