Tsatziki (on a Chicken Plate)

Back in college, we used to live off of Durant Food Court aka Asian Ghetto. And while most of the restaurants there are Asian, there was a non-Asian place that we really enjoyed as well - Meesha's Gyros. We'd always order the same thing when we went there, "Chicken plate over rice, with hummus, extra yogurt sauce and spicy on the side - to go". The thing that made this dish was really the yogurt sauce, which I how realize was probably tzatziki.

I hadn't thought about that dish since we graduated (there's no need to mention how long ago that was) until a few weeks ago. It was like all the stars aligned and I really had no choice but to try and recreate it. I had leftover grilled chicken thighs in the fridge, a cucumber that I didn't know what to do with, and a tub of plain yogurt that needed to be eaten before it went bad. The other ingredients I needed are constant staples in this household, so I was set. I cooked up some rice in the rice cooker and got to work on the highlight of the dish, the yogurt sauce, and was very happy with the results. It's quick, easy, healthy and delicious. I'm definitely not going to forget this dish again any time soon.

Ingredients:
- Chicken (I like thighs)
- 1 cup of greek yogurt or plain regular yogurt, drained
- 1 to 2 cloves of garlic (to taste)
- 1/2 cucumber
- juice of 1/2 lemon (to taste)
- Salt & pepper

Directions:
- Salt and pepper the chicken thigh and grill until cooked through. Let it rest, then cut it into bite size pieces and set it aside.
- Put the yogurt in a bowl. If you're using regular yogurt, put in a cheese cloth and let some of the excess liquid drain for a little while first.
- Using a microplane zester, zest the garlic into the yogurt.
- Wash and peel the cucumber. Cut the cucumber in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds (I find using a spoon works well).
- Grate the cucumber and add it to the yogurt mixture, squeezing out the excess liquid with your hands first.
- Add lemon juice to taste.
- Add salt and pepper to taste (though I found that I didn't need any at all).
- Mix well and let it sit in the fridge for a while for the flavors to really meld together (or serve immediately if you're impatient like me).
- Serve the chicken over a bed of rice with a healthy dollop of yogurt sauce on top, a sprinkling of chili powder if desired, a side of hummus and some steamed vegetables, and you've got yourself a healthy and delicious meal.

Coleslaw

I don't know about you, but I grew up detesting coleslaw. Then again, my only exposure to it was in the elementary school cafeteria, so who can blame me right?

But you can't have a pulled pork sandwich without coleslaw, and I don't mind coleslaw with a good pulled pork sandwich. In fact, I think it makes the sandwich that much better!

Here's my recipe for coleslaw and how to put it all together.

Ingredients:
- 1 head of cabbage
- 1 carrot shredded
- Mayo
- Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt, drained)
- Dijon mustard
- Vinegar
- Salt & Pepper

Directions:
- Slice the cabbage into thin strips and place it in a colander. Sprinkle some salt every once in a while and let it sit for a few hours. This will allow a bunch of the excess water to drain out so that you don't end up with soggy coleslaw. This is a crucial step and makes a huge difference.

Here it is before...
And here it is after...
It really wilts down a lot.

- After the cabbage has wilted down, rinse off the salt and then squeeze out the water. A salad spinner will work too.
- Mix in the rest of the ingredients to taste. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for a few hours to let all the flavors meld together.
- Take a hamburger bun, pile on some pulled pork, smothered in homemade bbq sauce, topped with some crunchy coleslaw and try not to spill on yourself!

Spinach dip

I've got another "healthy alternative" and a use for the leftover yogurt from the naan and crispy yogurt chicken.

I love the spinach dip made with knorr vegetable soup mix, but it's not the healthiest of dips. Replacing the sour cream/mayo with yogurt healthens it up and doesn't change the taste much. It is a bit tarter, but still yummy. The trick, which isn't even necessary, is to drain about half of the yogurt with a cheesecloth to thicken it up. If you don't drain it, it's still perfectly fine. In fact, I always reserve the liquid I drain out in case I want to add some back later for consistency reasons.

And to make it super healthy, serve it with carrot and celery sticks instead of chips, crackers or bread!

This spinach dip makes a great snack to munch on while watching football and Melissa of Made by Melissa is hosting a fun event called Snack Food Sunday every Sunday until the Superbowl. Check out her blog to see other great football snack ideas.

Recipe:

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
1 pkg Knorr's vegetable soup mix
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped (I skipped this because we aren't water chestnut fans)
1 container of yogurt (I used fat free)

This part is optional: take half of the yogurt and put it in cheesecloth over a bowl to drain some of the liquid. Save the liquid in case you want to add it back later.
Pour in the soup mix, water chestnuts and spinach. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for at least four hours. Add back some of the liquid from the yogurt if necessary. Stir before serving.

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

After reading so many blogs raving about Pioneer Woman's Crispy Yogurt Chicken, I finally gave in and decided to give it a try. It was mostly because I had leftover yogurt from the naan and everything else necessary already in the house, so why the heck not?

Unfortunately, I gotta say that I am not a fan, sorry. While the chicken (I used chicken tenders instead of drumsticks) was very tender from the yogurt, mine wasn't particularly crispy and it was a bit on the bland side. And it came out really pasty white and never browned nicely either.

One trick that I would try next time is one that I learned from America's Test Kitchen when they did baked chicken parmesan. They pre-crisped and pre-browned the panko crumbs by toasting it in a pan with a bit of oil, and then breaded the chicken with it. What a great little trick, much better than the pasty white things that came out of my oven!

It could be entirely my fault, and probably is. I'm not good at following directions. I read recipes to get a jist of it and then wing it from there, adding and adjusting as I go along according to how lazy I'm feeling and what I have laying around the house. I guess winging it just didn't cut it this time. Oh well.

Anyway, below is how I did it, but I definitely don't recommend it...

Recipe:
inspired by Pioneer Woman's Crispy Yogurt Chicken

• Chicken (I used about 10 chicken tenders)
• Yogurt (I used about a cup of non-fat plain yogurt)
• A few minced garlic cloves
• Lemon juice from half of a lemon
• Salt
• Panko crumbs

1. Mix the garlic, yogurt and lemon juice together.
2. Salt the chicken generously.
3. Dredge each piece of chicken in the yogurt mixture, then the panko crumbs. Lay flat on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.
4. Place the cookie sheet, cooling rack and chicken in a 350 degree oven until cooked through. For these chicken tenders, it took about 20 minutes. Maybe leaving them in longer (and topping them with a pat of butter) would have made them browner and crispier. Who knows...