Garlic and Lemon Chicken

Here is a recipe I first saw posted on Facebook...and then I found it via a Google search (if you google search "lemon chicken green beans" then lots of this recipe pop up).  Easy to put together and lots of variations possible.

From: http://www.food.com/recipe/garlic-lemon-chicken-with-green-beans-red-potatoes-505338
Similar recipe at: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pan-roasted-chicken-lemon-garlic-green-beans-10000000780291/

Garlic & Lemon Chicken With Green Beans & Red Potatoes

Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins 

Servings:
4-8 [MMWM Note: I think depending how big the chicken breasts are--can cut them in half if large]

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3/4 lb fresh green beans
8 small red potatoes, quartered
4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin) or 3 1/4 lbs chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin)
Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 400 or 450°F  [MMWM Note: Different recipes have different temperatures...it seems that cooking at 375-400 helps keep the chicken more moist].  Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.

2 In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.

3 Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.

MMWM Notes:
*  I usually cook this using chicken breasts without bones and without skin.

*  Feel free to substitute other vegetables in place of, or with, the green beans and/or potatoes, like baby or cut up carrots, onions, mushrooms, snap peas, asparagus, etc.  One interesting variation I do is to put in spaghetti squash on top of the lemons (I do this instead of the potatoes).  The spaghetti squash becomes saturated with lemon and is quite tasty!  To prepare the spaghetti squash, cut it in half length-ways and scoop out all the seeds (it is similar inside like a pumpkin--by the way, feel free to save the seeds and roast them lik pumpkin seeds!).  Rub the inside of the spaghetti squash with some olive oil and if you wish, sprinkle with some salt and pepper.  Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about one hour.  Let rest and then use a fork to scrape out the squash strands from the shell.  Soak the strands in the lemon juice mix and drain well before placing on top of the lemons.  
*  Notable comments I saw posted by others...
--reduce the amount of oil and/or don't dip items into oil/lemon mix, rather drizzle mix on top of everything once in pan
--add a splash of white wine (to oil/lemon mix or halfway through cooking)
--sprinkle lemon pepper seasoning over chicken before cooking or into the oil/lemon mix
--can use other potatoes, ie. sweet, gold
--to make the chicken more moist, can add in chicken broth or stock and/or cover while cooking
--some people find that this is a lot of lemon for them...can reduce lemon to 1 lemon, take skins off the lemon before putting them at bottom, don't put the lemons at the bottom at all, or use lemon juice rather than lemons
--Try crushing your garlic to season the oil and as a last step, place one of the crushed cloves under the skin of each piece of chicken; also, suggested to add more garlic to recipe

Nutrition Information

From: http://www.food.com/recipe/garlic-lemon-chicken-with-green-beans-red-potatoes-505338
Serving Size: 1 (312 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving% Daily Value Calories 353.1 Calories from Fat 15443%Total Fat 17.2 g26%Saturated Fat 3.4 g17%Cholesterol 46.4 mg15%Sodium 370.2 mg15%Total Carbohydrate 31.9 g10%Dietary Fiber 4.5 g18%Sugars 3.9 g15%Protein 19.3 g38%

Nutritional Information

From http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pan-roasted-chicken-lemon-garlic-green-beans-10000000780291/

• Per Serving (8 servings total)
• Calories 687

• Calcium 86mg
• Carbohydrate 20g
• Cholesterol 181mg
• Fat 37g
• Fiber 4g
• Iron 4mg
• Protein 67mg
• Sat Fat 8g
• Sodium 735mg

Nutritional Info

From http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1056565

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 529.9

• Total Fat: 6.4 g
• Cholesterol: 136.9 mg
• Sodium: 888.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 58.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.8 g
• Protein: 61.5 g

Nutrition Facts From http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calories.asp?recipe=1056565
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories		529.9
Total Fat		6.4 g
	Saturated Fat	1.3 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	3.2 g
Cholesterol		136.9 mg
Sodium		888.6 mg
Potassium		1,908.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		58.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	5.8 g
	Sugars	2.8 g
Protein		61.5 g

