Lime- garlic chicken-- A dinner to hurry to!

There is a definite connection between the dish I make and the state of mind I am in. I have not seen a study like this...but my gut feeling is it would be a fun thing to think about. Okay, let me see. German food, for example is mostly baked stuff and without frills. Now, that may reflect the general taste of the german population..but on the flip side it just maybe that because German people are generally fast paced, elaborate cooking may just not have been their thing! Same for chinese food. And my chinese blog friends might correct me on this (as this is solely my hypothesis--one that came to my mind just now). The paradise of stir fry. A population on the move. Where as if I take middle eastern, Iranian, Indian food. It is slow cooked. With mind blowing variations. A cuisine reflective of a population who takes things easy.

To come up with this hypothesis, I have used-- one sample. Myself. I mean I am now completely overwhelmed with my presentation at the upcoming conference and I do not find myself fancying making something even remotely involved. But I like home cooked warm food. But quick, delish and non-involved food does not have to be terrible. I just mentioned the chinese and German food, as an example. How good are those and how quick too!

I take the concepts and some ingredients that I adore (another theory-- if you make something using lovely ingredients, you  cannot go wrong, ever) and voila...I have this awesome dish..actually two. I will mention that later.  Lime, garlic and olive oil. whats not to like? :)

Here is to hurrying to a delish dinner. I hope we all make it tonight and have it. Thoughts? :)

Ingredients:

1 lb ( or you can use 5-6 thighs) of chicken. Best is boneless and skinless. But you can use pretty much what you like.

1 big lemon.

4-5 cloves of garlic grated. You can use as many or as few.

3-4 tbsf of olive oil. Light and extra virgin is what I use.

1/4 cup of chicken stock or warm water. This makes the marinade lighter and adds a layer of flavor :)

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Notice, that my ingredients do the trick for me

How to do it.

 Cut your chicken to pieces. I like to make them medium and thin. Season with salt and pepper. In a mixing bowl, zest your lemon. Squeeze the juice of half and a little more of the lemon. Add the grated garlic, stock (or water) and olive oil. A pinch of salt and black pepper. Whisk together. Thats the marinade. Pour it all over the chicken. Let stand for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken once while you are marinading.

heat the oven to 420F for 10 mins. Stick the chicken in there and let it sit for 40-45 minutes. To add a crunch to the chicken, you can also top it off by broiling for 2 minutes on high.

How good and easy is it??

Also here is the other dish I promised. If you have leftovers, you can piece them up and along with some shredded lettuce you can make into a delish wrap, a salad or a sammy! That is actually 4 dishes :)

Picture by evening..I plan to make this again :)

Happy eating and healthy living!