Happy birthday, Husband! Chicken "gyros"

It's my favorite guy's birthday today, so we're celebrating.  I'm making chicken "gyros" with tzatziki and homemade pita bread.  Then of course dessert.... tonight it will be brownie ice cream sundaes.

I found a great recipe for homemade pita bread over at Good Cheap Eats so I'm using that tonight.  It wasn't hard, and I love the idea of not having to go to the store for pita bread.

I love tzatziki sauce, it reminds me of a dip that some friends make, but it's way healthier.  And yet, still tasty.  I found a recipe that's pretty simple to make in a Weight Watchers cookbook.  I've changed it a bit, but not too much. 

Yogurt cheese sounded scary for me at first, but it's really not, I promise.  It's just two cups of plain yogurt that you put in a coffee filter and sit in a strainer in the fridge, for as little as two hours or as long as overnight.  DON'T forget to put the strainer over a bowl or you'll have a nasty fridge.  At least I'd imagine. =)


Tzatziki Sauce
1 cup yogurt cheese
1/2 cucumber, peeled and grated, squeezed dry
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 TBSP chopped fresh dill (you can substitue dry, but only use 1/2 tsp)
1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
Combine these ingredients and let the flavors mix and mingle... anywhere from a couple of hours to a day or so.

The chicken was originally going to be a gyro recipe, until I realized that I don't have any oregano.   So it kind of became something else.  I recently bought some garam masala at the health food store.  I love getting spices there because you only have to buy a tablespoon or so if you want.  And it's all organic so that means no fillers. Anyway, it's been sitting in my cupboard for a couple of weeks and I've been itching to use it.  So I did. 

Chicken "gyros"
1 lb chicken tenderloin
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder (not onion salt)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp salt

Combine these ingredients and let it marinate for about an hour, more if you have the time.

When it's all gotten happy in there, saute it in a hot pan over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.  Serve it on pita bread topped with feta cheese and the tzatziki sauce.  Yum.

Or do what I did and load up the chicken with the cheese and sauce and then dip the pita in it... double yum.

As far as dessert, boxed brownies make me happy.  Add a little cinnamon to the top before you bake them for an extra special flavor.  A little ice cream and some chocolate and caramel sauce and you have a birthday dish fit for a king.  Or at least a birthday boy.