A Lemon Chicken Meal.

My favorite cooking show is Barefoot Contessa. Ina Garten is so cool. She's rich, she's chic, she's got a gorgeous home, she drives a convertible, her husband adores her....and I love her recipes! Of course, none of that means anything if you don't have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. She might, I don't know, but I had to clarify that. Ina and I are different in many, many ways. She makes some of her food using caviar and imported olive oil and french sea salt. I can't do that. I can't even afford to buy one ounce of caviar and I don't think I would even want to. However, lots of her recipes are really easy and call for basic ingredients. Simply put, I just love her style. She will always be the Hostess with Mostest to me. Did I mention I have all of her cookbooks too? They are beautiful and I display them in my kitchen on a baker's rack. Her newest cookbook, How Easy is That?, is due to be released at the end of this month (I'm already on the waiting list for it). This recipe for lemon chicken breasts is in it and I got it off of her website. It's such a perfect chicken recipe. I love how the lemon flavor brightens the whole dish. This one is too simple to pass up and you probably already have all the ingredients on hand. Do you and your family a favor and serve this soon. Lemon Chicken Breasts (Serves 4): 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 T. minced garlic (approx. 9 cloves), 1/3 cup dry white wine (I substitute chicken broth), 1 T. grated lemon zest (2 lemons), 2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 1/2 t. dried oregano, 1/2 t. dried thyme leaves ( or 1 t. fresh if you have it), Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, 4 boneless chicken breasts (skin on, 6 to 8 ounces each), and 1 lemon. Preheat the oven to 400˙ F. Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute, but don't allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the chicken stock, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 t. salt and pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Next, pat the chicken breasts dry and them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with pan juices. Enjoy!-----Recipe and Photo Credit: barefootcontessa.com.