Greek Chicken Meal Plan

I'm in my final two months of pregnancy - with two cranky monkeys ready to greet me after a day of daycare excitement, the last thing I want to do after a day of work is cook a big meal. I realize I shouldn't be complaining - I only work half time, and today is my Friday. On Tuesdays I rarely rise beyond a quick stir fry, or calling in my back-up dinner strategy - Mike making tacos. Today may appear like an exception to that rule - but it's a trick. This is a quick and easy meal plan.

Greek Chicken Meal Plan

1) Walk in the door - instead of heading for couch you need to go directly to the kitchen. This will require husband back-up support for childcare, or in lieu of, a cartoon will due in a pinch.

2) Dump your chicken in a bowl and sprinkle on some salt and pepper, dried oregano, a few tablespoons of lemon juice, and if you have the energy, some minced garlic. You can use whatever chicken cuts you want, today I cooked little drumsticks, I can't tell you what weight - maybe 8 drumettes.

3) Put some rice onto cook. I add a scoop of msg-free powdered chicken base for some flavour. This is not a time for brown rice, we're talking about a time-factor.

4) Put chicken on the barbie

5) Take some asparagus and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. When you go to flip your chicken over add the asparagus to the grill.

5) Make your yogurt sauce. This is a flexible sauce, you can add or subtract ingredients as you like. Today mine included: about 1 cup yogurt, 1 T lemon juice, 1 T olive oil, 1 chopped fresh dill, 1 T chopped chives, a sprig of fresh oregano, and aprox 1/4 cup crumbled feta. Finally add salt and pepper to taste. Chop extra fresh herbs (if using) to sprinkle on your rice. You could also take this time to make a quick salad if you have the inclination.

6) When your chicken is grilled almost to perfection take half the sauce and put a tablespoon or so on each piece. Leave on the grill for a last few minutes and then using your brand new silicon tongs (sorry, that was me), pile your chicken and asparagus on a platter.

7) Sprinkle the remaining chopped herbs on your rice and serve along with the chicken, asparagus, reserved half of the sauce, and your salad. I like to add a scoop of sauce onto my rice, though you can also give your chicken an extra douse.

The chicken was so good that after 6 months of abstaining, Coby rekindled a love for poultry.

You might correctly surmised that my herb garden has been planted; you can substitute dried herbs, but I love fresh dill in the sauce.