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Lemons are the worker bees of the kitchen. Take an inexpensive cut of meat or fish, give them some lemon love and you’ll get tangy and tenderized entrees. If that doesn’t convince you, try these other uses for lemons from Real Simple.
My lemon chicken is adapted from Ina Garten’s The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. Remember to double your needs so you can reinvent them later in the week, but try to keep serving sizes at 4 oz each; meats and fish should be thought of more as side dishes rather than main courses.
Lemon Chicken (three recipes): 4 chicken breasts
Juice from 2-3 lemons
1 T fresh thyme (fresh is best, but use dried if fresh is not available)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 T olive oil
Place the chicken in a bowl. Juice the lemons over the chicken. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir to ensure the chicken is fully marinating in the juice. Marinade the chicken for at least 30 minutes, but not longer than 2 hours. Remove the breasts from the marinade and grill, usually 7-8 minutes and then turn for 5 more minutes. Slightly undercook to give room for reheating later.

Three Dinners from Lemon Chicken:
1. Grilled Lemon Chicken
Cut breasts in half and serve with your favorite vegetable.
2. Chicken Satay – for dinner or an amazing appetizer

 

Slice the breast thick across the grain for maximum tenderness.

 

 

Add wooden skewers. Save these slightly undercooked center pieces for reheating in the microwave.

 

2 T peanut butter
1 T light coconut milk (remaining milk can be frozen or just eliminate)
1 T light brown sugar
1/2 t chili flakes (I added my carry out Thai chili paste from the uglyBowl)
2 t lime juice
2 t soy sauce
Whisk all the ingredients together. Taste as you go and make adjustments based on your flavor preferences. Prepare extra to save in the refrigerator and serve with raw veggies, spread on a toasted English muffin, or serve with your next batch of grilled lemon chicken.
3. Etu Chicken Caesar Salad
Fresh romaine lettuce
Grated Parmesan Cheese (reggiano is best)
Caesar Dressing
Croutons (optional)
Note: I always add a few extra veggies to the salad: radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes don’t try to overthrow Caesar.