Vitamin A	3.5 %
Vitamin B-12	14.9 %
Vitamin B-6	68.5 %
Vitamin C	137.2 %
Vitamin D	0.0 %
Vitamin E	3.7 %
Calcium	9.8 %
Copper	9.2 %
Folate	2.7 %
Iron	24.1 %
Magnesium	17.9 %
Manganese	5.6 %
Niacin	132.6 %
Pantothenic Acid	20.2 %
Phosphorus	47.3 %
Riboflavin	13.6 %
Selenium	60.7 %
Thiamin	12.7 %
Zinc	13.1 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Calories per Ingredient Here are the foods from our food nutrition database that were used for the nutrition calculations of this recipe. Calories per serving of Lemon Chicken with Green Beans and New Potatoes 286 calories of Chicken Breast (cooked), no skin, roasted, (1 breast, bone and skin removed) 220 calories of Harris Teeter Baby Red Potatoes, (2 serving) 30 calories of Olive Oil, (0.25 tbsp) 8 calories of Green Giant Cut Green Beans, can, (0.19 cup) 5 calories of Lemons, (0.25 fruit without seeds) 4 calories of Garlic, (1 cloves) 2 calories of Lemon juice, (0.75 tbsp) 1 calories of Pepper, black, (0.13 tsp) 0 calories of Salt, (0.25 tsp)

Asian-Style Cucumber Slaw

This is a recipe that my husband, Mike, pulled out of a magazine and brought home to me.  It took me awhile to actually make it (I think I was thrown off a bit by some of the "unusual" ingredients but they actually were not that tough to find), but when I did--YUM!  My kids are not as fond of this as the article proclaimed (one son asked me to use Italian dressing instead next time I make it--might have to give that a try), but the adults in my family love it and it goes well with almost anything!

From: Good Housekeeping, August 2003, pg. 168 (yourGoodHouseguide)

home cooking
"My kids loved this salad!"
The Alleman family of Sierra Vista, Arizona, recently visited Quark's Bar & Restaurant at the Las Vegas Hilton's Star Trek: The Experience.  "We enjoyed everything," says mom Cindy, but the slaw was truly "out of this world."  Now her family is begging her to make it at home.  GH tracked down the recipe.

Asian Style Cucumber Slaw
Prep 10 minutes plus chilling
Makes 6 cups or 12 accompaniment servings

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce
3 medium English (seedless) cucumbers (2 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds, lightly toasted

1. In a medium bowl, stir rice vinegar, vinegar, sugar, Thai chili sauce, and 1/2 cup cold water.
2. Cut unpeeled cucumbers into 2-inch lengths.  With food processor or mandolin with large julienne blade attached, or with chef's knife, cut cucumbers into 1/4-inch-wide, matchstick-thin strips.
3. Add cucumber strips to dressing in bowl; toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.
4. To serve, thoroughly drain cucumber strips; transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Each serving: About 20 calories, 1 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 0 g total fat, 1 g fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, 15 mg sodium.

MMWM Notes:  
* One day my husband ate one of the cucumbers I purchased to make this salad so I had to improvise--used three large carrots and, after peeling the first layer, continued to shave the carrots down into slivers and threw it in with the cucumbers.  Made a tasty variation for this recipe!
* I used a regular knife to cut the cucumber strips...not exactly sure what qualifies as a "chef's knife" but the regular one worked fine...although it does take me longer to do all the cutting when it's by hand.
* I'm a little bugged when a recipe does not include sugar in the nutrition information.  However, it is clear there is sugar in this recipe.  I'm assuming that a sugar substitute could be used in place of the actual sugar, as desired.
* Look for the rice vinegar and Thai sweet chili sauce in the store where they have Asian items such as soy sauce.  Black sesame seeds might be there too or in the spices aisle.

Here is my photo of the Asisan-Style Cucumber Slaw...