Roasted Lemon Chicken

My friend Catherine shared a delicious recipe from Pinterest on her blog the other day. It was so easy and looked so good so I decided I had to try it out. It includes fresh, yummy veggies and you can't go wrong with this, especially if you're watching your calorie intake after all those heavy holiday treats.

This recipe is super easy and versatile. You can use chicken, fish, and change out the veggies to things you prefer or things that are in season...zucchini, squash, asparagus, some onions/peppers, etc.

I did things just a little differently than the original recipe. Here's what I used:

- 2-3 skinless chicken breasts (bone in) - these were HUGE and skin would've made for more flavor and a little crispiness. Use what you wish.

- 4-5 tbsp olive oil

- juice of 1/2-3/4 lemon - slice remaining lemon for top of chicken

- 1-1/2 tsp minced garlic

- appr 2-3 tbsp Italian seasoning

- s & p to taste(about 1 tsp each)

- 3/4-1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed

- 6-8 petite red potatoes, quartered

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Make sure you've washed your veggies, and trimmed the ends off of your green beans.(I always cut both ends off...just the way I like 'em.) You can use canned, but fresh will keep their crunch much better throughout cooking.

 In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Italian seasoning, and s&p. I cut down on the lemon a little bit because I didn't want the lemon to be overpowering and the hubs isn't a huge fan of overly lemon-flavored dishes. Feel free to use more juice if you wish.

Toss green beans in dressing and coat them really well. Using your fingers(or tongs), straining liquid back into bowl, take out green beans and drop in bottom of greased baking dish.

 Do the same with the potatoes, then pile them along the perimeter of the baking dish on top of the green beans. 

Leave a little nesting area for the chicken in the middle.

Finally, drop your chicken in the dressing bowl and coat it really well. Here's one thing I will change next time. I'll let it sit in the dressing in the fridge for a while...an hour at least. The chicken could've used more flavor.

I didn't put the lemon slices under the green beans, but instead put them on top of the chicken.

 You can pour remaining dressing over chicken, then give the entire dish one good pass with some s & p, then pop it in the oven for 45-60 minutes.

Voila!! So light, fresh, and tasty.

 I will try it with smaller pieces of chicken next time, maybe even thighs and other pieces. These were huge, which I think could've been why they didn't flavored as much as they should. I will try it with skin-on chicken too. The crispiness will be nice. Fish would be phenomenal and that's on the "to-try" list as well.

This will definitely be one of our regulars around here. It can be changed up and is quick, easy, and figure friendly!!

I hope you get to try it out!