Favorite Frugal Recipes: Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Breasts

Maybe it’s because I previously lived in a climate where the weather was cold and chilly in most summer months, but I have recently discovered that I have a very sparse summer cooking repertoire.  We just now purchased a grill from Aldi (yes, it’s not top-of-the-line, but for our law school budget it works!) and I am trying to incorporate grilling into our weekly rotation.

What I’m also trying to do is make the most of our grill, so instead of cooking just one meal, we throw on enough meat for several meals.  My strategy is to grill on Saturdays, have salads w/grilled meat on Sundays (and ideally homemade bread as well), and a pasta dish with meat on Mondays.  This worked well for us this past week when I bought 5 lbs of fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts at Aldi.  I sprinkled them with a homemade spice rub, then marinated them in yogurt, garlic, and oil, and voila! We had some of the most tender, flavorful chicken breasts we had eaten in some time.

Here is the recipe for the marinade*:

Spice Rub:

1 Tbsp. Cumin

1 Tbsp. Coriander

1 tsp. salt

Mix these three ingredients together and sprinkle over your chicken breasts (note:  this was enough for 5 lbs of chicken breasts.  You don’t have to use all of it if you are cooking less).  Place the chicken in a gallon-sized ziploc bag, seal, and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the spices to penetrate the meat.

While the meat is in the refrigerator, mix the following:

1 cup whole-milk yogurt

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 Tbsp. oil

After the 30 minutes is up, add the yogurt mixture to the bag, reseal, and allow to marinate for at least 1 1/2 hours (but more is fine too).

* I purposely did not include the chicken breasts because the amount can vary – you can do 1 lb or up to 5 lbs – the spice mixture and yogurt should be enough for 5 lbs.