Posted by: Maggie
Happy New Year everyone!
I'm pretty sure if I posted a cookie or cupcake recipe today, on the day after 83%* of people vow to eat healthier, you'd all find out my address, break into my apartment, pin me down, and force feed me leafy greens and oatmeal. That's not to say that I don't like greens and oatmeal...I just don't want a bunch of angry health nuts assaulting me.
In the interest of not being a diet saboteur, I bring you this chicken gyro recipe. It's one of my favorite low-calorie dinners that doesn't taste low-calorie. If you want, you can make it healthier with whole wheat pita...I just couldn't do that. I've expressed how I feel about most whole wheat bread products before. I love whole wheat sandwich bread, but I just can't do whole wheat pita bread.
You will have a lot of leftover tzatziki sauce if you follow the recipe as written, but I like to have it on hand as a dip for baby carrots and pita triangles, so I make the full amount!
*I made up this statistic.
What you'll need:
For serving:
4 pitas or flatbreads, warmed for 20 seconds in the microwave between damp paper towels
Diced tomatoes
Diced red onion
Dried parsley
For the chicken:
2 teaspoons garlic, minced (about 4 cloves)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons non-fat greek yogurt (I recommend Fage)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
A few shakes of salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves
Combine all of the above ingredients except for the chicken in a dish, and whisk together to make a marinade. Add in chicken, and turn to coat. Cover, and place in the fridge for 1 hour to marinate.
Meanwhile, make the tzatziki sauce:
16 ounces non-fat Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and very finely diced
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons minced garlic (3-4 cloves)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salt, pepper, and fresh lemon juice to taste
Using a thick stack of paper towels, squeeze the diced cucumbers to remove as much water as possible. Repeat if necessary. In a medium bowl, combine cucumbers with all of the above ingredients. Cover, and place in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
After the chicken is done marinating, place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until it is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear. 99% of the time that I make chicken I use these. They are relatively small, cook evenly, and are done in 20 minutes flat. The ginormous breasts (heheh) that I often see at the store might need even longer. Make sure they're cooked to 165 degrees to be safe. (Can you tell I'm kind of neurotic about cooking chicken?)
After your chicken is thoroughly cooked, allow it to rest for a few minutes, and then slice it into strips.
Assemble gyros with chicken, tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, onions, and dried parsley, wrap in foil for ease of eating, and enjoy!
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Source: Adapted from Elly Says Opa
I love a good Gyro!!! I much prefer chicken over lamb.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you
this looks delicious Maggie...and we totally have the same food-brains today, I have plans for something similar tonight. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteStill remember the first time I had a Gyro. It was at Miami Subs, and I've been hooked ever since!
ReplyDeleteWell isn't it fun that my boyfriend just happened to make me Greek chicken skewers last night for dinner and I have leftovers of that and Greek salad today. And the pita bread. Basically all I need to make this happen is yogurt. Amazing, because I was hoping to somehow switch it up and turn it into a slightly different meal for leftovers. You read my mind!
ReplyDeleteYum... I need to try this. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJust so you know I would have been happy with a cookie recipe too :)
http://inthekitchenandonthecouch.blogspot.com/
gyro looks delicious...I can't wait to give the recipe a try. you should post a low calorie cupcake recipe :)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year,
jin
these look amazing.
ReplyDeleteThis looks fantastic. My mouth is watering looking at the picture. We hope you two had a wonderful holiday!
ReplyDeletei dont do chicken but i think these would be mighty tasty with shrimp!
ReplyDeleteTzatziki is definitely a great dip/sauce to have around. It brightens up any dish and is healthy to boot. This is a perfect "resolution" meal :)
ReplyDeleteAlexis - great idea! I'm going to have to try that next time!
ReplyDelete- Maggie
This must be my lucky day , we love chicken gyros and I shall definitely make this for my hubby!
ReplyDeleteI love gyros! These sound great! I'm going to earn major brownie points making these!
ReplyDeleteI made this tonight...have to say I was a wee bit disappointed only because my chicken was dry and I only cooked it for 35 minutes and they were the thick ones...but other then that....it was GOOD!
ReplyDeleteHi Mamarazzi! Try cooking the chicken for a bit less time if you make it again. I only cooked my chicken for 20 minutes and it was extremely moist! Glad you enjoyed it otherwise!
ReplyDelete- Maggie
Thanks for sharing thi recipe. My chicken s marinating and I just prepped the sauce for tonight. It smells awesome!
ReplyDeletewould you know the total amount of calories
ReplyDeletekissestou@bellsouth.net
These earned an A+ from my husband!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked them! It's one of my faves :)
DeleteI just got back from Greece and have looked at so many websites looking for something more authentic to the cuisine over there and this was spot on! Thank you so much for this incredible recipe! I may try to pass it off as my own to my friends, but I'll give props to you, no worries :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Megan! You should check out the blog that I adapted this recipe from too - Elly Says Opa (linked up there under the recipe.) I think she has a lot more Greek recipes where this came from!
Deletesounds so good! I need to try this :)
ReplyDeleteEver since the greek yogurt trend, making tzatziki has been without the annoying step of draining yogurt. So much faster! Do you ever put fresh dill in your tzatziki? It's off the hook. So good.
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling like you have inspired my dinner for tonight.
You know, I love the tzatziki recipe I have posted here, but lately I've been buying this amazing local brand that is PACKED with dill. I actually prefer it to the homemade one because of it!
DeleteP.S. I hope you start blogging again soon!! :)
I will at some point - I'm a student now and we're too broke to keep blogging at the moment! ha. I miss the squirrel though.
ReplyDeletePS I have this marinating in the fridge right now, but I used steak because it was on sale. Marinade is A+!!!
I just made this tonight, and they were indeed delicious! I have leftovers too, and I'm actually excited to have them for lunch tomorrow. Thanks a ton, from this picky eater!
ReplyDeleteI made this for dinner on Friday. THANK YOU so much for this recipe! !Best I have ever had!! thanks again :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm making this tonight for dinner..... I can't wait already !!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful recipe and love the fact that it is so low in calories.
Thank you for sharing this.
Cheers
Gauri
PS - By the way i love what you call your blog !!
Thanks Gauri!
Delete83%! someone is a HIMYM fan ;)
ReplyDeleteAlso AMAZING recipe!!!!
83%! someone is a HIMYM fan ;)
ReplyDeleteALSO AMAZING RECIPE :)
First comment on blogger just to tell you how good it was. yummmmmm
This was delicious!! I've made this twice in just 2 weeks because my family loved it so much. In fact, my daughter asked me to make it for a birthday party this weekend. Thank you for sharing this delicious and surprisingly healthy recipe!!
ReplyDeleteI made this tonight - LOVED it! I have a greek placeI go to all the time. I'll probably be going less often now because of this yummy recipe. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThis was amazing!!!! :D Chicken turned out fantastic! The only thing I wasn't too impressed with was the Sauce. The greek yogurt I used made it too bland :(
ReplyDeleteThis was AMAZINNNNGG!! A+! A hit in my house (aside from my 2 year old, but what do 2 year olds know) :] Thank you for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome- the chicken was great- super tender and flavorful (let marinate for about 1.5 hours) and the sauce tasted just like I would get from my normal mediterranean delivery spot in nyc. I served it over a cup of mixed greens and added a chunk of really good feta for an awesome, super filling, low-carb salad.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I love that you adapted it to be a salad. That sounds really delicious.
Delete