Spiced Lemon Chicken

Growing up, I ate ALOT of chicken, which resulted in my not being a fan of the meat. I refuse to order it at restaurants and rarely tend to cook it at home. So, when I craved some chicken, I decided I should probably make some. I know I'm giving the bird a bad rep; it isn't all dry and tasteless.. I even have a bunch of recipes stockpiled to showcase chicken. So yesterday afternoon, I tried this recipe, which looked rather simple and seemed to have potential. I served it with some delicious fresh green beans and the delicious chive parsley potatoes.


While the meal was pleasant, the chicken didn't particularly wow us. After some tweaking of the marinade, I'd probably serve it again. Hubby (Mr. Spicey-hot Food Man) felt it didn't have enough flavor; I felt it was a bit too lemony.

Spiced Lemon Chicken

• 1 - 2 lbs chicken breasts
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 head of garlic, peeled with cloves intact
• 1 tsp ground cardamom, or 10 crushed cardamon seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander, or 1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
• 6 tbsp olive oil

Using a fork, poke holes in the chicken. Place in a tupperware container or gallon baggy.

Prepare marinade by combining lemon juice and zest, garlic, cardamom, coriander, chili flakes, tumeric, and olive oil. Pour over chicken. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 475F. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes.