Chicken Shawarma

I can't believe it is the last day of 2010! We had a good year; with the birth of our daughters and everything else that accompanied that special event. In retrospect, I feel very blessed to have our family, friends, and health. Really, that is all that truly matters. I just hope 2011 will, again, bring good things our way.

I think that the new year is going to kick off a cookbook project for me. I have a ridiculous amount of cookbooks that I seldom use, so I would like a way to justify my collection (and purchase some others). My friend, Claire and I have decided to use one cookbook per week in the new year, and cook 2-4 recipes out of it for that particular week. (Claire is in the same boat when it comes to the "too many cookbooks, and not enough time" type of thing.) I will blog about my results and hopefully find some new, favorite dishes out of the whole experiment. I am excited to take on a new cooking endeavor in 2011,and I can't wait to get started!

In the meantime, we had this chicken recipe from Cooking Light for our dinner last night. I must say, it was fantastic; I am looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch today. This recipe did not disappoint.

I hope all of you out there have a safe and prosperous New Years', as well.

Bring it on 2011!!!

Chicken Shawarma
From: myrecipes.com; David Bonom, Cooking Light, JULY 2008

Ingredients:

Chicken:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 16 (3-inch) strips

Sauce:
1/2 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt (such as Fage)
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Remaining ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 (6-inch) pitas
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
8 (1/4-inch-thick)tomato slices

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.

3. To prepare sauce, combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients (through 1 garlic clove), stirring with a whisk.

4. Thread 2 chicken strips onto each of 8 (12-inch) skewers. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done.

5. Place pitas on grill rack; grill 1 minute on each side or until lightly toasted. Place 1 pita on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup lettuce and 2 tomato slices. Top each serving with 4 chicken pieces; drizzle each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce.

Nutritional Information:
Yield: 4 servings
Calories:384 (23% from fat)
Fat:9.8g (sat 2.1g,mono 4.1g,poly 2.7g)
Protein:34.4g
Carbohydrate:40g
Fiber:2.5g
Cholesterol:64mg
Iron:4.3mg
Sodium:821mg
Calcium:106mg



The Result:
This recipe was delicious and so easy to prepare. I ended up using 2 whole chicken breasts and cutting them into strips; after cooking them on my indoor grill pan. Our chicken was perfectly done and juicy...exactly right. I served our shawarma with some roasted asparagus and our evening meal was so satisfying. Even my almost-5-year-old son gobbled it up with approval. I know I have said it before, but it is really nice to find a meal that is healthy, and is one that the whole family loves. This chicken recipe was a total hit!