Simply Grilled Chicken

I love to use lemon in savory dishes. That's one of the great things about lemon, that it can be used in both sweet and savory foods. Here, lemon brightens up an otherwise ordinary chicken breast and gives it a punch of flavor.

This recipe starts with lemon juice, adds some lemon zest, and then a little more lemon flavor from lemon-pepper seasoning. Are you sensing a theme? All this citrus-y goodness is soaked up by boneless, skinless chicken beasts, which are then grilled to perfection. Grilled chicken is a great dinner to serve during these dog days of summer.

The marinade need not be exact, so this is a great recipe for those who shun measuring spoons and love to experiment. You can really make this your own. And if you hit on any great flavor combinations, please let me know! I'd love to try it.


SIMPLY GRILLED CHICKEN

1 lb package chicken breast
the juice of two lemons (~ 1/2 c.)
the zest of one of the lemons
a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
some lemon pepper seasoning (somewhere around 1/4 tsp is fine)
a couple of leaves of Italian flat leaf parsley, torn

1. In a shallow dish, whisk together all ingredients, minus the chicken breast. Pound out the chicken breasts, using the side of your meat pounder that has the little spikes on it. If you do not own such a device, pound out the breasts with the back of a frying pan and then poke with a fork. We want the marinate to seep into the chicken as much as possible.

2. Place chicken breasts in marinade, coating both sides. Allow to chicken to marinate, covered, in refrigerator, for about 15 minutes. Flip breasts over and marinate another 15 minutes.

3. Heat an outdoor grill to medium-high (since I don't have an outdoor grill, I used my little indoor one and cranked it up full-blast). Place chicken breasts on grill and cook for about 10-15 minutes on each side. Before serving, use a meat thermometer to make sure the thickest part of the breast has reached 160 degrees.

Source: adapted from Allrecipes