Family’s Favorite Lemon Chicken

One of my family’s favorite chicken dish is this lemon chicken that get a lot of compliments from my son who happens to be the picky eater in the family. This is one dish where I don’t have to tell him to finish his dinner. I don’t cook separate dishes (unless for spicy dishes) for every member of the family so If we go through dinner without having to tell anyone to finish what’s on their plate is a welcome experience.

INGREDIENTS :

• 4-5 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 can chicken stock
• juice of 1 medium lemon
• butter (1 stick maybe)

The "rule" in handling boneless chicken is to cover them with saran wrap then flatten by pounding. To be honest, I’m so busy to be pounding boneless chicken these days. What I do is slice the boneless chicken breasts evenly in half. Not only do you get thin slices of chicken, you also double the amount. So if you have 4 boneless chicken pieces, slice them in half (evenly in the middle), you’ll end up with 8 pieces. How’s that for cooking affordably?

Step By Step Process :

In a bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Drench the chicken pieces with the flour mixture on both sides. Set them aside on a plate.

Reserve about 3 tbsp of that flour mixture.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter on a non-stick pan. Cook each side of the chicken, about 8-10 minutes on each side. You’ll have to do this in 2 batches most probably. Add more butter on the pan if necessary. Place the cooked chicken on a clean plate.

Using the same pan, melt the remaining butter. Sprinkle the reserved flour. Whisk everything together with the cooked bits on the pan. You’re basically making a gravy. Once the flour is golden brown, slowly add the chicken stock. Continue whisking. Add the lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.

The sauce should be thickened. You can either put the cooked chicken on the lemon gravy or pour it on the chicken. For presentation purposes I opted for the pouring method.

Serve with steamed white rice and steamed veggies like broccoli, green beans, or asparagus.

(Images : Dexie Jane Wharton / Robust Cooking)