Being split between two cities is going to be difficult for me. I have to learn to live without my fully-stocked pantry and fridge, my stand mixer, endless pots and pans, and my million different cake, cupcake, bread, and cookie pans. I’m going to have to adjust to cooking with the bare minimum.
This dish will have no problem in my “new” life. It requires no special equipment and can be tossed together in no time. The leftovers make for a pretty great lunch the next day, too.
I lightened up this dish by making my own Alfredo sauce. The canned stuff (or worse, the packet stuff) scares me and has no place in my kitchen! This homemade Alfredo also passes on the heavy cream and copious amounts of butter. Trust me, this sauce is delish and you won’t even miss the cream or butter!
Lightened Up Pesto Chicken Florentine adapted from All Recipes
8 ounces dried whole wheat penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 3/4 cup lightened-up Alfredo sauce, recipe below (jarred will work as well)
2 tablespoons pesto
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add in chicken strips and cook until no longer pink on the inside, about 10 minutes.
Stir in spinach and tomatoes and cook for an additional 1 – 2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.
Mix together Alfredo sauce and pesto and pour into cooked pasta. Stir in chicken and spinach and mix well to combine.
Serve immediately.
Lightened Up Alfredo Sauce makes 1 3/4 cup 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce reduced fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook for 2 – 3 minutes or until soft.
Whisk in flour, salt, and pepper and stir until smooth. Cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and cook for 3 – 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened slightly.
Whisk in cream cheese and Parmesan cheese until smooth.
Summer means shorter work hours for me, but for some reason I’m finding myself less and less motivated to make elaborate meals. Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe the shorter work weeks make me lazy. Maybe it’s Summer Brain.
All that said, I love this dish because it tastes complicated but is really quite simple to make. The worst of it was it requires a lot of pans, plates, and utensils, but that’s not really my problem since Mike does the dishes 😉
Chicken Schnitzel with Parsley Potatoes
for the chicken: 1 cup flour 3 eggs, beaten 2 cups panko bread crumbs 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, butterflied and pounded to 1/4 inch thickness salt and freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup canola oil 2 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth 2 teaspoons capers juice of 1 1/2 large lemons 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
for the potatoes: 1 pound red potatoes, quartered or cut into eighths if large 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted juice of 1/2 large lemon 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped salt and pepper, to taste
To make the chicken, place the flour, eggs, and panko in three separate shallow dishes. Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper into the flour mixture.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess. Dip into egg and then coat with panko, using your hands to gently press the panko to the chicken.
Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 – 4 minutes each side.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until lightly browned. Add in chicken broth, capers, and lemon juice. Spoon over chicken and sprinkle with parsley before serving.
To make the potatoes, place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in butter, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. Toss gently until potatoes are coated evenly.
Coq au Vin has been on my must-cook list for years. Yes, years. I’m not sure why I never got around to making it, but I was pretty excited when I received this recipe for the “cooking with alcohol” swap from My Chicago Kitchen.
Now that I’ve made this, I know that I will be making this again and again and again. It was so easy to put together it was unbelievable. Slow cookers in my house are used pretty much only in the fall and winter. Once summer comes around, it goes into hibernation deep in my cupboards.
Why that happens, I’m not quite sure… but this recipe definitely convinced me that slowcookers are a year-round kitchen tool that I should be using!
Summertime Coq au Vin adapted from My Chicago Kitchen, originally from Williams-Sonoma
1 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper
8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 shallots, minced
2 cups dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
6 sprigs fresh parsley
6 springs fresh thyme
6 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cups pearl onions
2 cups sugar snap peas
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour and shake off any excess. Brown chicken in pan on all sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Place chicken into slow cooker.
Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of grease in pan. Add shallots and saute for 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat and pour in wine and chicken stock. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Pour into slow cooker over the chicken.
Add in parsley, thyme, and carrots, making sure the herbs are fully submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook for 2 hours on high or 5 hours on low.
After 2 or 5 hours, uncover and add in onion and peas, submerging them in the liquid. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes on low. Serve warm.
