Recipe Swap: Open-Faced Chicken Feta Gyros

There have been a few things that I've been craving during pregnancy: spicy tuna rolls (and sushi in general), reubens, frozen Greek yogurt, and gyros.  So when I received A Seasoned Greeting's blog for the swap, I was super excited to find these gyros.  Even better was that it used only 1/2 a pita since I'm trying to limit my carb intake right now in the event that I have gestational diabetes.

Because it's still (literally) freezing out, I was excited to use my new grill pan that my husband got me for Christmas.  It worked like a charm and created these gorgeous grill lines on the chicken.  The only thing I'm not so sure about is how to clean it.  I really should have oiled the pan first because I got some nice charred bits stuck to my now not-so-new and now extra-seasoned grill pan.

Now, it wasn't until I was sitting down to blog about this recipe that I made a *really* similar one many years ago. No matter, it didn't make this version any less delicious and it certainly fulfilled one of my cravings so thank you, Catherine!

Thank you to Sarah at A Taste of Home Cooking for being our awesome What's Cooking swap hostess and be sure to check out the rest of the group's collection in the blog hop, below.  You never know what great recipes you'll find!

Two Years Ago: Swedish Meatballs

Open-Faced Chicken Feta Gyros

Ingredients

For the Tzatziki sauce

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Salt and pepper
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

For the Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into slices
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Assembling

• Whole wheat pita bread
• Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
• Red onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (I like the cracked pepper variety!)

Directions

1. Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel or cheesecloth and squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. For best flavor, allow the flavors to meld overnight.
2. In a gallon sized zipper bag, mix together the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, Greek seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper.  Add chicken slices and set aside.  For best flavor, marinate overnight.
3. Cut the chicken breast into slices and cook in a grill or fry pan over medium heat until cooked through.
4. To assemble, place 1/2 of the whole wheat pita bread on the plate. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, diced tomatoes and sliced onions.

Source: Slightly modified from A Seasoned Greeting

Greek Salsa

Hi!  I'm back from my trip and figured I better post something soon so you know I made it back alive.  I had a blast but have to say that I thought rafting would be more thrilling than it actually was.  I guess I'm a thrill seeker and was expecting more rapids one after another...and with bigger water and drops...like what you see in the movies!  Had everyone in my boat not gotten dumped into the river it frankly might have been a bit boring.  Don't worry though, like I said, we're alive and all okay...the worst injury was a tiny scratch and some bruises (which I suspect were from getting back *in* the raft versus being dumped out of it). 

What happened was at Scramble Like a Rat (class III rapid) we somehow ended moving head on towards a HUGE undercut rock.  Our raft guide yelled "back" so that we'd paddle back but it was too late.  We made contact with the rock and our raft started tipping so she then yelled "high side" and that also failed.  I saw the raft was about to keel over so I was the first to bail.  Others were soon to follow.   Thankfully I went towards the side where the water was very still. I just stood up and when I looked around, to my horror I saw some of my friends floating down river and I had no idea where my husband was.  I also saw our guide.  She somehow was able to climb up the rock and held onto the raft by herself (amazing considering how heavy that thing is...it took 9 of us to move it from the road to the river bank!).  She right sided it and then came my way and I jumped back in.  Then we headed downstream and began collecting everyone else.  It's amazing how strong you can be on an adrenaline rush.  I was pulling folks into the boat that I'm sure were heavier than me.  Our raft guide said had I not bailed at the time that I did, we would have capsized the raft over for sure.  I feel like that's more dangerous because you can get stuck under the raft.  I found out later that my husband was the last to bail from the boat and he did get stuck under for a bit before being carried away by a strong current.  He was picked up by our friends in another raft.

We later found out that we did what is called a "dump truck" which is when a raft dumps all of it's passengers but remains upright.  In our raft guides 10 year career she has only had to call a "high side" manuever 15 tmies and this was only the 4th time she has had a dump truck.  Lucky us.  Some of it was her error (she is the one steering after all and she was kind of hard to hear) some of it was us (we kind of sucked at paddling backwards...give us a break though, 6 of the 8 people had NEVER rafted before!).  Either way, this wouldn't keep me from doing it again or venturing into bigger water.  The next day my entire upper body was sore as was my butt from sitting on that hard raft all day.  This was an awesome tricep, pec, and ab workout for me lol.  I didn't feel so bad about not being able to exercise.

Anyway, so that was our wild rafting adventure.  I recommend it!

Since my friends and I took a "refreshing dip" in the Lower New River I leave you know with this refreshing dip (ba dump dum!) recipe which used my CSA beets.  It's the first time I've ever roasted beets and I wish someone would have told me that they stain your hands  *lovely* color of hot pink when you peel them.  While pink is my favorite color, it doesn't mean I want to be semi-permanently colored that way on my skin!  I loved the flavor of this "salsa"...like a greek salad!

Come back tomorrow to find out what I did with the beet greens :).

Greek Salsa
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Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1.5 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1.5 tsp. oregano
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
• 2 tsp. chopped dill
• 1 cucumber, seeded and diced small
• 1 large tomato, seeded and diced small
• 1/3 lb. feta cheese, diced
• 10-12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped green or red onion
• 1/4 cup diced beets (roasted or pickled)

Directions

1. Whisk together the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and oregano, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients (the beets turn everything hot pink, so add them slowly at the end to partially avoid this).  Stir in the dressing, tossing well to combine.

Source: Elly says Opa! 

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

This recipe comes from a cooking blog that I have on my google reader.  Her recipes always look delicious and I finally took the plunge to make something off of it.  I wanted to try this because I wanted to break out of the monotony of the same old food and the tzatziki sauce seemed like it would be refreshing on a hot day.  I didn't have a cheesecloth or any suitable substitute so I made my sauce without draining the yogurt and it still turned out delicious.  Next time, I think I'll try making my own pitas maybe! (her blog also has a great recipe for that!)

Chicken Gyros
(Source and Photo Credit: Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:For the tzatziki sauce:

• 16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible)
• 1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
• 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
• 1 tsp. white wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:

• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

To assemble:

• Pita bread
• Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
• Red onion, sliced thin

Directions: 

1. To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl.  Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible.
2. Shred the cucumber.  Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible.  Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
3. To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.  Whisk together until mixed well.  Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
4. Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler.  Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.   Cut into strips.
5. Heat pitas (I sprayed with some spray oil and then popped them in the toaster oven for a few minutes).  Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions.  Serve immediately.