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.

Crown Royal Steak Marinade

       Lately, I have been fascinated with experimenting with alcohol in many different recipes. I have previously used Crown Royal with chicken and pasta and I found it added a richness to the dish so I figured why not use it to marinate steak and see what happens. Let me tell you, I am happy I did.

   I have been trying to stay away from ready made marinades from the grocery store because of all the additives and preservatives and who else knows what that could be hidden in them. I figured if I am going to be a serious cook and maybe someday open my little café or bakery, I must be willing to experiment with a variety of things in the kitchen. For me, the goal of this little blog is to share my experiences as well as improve my skills in the kitchen. I also wanted to have a platform to share my triumphs as well as failures. I mean, let's be real, you can't succeed all of the time but I think learning where you went wrong or what went right is important.


   Okay now back to this marinade. Since, I previously used Crown in a recipe and had some leftover in the liquor cabinet, I thought to myself, why not try it with beef this time instead of chicken? I loved how it turned out in my chicken recipe so I surmised it would be good here as well. If you are worried the meat ended up tasting like Crown, don't be. The alcohol cooked off and just imparted the wonderful flavor of the spirit. The brown sugar took away the harsh bite of Crown while it added just a hint of sweetness. I found the steak to be flavorful and tender. I definitely will be trying out different bourbons in the future with my proteins. Please do not be scared to try this! It was really delicious and only took a few minutes to put together. Most of the time was spent marinating the meat. It sat for about 3 hours in the marinade and I assume it would only get better if it spent another couple of hours in it. Next time you are having steak for dinner and you have a little bit of Crown in the cabinet give this marinade a try.

Crown Royal Steak Marinade

Melissa DeWees

Ingredients

1. Your favorite steak about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs.(I used sirloin)
2. 3 T olive oil
3. 1/3 c Crown Royal
4. 3 T brown sugar
5. 2 T soy sauce
6. 1/2 lemon juiced
7. 2 cloves of garlic minced
8. 1/4 c Italian Parsley chopped
9. 1/2 tsp. salt
10. 1/2 tsp. black pepper
11. 1/2 tsp. onion powder
12. 1 T Dijon mustard
13. pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions

• Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together.

Look at the beautiful color!

• Add steak to a Ziploc bag and then pour the marinade over the meat.
• Massage the marinade
• into the meat and close bag.
• Marinate for at least 2 hours.
• Remove steak from marinade and try and get the garlic off the meat before grilling. You do not want it to burn because it could leave behind a bitter taste.
• Grill to your favorite temperature and enjoy with your favorite sides. Finish with a little sea salt if desired.