Thanks to Taste of Home Cooking for organizing! Make sure to check out the other recipe swap posts!
It’s swap time again! The theme this month was Mexican food and I received a recipe for Cream Cheese Enchiladas from Carrie’s Sweet Life. I read only the name of the dish and raised my eyebrows. I jumped to the conclusion that these were going to be filled with cream cheese and only cream cheese.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love cream cheese. Seriously. But the thought of eating a cream cheese enchilada was a bit too much for me. I read on and was very relieved to see that there were several other ingredients in the enchiladas in addition to cream cheese. Whew!
I absolutely loved these. They were super simple to make and had a great flavor, too. I followed in Carrie’s footsteps and made the filling and shredded all the cheese the night before. Then, the next day I assembled and baked them off. While they were in the oven I threw together a quick apple slaw to go with it.
Lightened Up Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas slightly adapted from Carrie’s Sweet Life
1 package Neufchatel or reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
2 cup prepared salsa (I used some homemade stuff I canned last summer)
1 cup shredded colby cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
8-8 inch flour tortillas
Preheat oven to 325°F.
In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and Greek yogurt until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa, 1/2 cup colby, and 1/2 cup cheddar.
In a separate bowl, mix chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Fold into cheese mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
Spread 1/2 cup salsa into the bottom of a large baking dish.
Place 1/3 – 1/2 cup of filling into the bottom third of a tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour remaining 1/2 cup salsa on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and center of enchiladas are hot. Serve immediately.
Thanks to Taste of Home Cooking for organizing! Make sure to check out the other recipe swap posts!
This post two-for-one deal. It’s a running and recipe post all rolled into one! Let me start the race recap with my Saturday. In my last post I talked about my nervousness and how I planned on dealing with it. So, what did I do all weekend?
Well, like I had said before, Mike and I went to the Cellcom Race Expo and picked up my race packet. We bought a running hat (for him) and some more running capris (for me) there. We then headed over to Hinterland for some beer & food. It was so good. We decided to sit in the lounge and I’m so glad we did. The space is really neat – we snagged a corner booth that had a nice view of the downtown area. The service and food were amazing. We’re already planning on next trip back – I’m sad they are a 40 minute trip away, but it’s definitely worth it.
We drank: Cherry Wheat (Crisp, cool and refreshing. Brewed using tart Door County cherries from Seaquist Orchards) and Bourbon Barrel Dopplebock (Dark amber color. Full-bodied. Pronounced notes of caramel and oak with a smooth bourbony finish. Aged 10.5 months). Both were delish.
We ate: Caprine supreme goat cheese curds with kimchee ketchup and Nueske’s smoked chicken pizza (maple bock barbecue, mango, chives, goat cheese). The cheese curds were different than any cheese curd I’ve had before – they were light and fluffy and the kimchee ketchup was awesome. The pizza was, of course, delish as well. I loved the addition of the mango.
Saturday, we wasted the day away at home and ran some errands. I felt sick with anticipation almost all day. I was refreshing the weather on my iPad every hour (definitely wasn’t helping). I ended up throwing together dinner early at around 5:00 so we could eat early and get to bed by 9:00.
Some people have certain foods they need to stay away from before race day. I’ve found that I can eat almost anything, but it’s best if I stay away from fiber and copious amounts of grease. I ended up making a dish with chicken sausage and bell peppers with a pasta salad side. I loved that this meal was filling, easy, and my stomach handled it perfectly.
Chicken Sausage & Peppers
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
12 ounces fully cooked chicken sausage*, cut into 1 1/2 – 2″ pieces
2 bell peppers, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add in onions and cook for 3 – 4 minutes or until they start to soften.
Add in sausage and bell peppers and cook until sausage is heated through, 3 – 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
*I used Johnsonville’s Chicken Sausage – Chipotle Montery Jack in my dish. I’ve had this type before and love it so I used it again instead of trying something new.
