Karen's Yogurt Marinated Chicken

I love Mediterranean food, very much. So when my friend Karen mentioned in an email about a yogurt marinated chicken, I jumped all over it....I can't resist garlic, lemon, olive oil and yogurt. Turns out that I have had the recipe for over two years--it comes from the June/July '06 Cooks Country Magazine, but had never tried it--go figure.

The recipe is for chicken kabobs, but Karen adapted the recipe to chicken breasts. In frugal Daily Diner style, I adapted it to a whole, cut organic, local chicken from Whole Foods.

It's much cheaper to buy a whole, organic bird and have the butcher chop it up for you then it is to buy just the breasts. We're talking the difference between whole bird at $1.69lb (on sale) vs. just breasts at $6.99/lb (on sale)---remember this is an organic bird. Hubby and I prefer the breasts and the kids could care less---leg, thigh, wing.

Any extra meat is used for another meal, the following day.

Marinade

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 t dried thyme
2 t dried oregano
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
2 t chopped fresh basil
3 T lemon juice

Mix together in a bowl and slather on each piece. Place each piece in a oven proof container (I used a roasting pan, but a glass baking dish would have been fine too). Let it marinate for 3 to 6 hours ( the recipe states not to let it marinate over 6 hours). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until internal temp is around 170. Pull chicken out and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with your favorite veg.