Chicken and Cucumber Pitas

Brian picked up pitas the other day at Garden Fresh because they looked yummy.  So I needed to find something to make that used pitas.  I had seen a chicken cucumber pita recipe on Pinterest and made that.  It was quite delicious! (There, Marcie, I told you what I think of the recipe!)  I made very slight changes but that was about it.  I also have changes I would make!

Chicken Cucumber Pitas

Marinade:

1 cup yogurt (I used plain Green yogurt because I couldn't find a small container of plain yogurt)

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp fresh lemon juice (I used the juice of half a lemon)

Zest from 1 lemon

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Cucumber Relish:

1 large cucumber (about 4 cups)

pinch salt

1 cup seeded, finely diced fresh tomato

1/3 cup finely chopped red onion

4 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp dried dill

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp olive oil (perhaps you can use less)

4 tsp lemon (I used the juice of 1 lemon)

Combine marinade ingredients.  Put chicken breasts in a ziploc bag and then pour marinade in the bag.  Seal the bag and mix around the chicken and marinade.  Let sit in the refrigerator 2-4 hours.  Meanwhile cut the cucumber in half lengthwise (after peeling it).  Use a mandolin to thinly slice the cucumber.  (The recipe said to sprinkle with salt and lay the cucumber in a sieve over a bowl for 30-40 minutes to let the water drain out.  I didn't think that this really did much.  There was still a lot of water in the cucumber that came out while the relish sat in the refrigerator. I think you can skip this step).  Combine all the ingredients in the cucumber relish, cover and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  You can strain it then if you wish.  After 2-4 hours in the refrigerator, remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the marinade.  Grill the chicken until the chicken is done.  (I had very thick chicken breasts and was using the indoor grill pan and the chicken was taking forever to cook, it was charring on the outside and was sticking to the grill pan, I finally just cut the chicken in thin slices and finished grilling that way).  If you use an indoor grill pan, make sure to put some oil down on the pan to prevent the chicken from sticking.  Serve with pitas.  The recipe said you can serve with plain yogurt but I didn't have any extra.

I actually had a salad the following day with just the chicken, cucumber relish and lettuce and it was quite yummy.  I needed no dressing because the relish was liquidy enough.  I do recommend putting in red onion-it really adds to the flavor. Just make sure to chop it very finely.  You could even put in less if you want to.