Lemon Roasted Chicken

This was delicious and super-easy. I actually made it on a Sunday, and then just refrigerated it in the casserole dish with the marinade juices until Tuesday (when we ate it). I covered it with foil and re-heated it while I was cooking the baked garlic rice pilaf and everything was done at the same time.

Perfect!

I’m not normally a “fresh herbs” snob, but this dish definitely needs the fresh herbs. It’s really delicious, and just fancy enough looking that you could probably serve it to company and wow them. LOL

Enjoy! We did!

Lemon Roasted Chicken

(Annie’s Eats)
2 tbsp. lemon zest
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2-4 lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks (I used a whole cut-up chicken)
2-3 tbsp. melted butter
Thinly sliced lemons, for garnished

Directions
– Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large zipper-lock plastic bag.  Seal the bag and shake well to blend.

– Place the chicken pieces in the bag with the marinade, pressing out excess air and sealing once more.

– Refrigerate and let marinate for 2 hours.

– Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and transfer to a baking dish, skin-side up, reserving the leftover marinade.  Brush the top of each piece of chicken with melted butter.

– Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the skins are crispy and well-browned.  Halfway through baking, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken pieces in the baking dish.  Once fully baked, cover loosely with foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

– Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with lemon slices and serve.

Simple Shrimp Scampi

I wanted shrimp for dinner this week, and a scampi just seemed delicious…this one fit the bill!

I did make some changes…I decreased the 5 tbsp of butter and increased the olive oil a bit. I also put a little extra lemon and chicken broth in, and then omitted the 2 tbsp of butter at the end.

That’s a heck of a lotta butter!!

Simple Shrimp Scampi

(Picky Palate)

5 Tablespoons butter (I cut this down to 3 and increased the olive oil)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (increased to 4)
½ Cup finely chopped white onion
4 cloves garlic
24 medium shrimp, devained, cleaned, shell removed (fresh or frozen)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ Cup chicken broth or white wine
2 pinches salt
¼ teaspoon fresh pepper
1 lb linguini pasta noodles
2 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ Cup fresh chives chopped

Directions

– Place butter and olive oil into a large 5 qt skillet or other large pot over medium heat

– Once melted and hot sauté onion for 3-5 minutes until softened

– Stir in garlic for 60 seconds then stir in shrimp

– Season with salt and pepper and cook 4-6 minutes or until pink and firm and cooked through

– Stir in lemon juice and chicken broth. Reduce heat to low and set aside.

– Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and stir into shrimp

– Stir in 2 Tablespoons butter, parsley and chives

Lemon Pepper Linguine with Chicken

Another yummy dish — very similar to the garlic lemon shrimp with broccoli I made a few weeks ago.

We enjoyed this a lot! I’d love to cut down on the butter in it though. Holy calories!

Lemon Pepper Linguine with Chicken

(The Lasy Housewife Cooks)

8 ounces linguine p asta

2 thin-cut chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

6 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Salt to taste

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil

Directions

– Heat oven to 200 degress F, and bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add linguine and cook until al dente. Drain.

– While the linguine is cooking, sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until browned, about 5 minutes each side. Remove to a plate and place in preheated oven while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

– Add garlic to skillet and cook for 1 minutes. Mix in chicken broth, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Scrape bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, and reduce heat and simmer for about 3 minutes.

5. Add butter and herbs into saucepan. Mix and cook 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and slice into bite-sized pieces. Add to sauce and mix well. Divide linguine on plates and top with chicken mixture and serve. (I tossed my pasta with the chicken/sauce mixture before serving)

Lemon Delight

I grew up eating this plain/simple dessert. It “feels” like a light dessert, but don’t be fooled — it still contains an entire can of condensed milk!

This dessert is especially good in the summer — it’s a frozen dessert, so it’s a refreshing, and it keeps for a long time (A few weeks) in the freezer, so it’s easy to have on hand.

Lemon Delight

(Family Recipe)

2 tbsp butter

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tbsp graham cracker crumbs for topping

– Melt butter and mix with graham cracker crumbs, then press into the bottom of an 8×8 dish

1 (21 oz) lemon pie filling

1 small can, Eagle Brand Condensed Sweetened Milk

1/2 cup “Real Lemon” juice

– Beat ingredients together until smooth, then pour the lemon mixture on top of the graham cracker crumbs

1 (8 oz) Cool Whip

– Spread Cool Whip on top of lemon mixture, and sprinkle remaining graham cracker crumbs on top

– Freeze for at least 3 hours before serving. To serve, sit out at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to make it easier to cut.

– To make it “fancy”: slice lemons thinly and place on top of cool whip.

The Divinity that is Lemon Chicken

This is, perhaps, my most favorite meal…on earth. And I don’t know why — it’s incredibly simple, but I adore it!

There are tons of different “lemon chicken” recipes out there…this is just mine.

I’m giving you the “original” recipe, but I’ll put my notes at the end.

Lemon Chicken
4(whole) chicken breasts – bone in
1 stick butter
2-3 cloves of garlic (or garlic powder/salt)
2-3 lemons (or “real lemon” lemon juice)
onion powder (or onion salt)
poultry seasoning (the kind with thyme, marjoram, etc in it…it’s kinda green)
black pepper

Directions

Boil chicken breasts and cut/shred into bite sized pieces.
Place in a glass oven dish.
Slice a stick of butter and place on top.
Put the garlic (or powder/salt) on top of the chicken/butter mix.
Sprinkle a heavy layer of poultry seasoning, a few shakes of onion powder, and pepper.

Top with the juice of the lemons

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

Serve over rice (i like brown) and green beans (or corn).

‘kay…that’s my written down recipe…but here’s what I actually do:
– I buy a bag of frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Boil the whole bag, shred it, and follow the instructoins above. I like LOTS of leftovers of this, and the 4 chicken breasts just don’t make that. I also hate bone-in chicken…so I don’t use it.
– If you’re on a “poor” week or you’re in a hurry, garlic powder, onion powder, and “real lemon” lemon juice will totally do the same job as real garlic and real, fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The fresh lemon juice just makes it tangier.
– Oh…and if the stick of butter makes you feel guilty…you can use a “healthy” margarine instead…but let’s face it, nothing tastes quite like BUTTAH. 🙂