Summer Lemon Lovin'

I had some chicken, lemons and potatoes to use up, and I love lemon chicken, but sometimes it can get dry. I found this one on I blog that I love, and knew it would be good - and it was!!! I tried something new for me - putting the chicken in a brine first, then baking it - it was so juicy and lemony, and I served it with some steamed broccoli - just perfect.

Roasted Chicken Breast with Lemon, Garlic, Rosemary, and Potatoes
Good Things Catered

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened but not melted I used Smart Balance 50/50 Blend
Zest of 1/2 large lemon, lemon reserved
2 large cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves I used dried
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 russet potatoes, washed thoroughly and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
Kosher salt ground pepper

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line large baking pan with foil for easy cleanup.

-Pat chicken breasts dry, season liberally with salt and ground pepper, and place breast-side up at least one to two inches apart in pan.

-In small bowl combine butter, lemon zest, garlic, and rosemary and stir with spoon to thoroughly combine.

-With back of spoon, spread butter mixture on top of chicken breasts evenly. I also squeezed some lemon juice on the chicken

-Slice reserved lemon and place slices in pan around the chicken. I put the slices on the chicken as it baked

-In medium bowl place cubed potato and toss with 1 tsp olive oil, parsley and salt and pepper.

-Scatter potatoes around chicken breasts.

-Place baking dish in oven and cook about 30-40 minutes or until thickest portion of chicken breast has reached 175 degrees.

-Remove from oven, take chicken breasts out of pan onto a warm serving platter and tent with foil.

-Take one pinch more of Kosher salt to sprinkle over potatoes, toss and place back in oven for 5-10 minutes.-

Remove potatoes and serve with chicken

Basic Poultry Brine
Good Things Catered

Ingredients:

I cut the following amounts in half
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, one small bird, chicken pieces, etc.
1/2 c. table salt

Directions:

-Dissolve salt in 2 qt. water in a large bowl or dutch oven.

-Immerse chicken into brine and refrigerate for 30 min.

-Remove chicken from brine, rinse, pat dry with paper towels, and season with ground pepper.