Italian Chicken Pitas

Italian Chicken Pitas

Many of my new weeknight recipes come from just making something up from the ingredients I have on hand.  I'm really enjoying the Sicilian Spice blend I bought at the Old Town Spice Merchants in Temecula while I was visiting my mom last week.  Its a savory blend of rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, red chili flake and oregano.  It would be very simple to make on your own, but it sure is a convenient kick when you're in a time crunch for dinner.
This dinner was ready in 30 minutes, and was simple and delicious!  I used some leftover rice, orange bell pepper, Parmesan cheese and some fresh tomato and basil to top it off.  We used a little light ranch dressing for a dipping sauce with this, a warm marinara would be tasty and quick also.  Enjoy!

Italian Chicken Pitas

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time:15 minutes / Servings: 4 Pitas

Italian Chicken Pitas

Ingredients:

•  2 large chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp. Sicilian Spice blend (or 1 tbsp. Italian Seasoning and 1/2 tsp. red chili flake)
• 1 cup white rice, cooked
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Roma tomato, chopped
• 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 Pita bread rounds, cut in half
• 1/2 cup warm marinara sauce or ranch dressing (for dipping)

Steps:

1. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil on medium heat.  Add chicken, bell pepper and scallions.  Season with spices and salt and pepper.  Stir until combined and cook on medium heat for 7-10 minutes until veggies are soft and chicken is browned and cooked through.
2. Stir in rice and cheese and cook until cheese is melted and stringy, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat, stir in fresh tomato and basil until combined.  
3. Stuff mixture into four open pita halves.  Serve with warm marinara and/or ranch dressing.