Easy Spinach Pasta Salad
12 ounces farfalle or other small pasta
1 teaspoon garlic olive oil or plain olive oil*
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain and immediately toss with garlic olive oil. Toss warm cooked pasta with spinach, onion, tomato and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
*I used a garlic evoo from a local store, The Olive Cellar. Love the place and will never buy olive oil (or balsamic) from any other place.
After eating a fair amount of this, Mike and I turned in for the night. He tried to calm my nerves by playing the Fun Run episode from The Office. It worked 🙂
Now, that brings us to Sunday: race day. Mike and I rolled out of bed at around 4:00 that morning and I nervously ate a banana and some Quaker Oatmeal Squares. I chugged a little water and then we were off to Green Bay. We weather was beautiful at first. Here’s a picture of me – all happy that it was race day and ready to conquer Cellcom once again.
I got about 2 miles in before I realized just how hot and humid it was. Last year was hotter, but this year was much more humid. I do not handle humidity or heat very well. Put the two together and well… I’m a goner. Let’s just say that there aren’t many pictures I want to post of my grossness mid-run. I will, however, share with you the pics Mike snapped during my last mile in Lambeau Field!
I may look happy and full of energy in the above photos, but miles 2 – 12 were killer. I was dragging and just mentally d-o-n-e with it all. After I crossed the finish line and found Mike, I loaded up on brats and beer. I got my picture taken with a complete stranger (??) and then changed into dry clothes before heading back out to Lambeau and cheering on the marathoners and snapping a few more pics.
I wish I could say that everything was perfect. That I hit my goal time. That I PRed. But none of that is true. I debated sharing my time with the world because I was embarrassed at first. Then, I realized that all runners have good days and bad days. I just happened to have a bad day. And even though my time was 2:27 and I finished nearly 15 minutes after my goal time, I still did better than the person I was just 2 1/2 years ago. I used to be someone who couldn’t run for 20 seconds straight and struggled through Day 1 of Couch to 5k for a solid week.
Wow, I can’t believe it’s May already! Time has been absolutely flying by. I feel like whenever I have deadlines looming in future time just gets away from me. Right now the deadlines are mostly work-related, but my impending half marathon is also out there. I have been only half-heartedly training so it should be interesting. I’m just hoping the weather will be nicer this year! Last year, they shut the race down just minutes after I crossed the finish line due to the extreme heat.
Last Friday I spoke briefly about how I had found so many great recipes on Kim’s blog, Feed Me, Seymour. I had to choose just one recipe for the swap, but I couldn’t stop myself from making another dish. So, today I share with you the other dish – garlic lime chicken enchiladas.
I adapted her recipe slightly and made a homemade enchilada sauce and used Mexican rice instead of plain white rice. If I’m ever short on time I will definitely use a canned sauce and white rice – this dish is so full of flavor that I’m sure it’s just as tasty the original way!
If you notice that the enchiladas seem a bit squished in the photo, well, it’s because they are. I couldn’t find my 9×13 pan anywhere. I tore the kitchen apart looking for it and finally settled on using a smaller pan. I “found” the 9×13 pan a week later when my mom returned it to me 😉 Guess I need to keep better track of my bakeware, huh?
Mexican rice: 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cloves minced garlic
1 thinly sliced red onion
juice of 1 lime
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups cooked Mexican rice (recipe above)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped and divided
2 cups enchilada sauce (recipe above)
1 tsp. olive oil
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese
To make the enchilada sauce, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour and chili powder and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly brown. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. Cook for 10 – 15 more minutes, until slightly thickened.
To make the rice, heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add in onion and saute until translucent, 3 – 4 minutes. Add in garlic and rice and cook until rice is slightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and fluff with a fork.
To make the enchiladas, preheat oven to 375°F. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Saute onions until slightly soft. Add in garlic and saute for an additional minute. Stir in lime juice, cayenne pepper, and tomato paste.
Remove pan from heat and add in chicken, Mexican rice, and half the cilantro. Stir to combine.
