Greek Yogurt Marinated Chicken

         I think I may have mentioned before chicken is not my favorite protein to eat. I think if I was not allowed any other kind of meat for the rest of my life I would just become a vegetarian. Well, maybe not but I definitely would not eat it often. This is because I usually find chicken, especially breasts to be dry and unappealing. With that being said I do like the drumsticks and thighs because to me they are usually more juicy and flavorful than the breasts. I think today I may have found a solution to this issue.

     In an effort to save a little bit of money, I decided this week I was going to cook only what I have in the house and not run to the store every other day. Looking through my freezer I noticed I had quite a few chicken breasts. I bought them when they were on sale and just prepackaged and froze them. I don't know if you have noticed but food is getting to be mighty expensive lately.  In fact, a few of my friends and I were just having a discussion about doing a $30 budget for a week challenge. We wanted to see if it was possible to live off $30 but still eat good food. I think we are going to do it in a few weeks after we work out the details. I know a couple of our rules are going to be we cannot live off of ramen noodles packages and we can't eat at work. We can only eat what we purchased for the week. It should be interesting. I definitely will let you know when we do it and will tell you about our experiences.

      Back to this chicken. I was so pleased with how it turned out. It was juicy and flavorful and may change how I think about chicken. I marinated the chicken in a yogurt based marinade for a couple of hours. In case you did not know, yogurt breaks down the protein in chicken causing it to become juicy and tender. You do not want to marinate it too long because it may denature the proteins in chicken too much and you might end up with mushy chicken. I let mine marinate for 2 hours and it was perfect. The marinade itself only took a few minutes to put together so if you are short on time this would still be a good option. I believe even if you only had 30 minutes to let it marinate it would still be tender. Next time you are in the mood for chicken, give this a try.

Greek yogurt marinated chicken

 

Melissa DeWees

 

Ingredients

 

1. 1 lb. of chicken breasts
2. 1 c Greek yogurt
3. 1/2 tsp. salt
4. 1/2 tsp. pepper
5. 1 clove of garlic minced
6. 1 shallot diced
7. 1/4 c fresh parsley chopped
8. 1 T olive oil
9. 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
10. 1 tsp. herbes de provence
11. 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
12. 1/2 lemon juiced

Directions

 

1. Whisk all of the ingredients except for the chicken in a bowl.
2. Salt and pepper the breasts and add to the marinade.
3. Let it marinate for as little as 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. If you marinate longer than 30 minutes put it in the refrigerator.
4. Heat grill while letting the chicken return to room temperature.
5. Grill until meat is cooked through.
6. Enjoy with your favorite sides.