Monday, June 11, 2012

Skinny Greek Yogurt Chicken


It's so funny to me how foods become trendy and start popping up everywhere. I feel the current trendy food is quinoa- it's on TV, in magazines, all over blogs, etc. I even pinned a few quinoa recipes on my Pinterest page because they just keep popping up! Prior to quinoa a healthy food trend that lasted for quite some time was Greek yogurt. What was once unheard of or hard to come by is now sold in mass quantities by multiple brands at the food store. It also pops up constantly as a replacement for mayo and sour cream. I had yet to use it as a substitute in recipes but was thrilled to give it a try with this chicken. The original version of this chicken is made with mayo, but the thought of mayo piled thick on top of my chicken makes me want to gag. Truth be told I really am grossed out by mayo and only eat it when it's cooked into things like spinach dip.

 I made this chicken early in the day and then baked it at dinner time. I was so concerned because it just looked so gross when it was uncooked. White mush on top of chicken- not quite appealing. However as it baked up it became more and more visually appealing so I decided to give it a go. Boy was I glad I did. John and I *loved* this. Love love love. It was tangy and savory. It felt indulgent but isn't. I loved chopping it up and tossing it in with my rice- yummm! This dinner is also great for weeknights because you can assemble it ahead and then just bake it. I always enjoy that!

Source: Life of Meg

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts*
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (plain)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 375.
2- Combine the yogurt, cheese, and seasonings in a bowl. Mix well.
3- Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Lay the chicken in the dish. Top with the yogurt mixture.
4- Bake for 40 minutes, until golden and chicken is cooked through. If needed, turn the broiler on for a few minutes to crisp the top- keep a close eye on it.

* I'd suggest not using thin breasts for this recipe. I tend to only use thin chicken cutlets but I used slightly thicker ones for this (about 1/2 an inch thick) and it was perfect. The yogurt mixture needs time to cook and brown- too thin of breasts will dry out before the yogurt mixture cooks.

8 comments:

  1. I love chicken marinaded in Greek yogurt. Can't wait to try this.

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  2. This chicken was simple to make and tasted amazing! This is going to become one of our weeknight go-to meals. I didn't even end up browning it due to a time crunch, and it was still a fabulous dinner. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Oh my goodness! I cooked this tonite and oh so yummy! Thank you. My hubby says this should be added to our weekly rotation.

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  4. How do you make that rice??

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  5. I wanted to love this, but alas I just did not. :( It did smell delicious as it was cooking and I had high hopes. But neither my husband or I (or my crazy-picky 6 year old, but no shock there) really enjoyed it. My husband did say that he thought the yogurt mixture was just too thick.

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  6. about to try this, but how long do you actually need greek yogurt to cook? i made myself a tzatziki sauce and will spread a thin layer as i only have thin sliced breasts......

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  7. about to try this, but how long do you actually need greek yogurt to cook? i made myself a tzatziki sauce and will spread a thin layer as i only have thin sliced breasts......

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    1. Well the good thing is even if it's undercooked it's just yogurt so it'll still be fine. I used not thin/not thick chicken and did 40 minutes... if you're doing the real thin chicken I think 20 will do it. The sauce will keep some moisture in the chicken, but I don't know if it'll crisp up as much.

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