Easy Baked Lemon Chicken

Before I get to this recipe ~

I know ya’ll are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the She Speaks $500 scholarship donation.  I don’t know why this might be more important than food but…

Here’s the thing. There are just too many awesome comments! I love, love, love reading each and every one of them. I haven’t gotten through all of your comments yet but I absolutely will. Some of you have made me laugh out loud. Others have made my eyes leak. And some of you are definitely kindred spirits.

Because so many of you took the time to share your stories, it’s just too hard to choose only one.  So… in addition to one person receiving $500 towards their She Speaks registration fee, a second person will receive $300 towards their registration fee!

Now I have a very scientific method of choosing a winner. There is no way that I could select a winner based on your stories because they are all so good. I go with a random selection. That means I scream down the hall and ask Melissa to choose a number from 1 to ___ (the total number of comments). Normally she just shouts back a number. This time she gave me a math equation involving Jesus and her son’s birthday! The sum was the winning comment. (Yes, I know it would be easier if I used Google’s random selector but… it wouldn’t be as much fun!)

Without further ado, the winner of the $500 scholarship is….

Lucille Osborn! Woo Hoo! You go Lucille!

And, the winner of the $300 scholarship is…

Cynthia McCutcheons!

Congratulations to both of you. I look forward to seeing you at She Speaks this year!

For the rest of you gals, there are going to be additional scholarship opportunities. Visit Lysa’s blog on Monday for more details!

Now… on the off chance that you are actually interested in a recipe today, here’s a very easy and family-friendly way to make chicken. If you are staring at a package of chicken parts and thinking, “I’m bored with roasting, frying, grilling the same ‘ol thing” this will give you a new twist on a budget-friendly favorite.  You can use your favorite chicken pieces. I’m a big fan of boneless, skinless thighs. Nick likes the legs. It’s economical for me to purchase a package of boneless, skinless thighs and a package of legs. Since there are just two of us, I split each package in half and freeze the remaining parts in one freezer bag. We will have two dinners from the first recipe and then two at a later date from the frozen pieces.

The basis for this recipe came from the Italian side of my family. Instead of dipping chicken pieces in an egg/milk mixture and then in flour (the southern way) and/or breadcrumbs, you dip the chicken in a mixture of lemon juice and oil before dipping in Italian breadcrumbs. The lemon adds a pleasant zip to your chicken! I like to serve this with a pasta side dish and a green veggie. Enjoy the taste of my youth.

Easy Baked Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 cut up chicken (or 8 of your favorite pieces)
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Wash and pat dry chicken. Combine lemon juice, oil and garlic. Place chicken in a shallow dish or in a ziplock bag. Pour lemon mixture over chicken and let marinate in refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking dish (like a lasagna pan or a cookie sheet with a rim) with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley and pepper in a shallow bowl. Remove chicken from lemon marinade and dredge each piece in the breadcrumb mixture. Place in prepared baking dish.

Bake for 45-55 minutes or until chicken is done. Let the chicken sit in baking dish for 5-10 minutes before removing to a serving platter. Garnish with lemon slices and/or fresh parsley sprigs for color.

Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn