Chicken Gyros w/ Tzatziki Sauce

Sunday Dinner has always been a big deal in our family.  Every Sunday afternoon we all make our best attempt to get together at my parents house to share the events of our week over a delicious meal.  Normally, dinner is a homestyle meat and potatoes kind of meal... but this week we decided to change it up.  The weather had been so warm and spring-like all week, using the grill outside to cook dinner seemed like a great idea!  We decided to make Chicken Gyros... a healthier version of the original, tasty Greek Gyro (a favorite in our house).

To begin, we marinated chicken breasts in a Greek-style marinade overnight and made some homemade Tzatziki Sauce.

Greek Chicken

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 olive oil
1 tbsp. dry oregano
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Directions:
Whisk last 4 ingredients together in large bowl. Add chicken breasts and coat with marinade. Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight (if possible).

Tzatziki Sauce

via allrecipes.com

2 (8oz.) containers plain Greek yogurt
2 cucumbers (peeled, seeded and diced)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled

Directions:
In a food processor or blender, combine yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Process until well-combined. Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor.

Note: This recipe makes a pretty large batch of tzatziki sauce, you could probably half the recipe and still have more than enough to top your chicken gyros :)


To Make the Chicken Gyros:

While the grill is preheating, remove the chicken from refrigerator and cut into 1" pieces. Place chicken pieces on skewers (we also added red and yellow bell pepper for flavor).

Grill the chicken skewers over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning often.  Place pita bread on the warm grill for a few seconds on each side to heat.

Serve the grilled chicken atop warmed pita bread, top with tzatziki sauce, and garnish with tomato and red onion (optional).   

The whole family (even the picky eaters) really enjoyed this meal... we will make again.  We served with a large green salad and some rice.  It was the perfect Sunday dinner!

YUMMY!

Xo,
Janel