Lemon Chicken Breast

One word for this baked chicken..."impressive!"  It was getting closer towards the end of the day and I still had no clue on what to cook for dinner.  The only meat I thawed out was a whole chicken.  I have several good chicken recipes but sometimes it's nice to explore something new.  Although time was ticking on me, I literally was not willing to give in to my old recipes.  After few minutes of recipe searching, here I was in the kitchen island butchering the whole chicken into serving pieces.  This recipe calls for chicken breasts but I had to work on what I had on hand.  To your convenience, by all means go ahead purchase the cut up ones if you can.  It makes life so much easier, unless you find doing the dirty job quite enjoyable (not me!).  This recipe turned out impressively good!  Both of my kiddos enjoyed to the last bite.  Chicken was so moist and tender in the inside with crispy skin on the outside (Sweetpea's favorite part of the chicken!) with a hint of garlic and lemon flavor that Andre liked.  But my personal favorite was the sauce that I drizzled over steamed rice....oh em gee!  I was scraping the sauce off the pan to the last drop!


Ingredients:

1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
1 lemon


Preheat the oven to 400 degress.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to turn brown.  Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a baking dish.

Pat chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce.  Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper.  Cut the lemon in wedges and tuck in among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken, until the chicken is done and skin is lightly browned.  If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes.  Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Serve hot with the pan juices. 

*I drizzle the pan juices over hot steamed rice...it's oh so good!!!



Yield: 4 servings
Recipe courtesy:  Foodnetwork, Barefoot Contessa