Tzatziki Sauce

I've been in the mood for more Greek food lately, recently conquering Spanakopita and Baklava (plus I've got big plans this week to make some more Greek dishes).  This time I decided to make some Tzatziki sauce after having a conversation with my family about how great it is.  They tend to buy it in large tubs at the wholesale club, but I was determined to prove I could make a better version homemade!  Tzatziki is perfect on gyros and makes an amazing dip for veggies or pita chips, too.  I made it a while back when I made Gyros with Marinated Chicken and Homemade Tzatziki Sauce, but this time around opted to make a couple of changes for a new flavor.
I generally followed my original Tzatziki sauce post, but used a bit of inspiration from another recipe I had spotted before and tossed in some dill weed.

First, I used my magic bullet to pulverize a cucumber into fine pieces, then used mesh strainer to filter out the water.  On a side note, I ended up tossing the strained cucumber water back into the magic bullet, added some fruit, and blended it into a pretty amazing smoothie.  Yay for efficiency!

I mixed the Greek yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, powdered garlic, dill weed, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

It made a great dip, and is even better on a gyro!

Ahh, yes.  I tasted it right away and it was delectable.  I brought samples into work for my other Greek food fans in the office and got awesome reviews.  The Greek yogurt really made the difference here--while my other recipe was good, this one was thicker, creamier and just all around perfect.  We have a little deli in our office building that serves their own version, but it is less thick and seems to be regular yogurt.  This version takes the cake!  

Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
1/4 cup cucumber finely grated (squeeze off juice)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons powdered garlic
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

Use a blender to chop cucumber into fine pieces, then squeeze out liquid with a strainer. In a medium bowl, add Greek yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, powdered garlic, dill weed, salt, and pepper and stir until well combined.