Greek Chicken Wraps

We loved these. I'm trying to simplify my menu planning, and this was perfect. It was quick and delicious. Perfectly light for summer, but still had flavor. I don't usually love Greek stuff like this, but I couldn't get enough. You MUST pickle the onion. It tones down the strong flavor. Even Annie was eating them like candy. So good.

yield: 6 burritos or wraps

GREEK CHICKEN BURRITOS {OR WRAPS}

TOTAL TIME: 40 MINS

PREP TIME: 25 MINS

COOK TIME: 15 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

QUICK PICKLED ONIONS:

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse, kosher salt
• 1/2 to 1 cup thinly sliced red onion

TZATZIKI SAUCE:

• 1 medium English/seedless cucumber, shredded (I use the large holes of my box grater)
• 1 cup (8 ounces) plain Greek yogurt I forgot to buy this, I used sour cream and it worked great.
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced or pressed through garlic press
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Drizzle of olive oil

GREEK CHICKEN + EXTRAS:

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse, kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 flatbreads, wraps or tortillas (we bought Oroweat multigrain pocket thins and they were soooo good. Moist and delicious)
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 to 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• Crumbled Feta cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. For the quick pickled onions, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat until the sugar and salt mostly dissolve, about a minute or so. Add the onions, turning them to coat in the mixture. Set aside. I forgot to microwave. Oops.
2. For the tzatziki, lightly squeeze any excess water out of the cucumber over the sink (with your hands or with the cucumber wrapped up in a towel). In a bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the drained cucumber, and stir to combine. Drizzle with a teaspoon or so of olive oil. Set aside.
3. For the chicken, in a small bowl, stir together the oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
4. Pat the chicken pieces dry and rub the spice mixture all over both sides of the chicken.
5. Preheat a grill (or grill pan, broiler or skillet) to medium-high. Grill/cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side (exact time will depend on the thickness of the chicken) until cooked through; an instant-read thermometer should register 165 degrees F. (I just used my cast iron skillet on the stove with the lid on. )
6. Lightly tent the chicken with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
7. To assemble, heat the flatbread/wraps/tortillas until just warm (in a skillet or I sometimes throw them into a ziploc bag and microwave with the bag opened for 30-45 seconds).
8. Cut the chicken into cubes or slices. Arrange the chicken down the center of each flatbread. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, pickled onions, tzatziki and feta cheese. Roll up, cut in half, if desired, and serve immediately.

NOTES:

Each of the components for this recipe can be made ahead of time. The pickled onions can be refrigerated for several days – same with the tzatziki sauce. 

If you have the time, try rubbing the spice mixture on the chicken and letting it rest/marinade for up to 12 hours. After being grilled, the chicken can also be refrigerated and used for leftover wraps (or for quick lunches). It was just as good or better leftover

Cafe Rio Pork

This is the best homemade Cafe Rio I've had.  The recipe I used to use was just cooking it in a crock pot with brown sugar and soda I think. This one is marinated, then cooked in coke and water, and finished with more of a "sauce" I guess you could say. 


Recipe from here:  https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/cafe-rio-sweet-pork/

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)  --- I used like 4lb sirloin roast.
• 3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• dash garlic salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work)
• 1 c. brown sugar

Instructions

• Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. (I used a bigger roast, so I put it in a bowl and poured Coke in until it was covered.)
• Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.
• In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
• Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

We made salads and tacos.  I discovered uncooked CORN tortillas last year and use them all the time.  I don't usually like dry, fall apart easily regular ones, but these are to die for! So much better than even the flour ones.  http://www.tortillaland.com/tortillas/corn-tortillas 

I use this recipe for dressing: http://ourbestbites.com/2009/03/creamy-lime-cilantro-dressing/ 
This last time I didn't have green salsa on hand, so I left it out and it's still a decent version.