Paprika Chicken



photo credit:  eatingwell.com
Mine did not look this pretty

 Today's recipe came from one of my Christmas gifts, "The Sparkpeople Cookbook".  I was receiving recipes via email from the Sparkpeople site, and found myself liking nearly every recipe that ended up in my Inbox.  So I thought the cookbook would be a good addition to my kitchen. 


I tried this recipe first for two main reasons:
1.  I had chicken to use in the fridge
2.  It looked easy


Paprika Chicken
1 tbsp. sweet or hot paprika (I used sweet)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
     (I didn't have plain so I used vanilla flavored but I would NOT do that again!)

*In a small mixing bowl, stir together the paprika, salt, pepper, chili powder, onion powder, lemon zest, juice, and yogurt.
*Add the chicken to the bowl, and competely cover with the marinade.  Cover the bowl, refrigerate, and marinate for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours (I did this overnight).
*Preheat oven to 350* F. Prepare a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
*Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in the baking dish.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165*.
*The "Make It a Meal" suggestion is to serve it over whole wheat pasta or couscous with a side of vegetables.  It is also suggested that it could be served with spaetzle or egg noodles, or brown rice.

NOTE:  I also received a new digital meat thermometer for Christmas and this was my first chance to use it!!

Review:  I will admit that the vanilla yogurt was a mistake, but it was very cold outside and I did not want to go to the store for a 1/2 cup of yogurt so I went with the vanilla.  I would like to try this again with the correct yogurt and see if it is better received by my family.  None of them were overly excited about it, but they at least tried it.

The final verdict:  We will try this again in the future and see if they like it any better.  I think next time I will serve it over or mixed into noodles, similar to beef stroganoff.  I could also see shredding the meat, similar to pulled pork, and serving on mini buns.