The Key to Rosemary Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs is the Marinade

I love chicken. Love it. It's the most predominant food in my diet. It's what I eat most days of the week. And in particular: chicken thighs. I almost can't even understand white meat chicken. Dark meat is juicy, tender, more flavorful. I mean, I eat white meat chicken too, of course. But dark meat has a special place in my heart. And these rosemary lemon garlic chicken thighs are really fantastic.

It's a recipe that evolved over time, but I've got it perfected now. The key is marinating it overnight. Whether you use the chicken-in-a-bag method like me or wrap it in a glass bowl - the chicken must be marinated. First, I mix the marinade in a bowl, then I add the chicken, fork the chicken, and transfer to a Ziplock bag. Again, I like to marinate for a full 24 hours. If I can't manage that because of my schedule, I will at least try to marinate the chicken in the morning and cook it in the evening.

For this recipe, I show you a quick veggie side as well. A simple mixture of carrots and zucchini with feta sprinkled on top - my favorite. But you can make this side your own too. You could have broccoli, a side salad, roasted potatoes or whatever tickles your fancy.

Got Chicken on Your Brain? Me Too!

I highly encourage all of you to get to know your kitchens and make homemade food for your loved ones. Eating out is becoming a very expensive luxury these days so there has never been a better time to cook from home. Preparing meals for our families and friends is a wonderful tradition to keep up with. It gives us a chance to slow down for a moment, put down our devices and connect with the people we care about.

Rosemary Lemon Garlic Chicken

Author: Stacey
Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 24-hour marinade)
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 4-6 portions 1x

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Description

This easy chicken-in-a-bag recipe is chock full of fresh rosemary, lemon and lots of garlic. A great weeknight option!

Instructions

Chicken Marinade

Prepare your marinade. Add the following to a bowl: finely diced cloves of garlic, zest and juice of lemons (set lemon pieces aside-do not throw away), olive oil, salt, dijon mustard, fresh chopped rosemary, balsamic vinegar. Whisk to combine all ingredients.
Trim fat from chicken thighs and discard.
Add trimmed chicken thighs to marinade. Toss around making sure all the chicken is coated in the marinade.
Fork the chicken to help ensure full flavor penetration.
Put chicken in a zip-lock bag, along with the lemons, and let marinate overnight.
After chicken has marinated overnight, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken and lemon pieces in a baking dish and cook the chicken for about 50 minutes. Let chicken rest for five minutes before eating.

Basmati Rice

Follow instructions on bag but remember to add butter and salt before covering the rice to cook.

Vegetable Side

Always wash your veggies before cooking.
Carrots: Peel carrots, cut in half, cut into carrots sticks then cut into cubes. Put in pan on low heat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Give it a stir. Cover and cook on low for 5 minutes. Turn heat off and let sit, covered, a few more minutes. They will be about 90% done and they’ll continue cooking later when we add the zucchini.
Zucchini: While carrots are cooking, start on your zucchini. Same method as carrots. Cut into zucchini sticks and then cubes.
Feta cheese: Have container standing by so you’re ready to sprinkle on top of your veggies.
Just before the chicken is ready, add zucchini to the carrot pan. Turn heat on low. There should be some residual olive oil in the pan with carrots so no need to add anymore here.
Toss veggies together, then cover and cook on low for 4 minutes. Uncover and cook a few more minutes. I like to cook until carrots are soft and zucchini is al dente.
When your chicken is finished - plate your delicious meal! I usually put the rice down, spoon my zucchini & carrot mixture on top of the rice, then sprinkle on the feta.