Lemon Chicken Breasts

As you can probably see from the picture, I got chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. I looked allll over the place for "boneless chicken breasts, skin on". I'm not so sure that they even sell that. Or, every place in town was sold out when I went grocery shopping. So, I got bone in, skin on chicken thighs and ohhhhh boy were they good!!!

This recipe is going to become one of those quick go-to recipes when I need something delicious but don't have much time to put a lot of effort into the meal. It was so good! The lemon really came through in the chicken - what a fantastic flavor! I could have stood for the skin to be a little more crispy, but that could have been fixed by putting the chicken under the broiler for a few minutes. I'll have to try that next time.

I decided to fix a fresh fruit salad as a healthy little side to the chicken. Not that the chicken was a "heavy" meal, but I thought that a light side would go well with it, and I thought some fruit would pair well with the lemon flavor in the chicken. I was right! I fixed us a little banana, apple and peach fruit salad and it was perfect with the chicken.

As I said, this is going to become a staple go-to recipe for me from now on. Little went into it and it was so delicious! You're missing out if you don't try this one!

Lemon Chicken Breasts
Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?
Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers in 2010.

Total time: about 45 minutes  Yield: 4 servings

1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6-8 ounces each)
1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. 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 9 x 12-inch baking dish.
3. Pat the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the 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. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.