Lemon Chicken by Shutterbean

Let's have a refresher on why this blog is called Live Love Lemon. It's not just because I love lemons. It certainly helps, but my twitter handle, Instagram and blog URL are all 'LivinLemon' so Live Love Lemon has really become more of a tag line (now you can go ahead and follow me on Twitter and Instagram!). When I was a kid, I had this porcelain yellow bird that I aptly named Lemon. Lemon could clip onto a shelf or planter or conveniently placed on my finger. One way or another, Lemon was dropped and shattered but was craftily glued back together by my parents. Lemon still lives and resides in my living room after being carefully saved throughout high school and college in a box marked for my first apartment.

So I guess that's more about the start of loving yellow and the name Lemon. But then there's the adage, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Life, like lemons, can be sweet or bitter or sour or burn your eyes so let's take the time to turn these sometimes bitter moments and make them into something sweet. Did that come full circle? Maybe? Okay, we can talk about cooking now.

Shutterbean posted this lemon chicken recipe a few weeks ago but I really didn't read through it until recently. It's super simple to make and requires very little prep time. My chicken turned out to be somewhat frozen at the grocery store so my cook time took longer but it still turned out great! Similar to the stir fry efforts, this can be done quickly to allow you to multitask or relax. The rice cooker is set while the oven is preheating and the onions and lemons are being chopped.

Lemons!

While the chicken should take around 40-45 minutes, cooking times can vary. Chicken and juices are spooned over the rice and served nice and hot! This was much more lemony than I expected but I thought it was a nice refresher. If you prefer less lemony flavor, reduce the amount of juice you add to the chicken.

My Pyrex may have been too small for this

Simultaneous to cooking this recipe and eating a bunch of lemon bars at events, my bestie Joy the Baker made this spring into spring post solely devoted to lemon tart treats. Can we say destined to be friends? Well, I can pretend anyways. I'm pumped for spring and making lemon treats but more importantly, and warmly, for summer when there will be lemonade. No, I didn't have a lemonade stand as a child (but I did have a snow cone stand) but I still find lemonade to be the personification of summer.

It may look messy but it's delicious 

Cheers to sweet, sweet summer and feeling refreshed!

Recipe

• 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (Shutterbean used thighs, either will work)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil plus drizzle for pan
• 1-1.5 large lemons (juices and slices)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Drizzle olive oil (not 1/3 cup, just drizzle) in a pyrex pan. Place chicken in pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl or measuring cup, mix the 1/3 cup of olive oil, lemon juices, chopped onion, garlic and spices until combined. Pour mixture over the chicken, coating each piece.
3. Place lemon slices among the chicken to strengthen the flavor. Add salt and pepper as desired.
4. Bake the chicken for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked, remove pan from the oven and leave covered for an extra 5 minutes.
5. Serve chicken over rice with extra pan juices or with vegetables.