Chicken Souvlaki Pita with Skinny Tzatziki

I had some leftover chicken breast tenders from my trip to H-Mart, so when this simple recipe popped up on the Tasty Kitchen blog I thought it would be a great way to use them up! (Don't worry, I kept them frozen since I bought them!)

I use chicken breast tenders pretty frequently. I'm not sure of the nutritional difference between full breasts and the breast tenders, but the tenders are usually a lot less expensive.  When I'm chopping up the chicken by the end of the recipe anyway, like I do here (especially because I pounded it out), it made a lot of sense to go this route.

The real secret ingredient to this recipe is Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning.  I know, another pre-mixed spice blend, but they are so easy to use! I found it at a specialty market, but hopefully you can find it in larger grocery stores as well.  Penzy's also has a greek spice blend, and it may be worth trying that instead (probably has less sodium!), although Cavender's does have a very unique flavor.

Tzatziki is one of the most delicious condiments - and it's so easy to make a skinny version.  I adapted this recipe from missamy's version on Tasty Kitchen as well as the version on Gina's Skinny.  Greek yogurt is now really easy to find in grocery stores and it gives the tzatziki the perfect tang!

Don't cut up the cucumbers in the tzatziki too small - it's nice when they give a little bite to the sandwich!

P.S. there is no cottage cheese in this recipe.  I used the old container to store the tzatziki!  It's all about recycling!

Overall, we really enjoyed this sandwich.  I loved that I could prep everything either in the morning, the night before, or even right when I get home from work, and then, when we get hungry, throw the chicken on the Foreman for 2 minutes and have a meal ready in under 5. When the Monkey Scientist got home from a late flight, I had dinner ready before he could walk to my apartment from the metro, even though I'd been running errands all evening. And he told me I make a mean tzatziki - didn't even notice that it was skinnified! The chicken has so much flavor from the greek seasoning, and the tzatziki balanced it perfectly.

Now that the weather is warming up (it's been in the 80s in DC!) and we're days away from the pool being open on weekends, I'll have to have this prepped at all times for a perfect Sunday lunch by the pool!

Chicken Souvlaki Pita with Skinny Tzatziki

Adapted from missamy on Tasty Kitchen and Gina's Skinny

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

for the chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 6 tenders)

4 teaspoons Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning

4 teaspoons olive oil

for the tzatziki

6-8 oz plain, non-fat greek yogurt

1/2 cucumber, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

3 whole wheat pitas

Instructions:

Pound out the chicken breast until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Rub down with a little bit of olive oil, then season both sides generously with the Cavender's Greek Seasoning. Wrap in plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator to let marinate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, mix greek yogurt, chopped cucumbers, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Grill the chicken until no longer pink. (This takes about 2 minutes on the George Foreman grill, but you could definitely use a real grill!)

Spoon a good amount of tzatziki in each pita.  Slice chicken into strips and divide evenly between pitas. Enjoy!