Recipe Review | Herbed Greek Chicken Salad

With the weather warming up and the evenings getting busy (soccer, tennis, play dates, etc.), it was time to introduce a new entree salad into our regular dinner mix. This protein-packed Greek chicken salad was everything I hoped it might be: easy, flavorful, healthy, and filling.

Herbed Greek Chicken Salad

{via My Recipes}

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What you need:

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

Cooking spray (I used a dash of olive oil instead)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided

1 cup plain fat-free yogurt (I used Greek yogurt--Y'know… getting into the spirit of the dish an' all.)

2 teaspoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic*

8 cups chopper romaine lettuce

1 cup peeled chopped English cucumber

6 pitted kalamata olives, halved (I used about 6 per serving!)

1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese (Again, went a little heavy here.)

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What to do:

1. Combine oregano, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray (olive oil). Add chicken and spice mixture; sauté until chicken is done. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon lemon juice; stir. Remove from pan and set aside. 
   
2. Comine remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, yogurt, tahini, and garlic in a small bowl; stir well. *Because I have a distaste for pre-processed garlic, I used a clove of garlic, run through my garlic press. However, this did leave quite a bite of garlic in the dressing. I might consider using the garlic paste in the refrigerated tube next time… not sure. What do you think?
3. Combine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and olives. Place 2 1/2 cups of lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates. (I have a couple raw-tomato haters in my house. I built my salads in each bowl per each diner's preferences.) 
   
4. Top each serving with 1/2 cup chicken mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese.  Drizzle (or plop--it's pretty thick) each serving with 3 tablespoons yogurt mixture.