To assemble: place tortillas on a clean surface. Put 2 large spoonfuls of filling onto each tortilla and roll tightly. Place seam side down in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce on top of tortillas and top with shredded cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Ok, so this recipe was a total accident. A wonderful, delicious accident. You see, last weekend we went shopping and bought four types of cheese. Yes, four. I was supposed to buy cheddar, cheddar jack, mozzarella, and smoked gouda. But instead of buying smoked gouda, I accidentally bought buffalo jack. So, we went back to the store and got smoked gouda. So we ended up buying five types of cheese this weekend. They are now sitting happily with 3 other types of cheese in our fridge. I guess we really, really like cheese or something.
I had plans for four of the cheeses that we purchased, but since I wasn’t planning on buying a buffalo cheese, I obviously didn’t have anything to do with it. Yet. As I was making barbecue sauce it suddenly dawned on me – buffalo chicken mac & cheese. Bingo.
I encourage you to make this delicious, messy goodness. I definitely do not encourage you to calculate the nutritional info for this. It will make you cry. If you can’t find buffalo jack cheese, feel free to sub in a sharp cheddar.
Welcome to Wisconsin, folks.
Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese adapted from Food Network
1 pound whole wheat macaroni
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 pound cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, shredded
3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot or hot sauce of choice, divided
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, divided
1 jalapeño, minced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 cups skim milk
2 cups shredded buffalo jack cheese, divided
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly coat a 9×13″ baking dish with olive oil. Set aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in celery and onion and cook until soft, about 3 – 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and chicken and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 2 more minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of the hot sauce and 3/4 of the sliced green onions.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a small pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and mustard until smooth. Whisk in milk and remaining hot sauce and cook, stirring frequently, until thick, about 3 – 5 minutes. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of buffalo jack cheese and 3/4 cup of the cheddar cheese until smooth.
Spread half the pasta into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with half the chicken mixture and half the cheese sauce. Repeat with the remaining pasta, chicken, and cheese sauce.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small dish and toss with panko to combine. Toss with remaining 1/2 cup buffalo jack cheese and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese. Sprinkle panko cheese crumbs on top of casserole.
Bake in preheated oven until bubbly, 30 – 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with remaining green onions before serving.
This pizza kicks some serious butt. I stumbled across it in Food Network magazine a while ago (ahem, a year ago) but never got around to making it because our pizza stone cracked in half. I don’t even know what happened. I baked a loaf of bread on it, took it out of the oven, set it down and… it died. We actually kept the larger half for a while, baking sad little loaves of bread on it. We finally got around to buying a replacement, but it just sat on our kitchen cart for months. I finally got around to using it this weekend!
Anyway, this recipe is supposed to be the copycat of California Pizza Kitchen’s BBQ Chicken Pizza. I can’t attest to whether or not this tastes like CPK’s pizza (I’ve only been there once a million years ago), but I will say that it is really, really good.
I opted to make the pizza dough and BBQ sauce from scratch, but store bought will do just fine! I don’t think I will ever buy bottled sauce again – I absolutely love the recipe that I have now. It’s tangy with the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. I’ve retyped the recipe for dough and sauce below. The dough recipes yields about 1 pound of dough and the sauce will yield 1/2 cup of sauce.
for the pizza dough: 3 cups all purpose flour
1 – .25 ounce package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water (~110°F)
for the barbecue sauce: 1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
for the pizza:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast
3/4 cup grated smoked peppercorn gouda cheese or smoked gouda cheese
3/4 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
To make the dough: Fit stand mixer with dough hook. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Pour in oil and water. Mix on low speed until dough pulls away from side of bowl and gathers around hook and is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a large lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Set aside and let rise for 30 – 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the BBQ sauce: combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 – 40 minutes or until thick.
Preheat oven to 425°F and position rack in lower third of oven. Place a pizza stone on rack and let heat for at least 30 minutes.
Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and lightly grease with olive oil. Transfer dough to parchment and roll and/or stretch it out into a 12-inch round. Gently roll up edges to form a crust. Lightly brush with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook chicken until juices run clear. Remove chicken and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Lightly toss with 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce. Set aside.
