Use One Cheap Ingredient To Marinate Chicken For Big Greek-Style Flavor

Marinating meat is a big part of boosting its taste. When you let the meat sit in a marinade, it helps infuse the meat with flavor, and those salty or acidic elements also help tenderize the meat. With that said, you don't have to buy a bunch of ingredients to make a homemade marinade because store-bought salad dressings essentially serve as premade marinades. So, next time you want Greek-style chicken, let Greek salad dressing do the heavy lifting.

Greek dressing is usually made with an oil base, plus an acidic element such as red wine vinegar, and it's finished with plenty of spices and seasonings such as garlic, oregano, and black pepper. To easily marinate the chicken, place it in a sturdy sealable bag, pour in the marinade, and gently massage the chicken to help the marinade disperse and evenly coat each piece. Then, just refrigerate it for anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours — or even as long as 24 hours for maximum flavor and tenderness. Any longer, though, and you risk ruining the chicken.

Once the chicken is cooking, toss that marinade; consuming it is a food safety risk because it made contact with raw chicken. If you still have plenty of dressing in the bottle, there are a few ways you can use it up. If you're preparing a salad, marinate the Greek salad's vegetables in the dressing for even bigger flavor, then add the marinated chicken once it's cooked and sliced.

Another option is to make Greek chicken tacos. Pair the cooked chicken with red onion, cucumbers, and feta, then add the ingredients to tortillas and offer the Greek dressing as a side sauce for dipping. This works for Greek skewers, too, which can be piled with the marinated chicken and veggies, then drizzled with a little extra Greek dressing once cooked to truly bring home that full flavor. The good news is a bottle of store-bought Greek dressing should last a pretty long time once opened, so you don't have to worry much about it going to waste.