Lemon & Garlic Roasted Chicken Breasts

I was craving grilled chicken - and our plan was to make this recipe and grill the chicken.  Turns out the day was cooler than expected, and husband was coming home a bit late - so I opted to make the chicken in the oven and altered my original recipe to the makeshift recipe below. 

Ingredients:
 - 4 chicken breasts (bone in)
- 1 lemon zest
- 4 cloves of garlics, minced
- cilantro
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsps dijon mustard
- 1/2 jalapeno



Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, cilantro, dijon mustard & jalapeno.  Coat the chicken breasts with the marinade.  Place in a roasting pan.

3.  I opted to add some yellow squash and threw some into the roasting pan.

4. Roast for about 45 minutes.

Verdict: It was pretty good.  It was an easy recipe that was full of flavor.  Great for leftovers too.  We made a side of orzo with peas, basil & tomatoes.  

Leftovers: Chicken Salad

The best part of roasting a chicken is the leftovers.  So many different things you can make.  Today, we used the leftovers to make a chicken salad sandwich.
 

Recipe:
- leftover chicken
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1/4 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- fresh sage - chopped
- handful of grapes
- 3 TBSP of mayo

Chop & mix all together!  We stuff them into lightly toasted pita bread. 

Verdict:
Awesome.  They were pretty garlicly.  Perhaps one clove next time as my breath still smells like garlic.  :) 

Lemon & Garlic Roast Chicken

I decided to try a new recipe for my roasted chicken.  I found this recipe from my favorite Ina Garten, from the Food Network and decided to give it a try.

Recipe:
1 (5 to 6-pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
4 lemons
3 heads garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 pound sliced bacon




Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat the outside dry. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, reserving enough thyme to garnish the chicken dish, 1 lemon, halved, and 2 halves of the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Cut 2 of the lemons in quarters and scatter the quarters and remaining garlic around the chicken. Lay the bacon slices over the chicken to cover

Roast the chicken for 1 hour. Remove the bacon slices from the top of the chicken and set aside. Continue roasting the chicken for an additional 1/2 hour, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil while you prepare the gravy.

Verdict:
This turned out great.  Made it in my Le Creuset, with a bit of oil on the bottom.  My chicken was also 4.5lbs.  The chicken came out super moist but surprisingly wasn't as full flavored as I expected it to be.  But the pieces of bacon with the chicken was amazing.  We ate this with a side of rice pilaf and was great.  Will have chicken leftover meals to come...!

Chicken Katsu

I would say this is a quick eats, but it can be a bit consuming with each step and depending on the size of the meat, it can take a bit longer.  But overall, it's pretty easy. 

Recipe:
- chicken or pork cutlets (thin as possible)
- flour
- egg
- panko

Cover the chicken in flour, then in egg & then in the panko.  Fry in a pan.

Verdict:
We had it with a side of rice & miso soup.  We both love it.  Who doesn't love fried chicken?!

Quick Eats: Thai Basil Chicken

Thai Basil Chicken is a favorite in our house.  It's an easy dish to make, cheap and fast.  Plus it's great as left overs.

 Recipe:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil 
- 4-7  Thai chili pepper, minced 
- 1 tbsp sugar 
- 1-2 packages thai basil or regular basil 
- 1 lb ground chicken  (or pork)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce 

Mince garlic and chili pepper together. Clean and pick basil leaves from their stem.

Fry the garlic and chili pepper in oil over high heat. When garlic starts to turn brown, drop the ground chicken/pork in. Stir constantly. Once cooked, add sugar and fish sauce. Next add Thai basil and mix into meat till cooked down.  Serve hot with rice.





Verdict:
 As always a favorite.  We made it with ground pork tonight since the grocery store was out of ground chicken.  It was super delicious and ate it with some edamame.