Greek Marinated Chicken

What a great morning! I love Mondays. You may think that I am being sarcastic, but really, I do LOVE Mondays! Its the start of a fresh new week with no procrastinating, no tantrums, no missed chores, nothing! Mondays are usually the days that I end up getting the most done. So here is your motivation for the day! GET UP! Okay, read and print this recipe first, comment, and then get up!
I have been wanting to make this recipe for a long time. I have come across it on Pinterest quite a few times and finally I had all the ingredients on hand so I made it. Boy am I glad I did. Man, that marinade is so bright. Its lemony and herby...mmmm. Not to mention that its super easy. I know I have had a bunch of good chicken recipes on here as of late, and it doesn't seem like I post much else, but honestly I can't help it that all the great sounding recipes are chicken. One reason that I use chicken a lot is because it is so easy to live on a $45-$50 a week food budget. Anyway, give this recipe a try. I served mine up with some yummy quinoa and roasted broccoli.

I found this recipe on a site called Budget Bytes. I find this site very awesome. She breaks down how much each recipe costs clear down to how much each ingredient costs for each recipe! So if you are on a strict budget this would be a fantastic site to go to. I will definitely be checking back from time to time to see what else I can find.

1 cup plain yogurt (I personally always use Greek Yogurt)
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ Tbsp dried oregano
1 medium lemon
½ tsp salt
freshly cracked pepper
¼ bunch fresh parsley
3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces

1. To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
2. Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight. (The longer it sits in the marinade the more flavorful your chicken will be)
3. After marinating for at least 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
**To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9×13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

**Randi's Side Notes**
~ I did bake mine because I thought it would get the flavor into the chicken a bit more if it was cooked in the marinade. Mine did take a lot longer. It took mine about and hour and fifteen minutes.
~ To save money, instead of buying a pack of thighs and a pack of drumsticks, I purchased the leg quarters pack. I figured I could run a knife through them myself and save the extra $.40 per pound. I ended up using 3 of those leg quarters for the recipe (3 drums and 3 thighs) and it seems to coat perfectly.
~ Oh and I did leave the skin on as well. It got for the most part crunchy in the oven and I'm sure that on the grill it would get crunchy as well.
~ To make this freezer friendly combine marinade and pour over chicken. Store in freezer safe ziplock bag. Unthaw before cooking. The yogurt in the marinade does need to be stirred again before baking.