secret recipe club: chicken souvlaki with tzatziki

last thursday, my mother stayed home with the baby so jason and i could have an hour or so to ourselves for dinner. we went to a great local greek restaurant and had moussaka and a gyro, both delicious dinners. and now i am on a greek kick, since i chose this chicken souvlaki and tzatziki from katherine marinelli over her  shadow layer cake (i was thinking of making a small, six inch version to celebrate absolutely nothing, when jason talked me out of it) or linguine with sweet potato parmesan cream sauce (until jason reminded me he does not care for sweet potatoes) for this month's secret recipe club assignment.

if it sounds like i settled on this recipe, i did not. i was not the least but disappointed in this recipe. with a little prep work the night before, this would be a perfect weeknight dinner. we enjoyed ours last night, while taking turns trying to get baby winn to sleep. there's another thing for you new parents: babies don't know about daylight savings time. so say buh-bye to that extra hour of sleep.

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the secret recipe club website! 

 

check out my previous secret recipe club posts: asian pork chops, lemon lime meltaways, blueberry peach crisp, minted lemon ice, white chocolate macadamia nut blondies, raspberry cream filled eclairs, jam swirled cheesecake, whole wheat grapefruit cake, chewy no bake granola bars & carrot cinnamon waffles, cannoli, gingerbread muffins, double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies, butterscotch peach cake, whole wheat honey pancakes, minted pineapple lime agua fresca, breakfast tacos, simple almond sandwich cookies, & roasted banana rum cake.

chicken souvlaki with tzatziki
adapted from katherine martinelli
serves 4

for the chicken souvlaki:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried mint or 1 tablespoon fresh mint
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound chicken breast, thinly sliced

for the tzatziki:
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (two 6 ounce containers)
1 cucumber, grated and strained of extra liquid
1 teaspoon dried dill
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

warm pita bread for serving

1. combine the chicken souvlaki ingredients in a quart ziptop bag. shake to make sure the spices are evenly distributed. place in the refrigerator and marinate a couple hours, or overnight.
2. strain the yogurt through a coffee filter for an hour. combine the strained yogurt, cucumber, dill, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. season with salt and pepper. serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.
3. when ready to cook the chicken, preheat your oven to 350F. place the chicken in a baking pan and bake about 20 minutes, tossing half way, or until the chicken is cooked completely.
4. serve the chicken with tzatziki on warm pita bread.