Lemon and Honey-Flavored Chicken

So many of my best friendships have started over food…shocker right? I’m sure that doesn’t surprise anyone.

In 2007, I had just moved to Houston for a dietetic internship. I was sitting in my first day of class at U of H wondering which of the interns I was going to make friends with first. This chatty girl was volunteering to make a birthday cake…from scratch…for one of the other intern’s birthdays. Bingo. I offered to help her…the rest is history (I’m pretty sure we made this Paula Dean red velvet cake).

Over the next 2 years, Danielle and I threw many dinner (and dessert!) parties for our new friends.  I miss her and wish she would move to Louisiana…she equally wishes I would move back to Houston…and is always trying to “fix me up” with a Houston boy :)

My most recent found-through-food friend, Brei, (we bonded over an instagram pic of a post-dinner drink of Bailey’s & coffee), gave me a beautiful new cookbook for my birthday earlier this year.  This is the first recipe I made from La Tartine Gourmande (from the blog of the same name).  I’m always attracted to recipes that include a large serving of vegetables…and those that I can prepare ahead of time and eat all week. 

   

I omitted some of the oil and left out the olives (I wish I liked olives!).  I cooked the chicken with the skin on, but didn’t eat it…I think??!  There is a lot of “sauce” so I decided to serve it over whole wheat cous cous.

Lemon and Honey-Flavored Chicken
adapted from La Tartine Gourmande

makes 4 generous servings

juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
4 chicken legs (about 2 pounds)
4 green zebra tomatoes, quartered (I actually managed to find green tomatoes…if you can’t, just use whatever you want)
1/4 cup cold water
1 pound haricots verts (thin French green beans…or just use regular…I did)

In a bowl, combine the lemon juice, honey, oregano, garlic, and oil.  Arrange the chicken legs in a large baking dish and coat them with this sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or longer).

Preheat the oven to 375F. Add the tomatoes and 1/4 cup water to the chicken.  Season the chicken and tomatoes with salt and pepper.  Place in the oven, and bake for 50 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the chicken is cooking, blanch the green beans in a pot of salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking; set aside.

Five minutes before the chicken is done, add the green beans to the dish and return to the oven (I ended up cooking them a little longer than 5 minutes…I wanted them to brown a little more).

Per serving (without skin): 409 calories, 13g fat (2.9 g saturated), 21g carbohydrates, 4.5 g fiber, 46 g protein (2.5 fat, 6.5 protein, 1.5 veg)

* have you been missing me??  Football season is in full swing and I just can’t seem to keep up with the blog as often as I’d like…but follow me on insta (@blairburas) and twitter (@deliciouslygold)…I post pics of what I’m eating regularly!