Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Easy Lemon Chicken Recipe



If you are here for the easy lemon chicken recipe scroll down, but first a little about my life right now. 

 I have been settling my son into his new high school for the last 4 weeks.  The executive of the school keep telling us, it's a big hill to climb for the boys between year 6 and 7.  They are not wrong, it feels like that for me too too.  I have been in tears over all the effort that goes into getting him sorted.  It's all totally worth it, but a big shock for me too.  You'd think I'd be coping better, as I briefly taught at the same school 25 years ago, on a teaching practicum.   I am still in awe of how hard the teachers and students work a quarter of a century later.

It is incredible the pace at which cutting edge education moves forward.  I have already mentioned his uniform cost more than my entire wardrobe.  Well he is also now the proud owner of this very own Mac Book Air,which is integrated into the curriculum.  It's particularly good for languages and we are both enjoying learning Japanese together.

  Lets just say the distribution of a brand new laptop has helped to soothe the transition to high school for him greatly.  It's also very convenient when I need to email him about some change to the schedule.

I only wish I was a 12 year old boy, with all the opportunities of the 21 Century laid out before me.  It's such a shame you can't see how lucky and privileged you are, when you are a tween.

He is also absolutely loving the school sport.  He has never shown much interest in any of the local sport he has played, but he is now doing exactly the sport he wants and it has been transformative.  Surprisingly, because his heart is totally in it, he is actually really good at it too.  Moving up the ranks with a great finish in the top 5 in last weekends racing.  He can't wait to get to training each week and is doing lots on his own too.



Then there's the social scene.

 I attended the first parent function at the school this week.  What a blast.  The apple does not fall far the tree, that's for sure, The first boy I ever kissed happened to be there and also a few friendly faces from my teenage partying days.  Suffice to say, I really enjoyed the do and look forward to the next get together.  Maybe I will summon up the courage to actually say hello to first kiss boy, next time.


The last boy I kissed passionately, Mr Beach House, was in the good books for a few hours last week, as he brought me these for Valentines Day.  Very kind of him.

In other news, Malcolm, his Aussie mate, is out from Paris with his family, having a beach holiday.  They came for dinner last weekend and this is what I served for dessert.  Fig and Almond tart.  It's always a bit of a coup, when it hits the table.  If only they knew how totally easy it was to make.  Just mix up the batter and shove in the fruit.  Malcolm told me I was a bloody good cook and a great hostess.  He also said I should open a restaurant.  All the alcohol probably helped him reach that conclusion, but it was nice to hear it all the same, especially from one who resides in Paris, where the cuisine has been world heritage listed.

You can find the tart recipe here.  Figs are in season right now, but you can use plums, apricots or anything you fancy really.


We didn't have lemon chicken for the main course, but this is a great one for a midweek family meal, or for a girls lunch.  Again like everything I cook, it is easy, easy,easy and very tasty.  This is one I made in the school holidays for a girlfriend and her two boys, when they came to lunch on a play date in January,which seems so long ago. Yummo

Can you tell I am limping into the next school holidays?



Lemon Chicken
Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon of olive oil
8-12 organic chicken pieces of your choice with skin on (depending on your appetite)
I used drumsticks and wings, but breasts or thighs with skin on would work well too.
3 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 onion finely sliced
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 lemon zested and juiced
1 tablespoon of thyme leaves (fresh if you can).  If dried, use 1 teaspoon.
500 mls or 2 cups  of good quality  chicken stock.

Preheat the oven to 200 C or 390F
Put olive oil in a flame proof dish.  Over the stove, brown the chicken in two batches.
Remove chicken from the flame proof dish and set aside.
Reduce to a minimum heat and add garlic and cook until golden brown
Add onion and cook for 1 minute.
Add paprika and flour and cook for 1 minute.
Add lemon zest, juice and stock and thyme.
Return chicken to the pot and bring to the boil.
Cover and bake in the oven for 40 minutes until cooked through.
Serve with the carb of your choice and a green salad.

You can find more easy family meals to make here.

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6 comments :

  1. This recipe has gone straight on the meal planner. I'm not actually very organised on that front, so that means I'm making it for dinner tonight! Thanks.

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  2. My parents sent me to a very good high school with spectacular views and I didn't realise how good I had it. I hope my girls will! We are not at the school stage yet, but I'm already getting nervous. I can only imagine what a jump it must be from year 6 to 7. I hope he continues to go well. #teamIBOT

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  3. I love cooking with lemon it adds such a freshness to the dishes, this looks delicious :)

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  4. Oh, I have heard a few parents saying how hard the transition to highschool has been for the whole family. Hope you find a smooth road soon :)

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  5. You and he will settle in in no time and the expense slows down... a little ;) That chicken looks divine x

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  6. I am so making this... and that tart with figs... with anything. I need a new simple chicken dish, I need several. Good to catch up on where you are at. We've so much to catch up on. Please do report how next meeting with MrFirstKiss goes. Love that massed cyclist photo. It's a shock to the system to get up and go at the crack of dawn... and the start of much letting go and the boy changing to a man... slowly, thank goodness.

    PS That transition to high school is massive... huge... shuddering to remember.

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