Hubby's Bday Request

Today's my husband's bday!  We celebrated his birthday with his friends on Saturday and with his parents yesterday.  For Saturday he requested my Chicken Gyros.  Cafe Mix in Mesa, Arizona inspired me to create this Chicken.  I also learned how to make my own pitas, but for the purpose of this party and my hectic schedule, I wasn't going to make 30 pitas by hand.  Luckily, the owner of Cafe Mix graciously sold me his pitas!!!  Before I went to buy the pitas on Saturday morning, I prepped and marinated the chicken thighs in Ziploc bags. Below is a photo of my homemade marinade.

The party started at 5pm and I promised food by 6pm.  The chicken was in the oven roasting by 2pm and I took it out at 3:30pm and let it sit for 30 mins so that it would retain it's juices.

I then sliced up the chicken thighs and added it to the pan with all the juices!  I cooked the meat in a huge pan until the juices reduced to almost nothing.

Finished product....served with pickles, tomatoes, and my own greek sauce.

Oven-Roasted Chicken

I used to buy roasted chicken at Costco or Sam’s Club and sometimes even at the local grocery stores.  One day I stopped by the Whole Foods Store that opened nearby to check out the organic/healthy foods that they have to offer.  I couldn’t resist the smell of the roasted chicken – Rosemary & Garlic.  I bought the tiny bird (half the size of the Costco’s!) for dinner.  I couldn’t believe how flavorful it was!  Unfortunately it was $10 for that little bird.  So I decided to make my own oven-roasted chicken with the Le Creuset dutch oven!  Typically I would rub salt, pepper, minced garlic and rosemary with some canola oil (or olive oil) all over the bird and bake.  I ran out of real garlic this time and had to substitute it with garlic power.  I also sprinkled cayenne peppers over the chicken.  Covered it up and placed it in the oven at 375 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

We made chicken sandwiches with this and topped it off with fresh guacamole, served with chips & salsa.  This was Friday's "random" dinner.