Feeling kind of lazy? No problem.

There are days where I am just tired. I don't want to cook; I just want to lay on the couch and be laaaaaaaazy. I am ok with this. Much to my dismay, these days seem to often coincide with me completely running out of real food. Tragic. On these days, I resort to slacker cooking. There are many permutations of this, but last night I just roasted some chicken and steamed broccoli.

Quick warning: I love broccoli and you're going to see it with some frequency. That is all.

Fortunately, roasting chicken breasts is extremely easy and hands off, yet tastes amazing. I used boneless/skinless breasts because that's what I had around, though of course using bone-in adds a richer flavor. I always have lemons in the house these days, a tip I picked up in cooking class once upon a time, and a handful of really standard ingredients which, as it turns out, make for a very flavorful roasted chicken.

So, for those days when you really don't want to stand over the stove...


Lemon & Thyme Roasted Chicken

3 chicken breasts (bone in or skinless, up to you)
1 large lemon
1 tbsp dijon
2 tbsp thyme
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 white wine (whatever you have open)

1) Peel the zest off of the lemon and set aside. Cut the lemon in half, squeeze the juice of one half into a bowl. Add dijon to the juice and whisk to incorporate. Add olive oil slowly, whisking to incorporate, and adding the thyme last.

2) Once you have a smooth blend, place the chicken in a bowl, pour the marinade over the chicken, toss to cover. Add the zest, toss (again) to cover. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (up to 4).

3) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Coat an oven proof pan or dutch oven with olive oil and brown chicken on both sides, but do not cook through. Place pan in oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes (25 for bone-in), until cooked through.

4) Remove chicken from pan, set aside.

5) In the same pan, over medium heat, add the juice of the second lemon half and the wine to the existing juices. Reduce, scraping any brown bits off of the bottom and into the sauce. Pour over chicken and serve.