Uncover pizza dough and spread remaining barbecue sauce on top. Top with gouda, mozzarella, red onion, and chicken. Slide pizza (on parchment paper) onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake for 25 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly.
Happy Friday! It’s time for another recipe swap! Before I get into that though, I have a funny story. I had first typed up this post over the weekend and (stupidly) wrote about how wonderful the weather was and how excited we were to start grilling again. Fast forward to Tuesday night/Wednesday. Ice storm. What the what?!?!
That said, Mike was such a trooper and grilled this for me so I would be able to post this as planned. I’m just thankful he didn’t get impaled by a falling icicle or tree branch. When is winter going to be over?
I loved that Jen at Becoming Pigzilla used a chardonnay jalapeno mustard, but I have no idea where I would even find something like that. I also don’t think I can justify another jar of mustard in my fridge, taking up very valuable fridge real estate. When I get around to buying more mustard, I’ll have to keep my eye out for more interesting flavors! I ended up using a small jar of sweet & hot mustard that we received a long time ago as part of a gift basket. It was absolutely perfect! I’m hoping to make this again soon… without the nasty weather!
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup mustard
2 teaspoons curry powder
salt and pepper, to taste
3 – 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 2-inch pieces
In a medium bowl, mix together olive oil, honey, mustard, and curry powder. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place chicken in a large dish and cover with 3/4 of the mustard sauce. Reserve the remaining sauce in an airtight container for serving.
Marinate chicken for 4 – 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Soak skewers for 30 minutes before grilling. Preheat grill to medium heat. Skewer chicken and grill until cooked through, about 12 minutes, turning every 3 – 4 minutes.
Serve hot with remaining sauce.
Thanks to Taste of Home Cooking for organizing! Make sure to check out the other recipe swap posts!
I love gyros. I love watching the cooks shave off pieces of the tender lamb from the… meat cone or whatever you might call it. This time, I tried making my own at home. I chose to make the pita versus buying it, but if you’re looking to save some time then by all means use a pocketless pita from the grocery store!
The entire process took me just under two hours, but the results were so worth it. My schedule was like this: marinate chicken and refrigerate, mix dough for pita and let rise for 30 minutes, make tzatziki while waiting for chicken and dough. Refrigerate finished tzatziki, roll out dough for pita, cook chicken and pita simultaneously. In between flipping pitas, slice tomatoes and onions. Assemble and serve.
Sure, it’s quite a bit of multitasking, but I think I made pretty good use of my time and when I got around to assembling, the chicken was still piping hot and the pitas were perfectly warm. The best part? I had all ingredients on hand already. Yes, I do keep a huge tub of Greek yogurt in my fridge at all times.
For the chicken: 1.25 pounds chicken breast
4 cloves garlic, smashed
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper
For the tzatziki: 1 – 17.6 ounce tub of plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, seeded
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
For the pita: 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cup warm water (110°F)
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
canola oil
For toppings:
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced 3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
Make a marinade for the chicken by whisking together garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and lightly coat with olive oil. Brown chicken on both sides and cook until juices run clear, about 4 – 6 minutes per side. Let rest before slicing into strips.
To make the tzatziki: shred or grate the cucumbers and squeeze excess moisture out. Make sure to get as much liquid out as possible! Mix together yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld.
To make the pitas: in a large bowl, mix together yeast, salt, sugar, olive and water and let stand for 5 minutes or until top is foamy.
Using your hands, gradually add in flour 1/2 cup at a time to the wet ingredients. Knead until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 6 pieces and roll out on a floured surface into 8-inch rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Lightly poke the surface with the tines of a fork, being careful not to poke through the dough.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat the skillet with oil and place one dough round into the skillet and fry the bread until it starts to puff and bubble, about 1 – 2 minutes. Flip and fry the other side. Repeat with remaining dough.
Assemble gyros by piling a pita with chicken, tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, and onions. Enjoy!
DoughSeeDough 