Greek Chicken Casserole

I'm not much of a casserole girl.  I get images of my mom's version of the dish with cream of mushroom soup and some rice, which was very popular in the 70's.  I remember a friend of mine, who was newly married and feeling quite grown-up, making me dinner in her new apartment.  I was still living at home and was very impressed with my young friend's homemaking attempts.  Until I ate the dish, which was her attempt at recreating that famous dish.  Oh my.  Let's just say that I didn't feel well the rest of the night and she never made us dinner again.

This dish isn't really a traditional casserole, but has the same ease and one-pot wonderfulness.  You can go from oven to table, especially if you have a pretty Dutch oven or nice casserole dish.

The flavors were good and Abe really enjoyed it.  Jimi, much to be expected, liked everything except the tomatoes, and spent a good part of the meal making an impressive chopped tomatoes pile on his plate.  That boy, I can't sneak tomatoes into his diet to save my life.

I didn't have anchovy paste, so I used chopped olives instead.  The original recipe called for 1/4 cup of water added, but I found the recipe to have a lot of liquid at the end and didn't seem necessary.  Add it if you want, but if you don't, make sure you add the juice from the tomatoes
I got this recipe from Cookinglight.com.

Enjoy!

Greek Chicken Casserole
Serves 4 (serving size: 2 thighs and 2 cups potato mixture)

1  tablespoon  olive oil
2  cups  chopped onion (about 1 large)
2  tablespoons  dried thyme
1  to 2 teaspoons black pepper
10  garlic cloves, minced
6  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed red potato (about 2 pounds)
2  cups  (1-inch) cut green beans (about 1/2 pound)
2  tablespoons  anchovy paste or finely chopped olives
2  (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup water (optional)
8  skinned, boned chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the thyme, pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add potato; sauté 8 minutes or until potato begins to brown. Stir in green beans, anchovy paste, tomatoes and water, if using. Remove mixture from heat. Nestle chicken thighs into potato mixture. Top with feta cheese. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes.

Calories:  488 (23% from fat)
Fat:  12.6g (sat 4.2g,mono 4.9g,poly 2.1g)

Chicken Souvlaki Gyro Style

This is a dish that Jimi requests quite frequently. He especially loves the sauce and always asks me to save the leftovers so he can dip pretzels in it.

I have found thick Greek bread at my local markets, which really adds to the flavor and authenticity of the dish, but if you can't find them, regular pitas will do.

I make mine vegetarian by using cut up pieces of vegetarian chicken patties. With this yummy sauce, anything will taste good!

The recipe calls for grilling the chicken, but it can be pan fried too.

I've just started buying the thick Greek plain yogurt that stores seem to be carrying now, and I think it would make a good and healthy replacement for the yogurt/sour cream combo in the recipe.

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com

Opa!


Chicken Souvlaki Gyro Style

Serves 4

Souvlaki Marinade:
3/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves


Tzatziki Sauce (cucumber sauce):
1/2 cup seeded, shredded cucumber
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (if you're a garlic lover, feel free to use more)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill, or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 teaspoon Greek seasoning (found in the spice section of grocery store)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

4 large pita bread rounds (or Greek bread)
1 heart of romaine lettuce, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tomato, halved and sliced
1/2 kalamata olives
1/2 pepperoncini
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinaigrette, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over chicken, seal and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2. Preheat grill for high heat.

3. Toss the shredded cucumber with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and allow to sit for at least 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix the yogurt, sour cream, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, rice vinegar and olive oil. Season with garlic, dill and Greek seasoning. Squeeze the cucumber to remove any excess water; stir into sauce. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

4. Remove chicken from marinade and place on preheated grill (or oiled pan). Discard excess marinade. Cook chicken until juices run clear, about 8 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from heat and allow to sit about 10 minutes before slicing into thin strips.

5. Place pita rounds on the grill (or pan) and cook for about 2 minutes until warm, turning frequently to avoid burning. Arrange warmed pita, sliced chicken, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, olives and pepperoncini on a serving platter. Serve tzatziki sauce and feta cheese in separate bowls on the side. Stuff pita pockets with chicken and toppings to serve.