Greek chicken

When I visited Shelley this summer, we picked out and followed a recipe together. She was four months' pregnant, I believe, and we learned halfway into the recipe that the red wine vinegar's alcohol content (which is tiny, don't worry!) was too much for little Preston. So, after all our work, she didn't get to try it then. Shell, here's your second chance!

I've honestly lost count of how many times I've made this chicken. I first tried the recipe in August 2005, just after receiving Rachael Ray's second 30-minute meals cookbook from a friend of mine. Ray's version varies slightly from the one I now use. It's one of those easy fixes that everyone seems to like, and you can count on it turning out delicious every time. The tang of the lemon and the punch of the garlic linger in my mouth, and the layers of flavor really pop! It's a family favorite: today I made the marinade by request, as we're having company in a few days.

Basically this is a marinade that goes on chopped chicken and on a salad. The main ingredients: extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and zest, garlic, oregano.

Here's what you do:
1. Gather ingredients.
1 lemon, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup EVOO, 2 tablespoons oregano, and 4 cloves garlic.

2. Combine.
Put the zest and juice of the lemon into a bowl. Whisk in EVOO. Then add oregano and garlic and whisk again.

It's that simple. If you want to use it right away, pour half of the marinade over the chicken (about 1.5 pounds of meat is good) and save the rest for a nice romaine salad---I like to add sliced red onion. Then you just grill up the sauce-covered chicken and transfer them to a platter. Heat up some pitas, mix your salad, and you're set.

What I did today was mix up the marinade only. I covered it and put it in the fridge, along with a ziplock baggie of red onions. When we're ready, we'll be minutes away from dinner. Delish!