Christmas Chicken

I managed to pull off a good chicken dinner pinch hitting for the lost holiday food delivery and wanted to get the recipe down as this turned out well enough to make again. Which I'd like to do soon so maybe I can eat some.

Yeeeeah. Unfortunately, I've had to stop eating. I've been having a lot of issues with the GI stuff the past week or so that I've done my best to ignore, but it's just becoming more and more of a problem.

So far, I'm staying out of the ER, but I'm currently trying to extrapolate what I do if it's not resolving during regular business hours. Can they do anything if I call? Is it worth the hassle? Do I really have to? Would the retired-but-I'll-still-see-you hepatologist even be available? Meh.

But hey, at least the family loved this and it saved the day...

Greek Aioli Veggie Chicken

For the protein:

-Thin cut or pounded flat chicken breast

-Olive oil*

-Salt

-Spices---either a Zaatar blend or Greek blend or Italian blend (in order of best, better, good)

Oil and season chicken and either pan fry or bake in the oven between 400-450F for 15-25 minutes (depending on your stove, mine needs to be 450 for 15ish minutes, but yours might be different. 400 won't hurt anything. If you're not an experienced cook and/or don't know your stove, start with 400 and check at the 15 and 20 minute mark).

For the aioli:

Aioli is pretty flexible. More so than tzatziki which is why I went with aioli (and also it's not like I could dip out to buy stuff. Between Christmas and the pandemic, nothing is open anymore here so I had to make do). Use what you have, but you want some fat in there somewhere, garlic, salt and pepper, and if you have some fresh or freeze dried dill or cilantro, that'd be nice.

I did a 1:1 of mayo and sour cream and added the spices to taste. For 4 people, I'd aim for a full cup of aioli so 1/2 cup of mayo and sour cream each.

Greek yogurt with a little sour cream and a touch of mayo would work as well. Some may find that Greek yogurt alone is sufficient, but I like to add fat to it.

For the veggies:

Finely dice peppers, cucumbers, lettuce or kale, and really, any raw veggie you like. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, grate approximately 1 1/2 cups of carrots. Add 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and salt. Taste. If too sour, sprinkle in a 1-2 tsps of sugar. (Red cabbage would be a good substitute if you really want to watch your carbs.) Don't skip this! The acid in the pickling balances the spices and the aioli.

Optional:

Kalamata olives.

Feta cheese.

To serve:

Chicken on the bottom as your foundation. Top with the aioli as thick as you like. Add your veggies and olives and feta if you're using them.

(If you're eating carbs, you can also pile this all into a pita or serve over rice.)

And that's it. Bright, fresh, flexible, light, full of veggies. We should eat so well every night, right?

*Shout out to a really good quality olive oil. We usually use the Costco brand, but I recently bought some higher quality olive oil and the difference is amazing. I don't think I can ever go back to budget olive oil again. Look for a California or single source Greek olive oil. I've really been amazed at the difference...roasted vegetables with a better olive oil have been a revelation.