Chicken Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce

One of my husband's favorite cuisines is greek food. When one of his cravings kicked in, I knew it was time to get creative in the kitchen. 

Normally, we would have gone out for gyro sandwiches. But at some places, gyros can be up to 1000 calories per a sandwich and the meats used are full of unwanted saturated fats. There had to be a "not-so-guilty" way to satisfy his craving a recreate some similar flavors that would normally be found in greek cooking. 

By using ground chicken in this dish, majority of those saturated fats are discarded. And the best part? These meatballs are baked, not fried! I chose to serve these over a mix of thin spaghetti noodles and zoodles, but these meatballs would taste great inside of a pita or atop a salad as well.  Just don't forget the sauce, as it really is what makes this dish come together. 

Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: ~ 260 calories per a serving

Ingredients:

1 lb ground chicken

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup minced onion

5  garlic cloves minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp dried dill

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tbsp olive oil 

Instructions:

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a large bowl, combine chicken, bread crumbs, onion, thyme, oregano, and half of the garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix until combined.

3. Form the chicken mixture into about 1 inch sized meatballs. Place the meatballs on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, mix together yogurt, dill, olive oil, and the rest of the garlic. You may need to add some water to the sauce until it is a smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Remove the meatballs from the oven and let cool. Then transfer to a serving plate and spoon the sauce over the meatballs before serving.