Roasted Lemon Chicken

This chicken is hard to mess up. The darker meat of the chicken thighs will not dry out as easily as say the breast. It's crisp on the outside and tender inside. It has a fresh lemon taste that pairs really nicely with the garlic and rosemary. This is great to serve with quinoa since the quinoa catches all the juices. See my quinoa recipe if you have no idea what quinoa is :)

When my 6 year old daughter was just 2, I planted some rosemary in the garden. She really loved picking it and anything else I planted, including flowers and tiny, not ready to be picked vegetables. She loved sprinkling seeds around and watering the garden. I got an idea one day at the grocery store that became a family tradition we have repeated with each child. I bought carrots with the leafy green tops still on. I went home, dug a few holes and planted all the carrots I bought, leaving just the tops exposed. I then called my daughter out to the garden and told her the seeds she planted were ready to be picked. Well, you could imagine the look on her little face as she pulled up these huge beautiful carrots. She was thrilled at the incredible results of her planting, from just days before! We have since repeated that with each child. I bet a 10 year old would even be excited about that experience!






You'll need:

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 lemons, juice of
10 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon rosemary, crushed
2/3 cup olive oil

In a mixing bowl add chicken and juice of 2 lemons
Smash garlic, toss into mixing bowl
Add salt, pepper, rosemary and oil mix well

If you have time, let sit for whatever...10 minutes, an hour, overnight...it's all good.
If not, put in a single layer on a baking tray, pretty side up.
Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 35 minutes, turning only once after 20 minutes.

Serves 6

Note: opening your oven door let's all the hot air out and will increase your cooking time. Resist the urge to open the door to only when necessary. If the recipe says to turn the meat, then remove the tray and close the door and do your turning on the counter, then return to the oven once again.

The chicken shrinks up quite a bit, so 3 lbs is not as much as it sounds

If you want to get fancy, zest the lemons into the mix before baking. The essential oils in the lemon brighten the chicken up quite a bit. It's really nice.