Grilled Chicken with Garlic, Lemon & Herbs

I am going to miss these lazy days of summer. I didn't get out of bed until 8:30 this morning. And then I puttered around, getting breakfast for the kids, making the hubby his daily dose of dense nutrition (Shakeology) and emptying the dishwasher before I started my workout. In two days, that all changes. In two days, I'll be up at 5:45. Yuck.

I decided to try a new recipe for dinner tonight. You know how I love a recipe where the work can be done early in the day so there's very little to do at suppertime.  I used this recipe from Once Upon a Chef. 

Here's the cast.

I did a few things differently than the original recipe. For starters, I did not use a meat mallet to thin out my chicken. Mostly because I was using chicken tenders and they were already pretty thin. Next, I mixed my marinade in a bowl instead of a bag because I thawed my tenders in a bag. And I didn't want to waste two bags. I'm cheap eco savvy like that.

That being said, I put all the oil, herbs, and spices into a small bowl. Then I set off to zest my lemon.

Confession: I had never zested a lemon. I have wanted to try it many times, but I didn't own a zester, and I was too cheap lazy frugal to buy one. When I saw this recipe, I decided I would finally make the plunge. I purchased my zester at Walmart for just under $6. 

Zesting didn't go quite as well as planned. I have no idea why, but all the lemon zest stuck to the zester and wouldn't budge. I ended up using a toothbrush (don't worry, it was new) to remove the zest from the zester. 

When I had finally collected my lemon zest, I added it to the bowl with the other oil and spices.

Then I whisked them all together. 

I poured them into the bag with the chicken tenders, and I let it marinade for about 7 hours.

Jeff was kind enough to grill these for me tonight. In the rain. He's the bomb.

I served the chicken with some grilled veggies. That Jeff grilled. In the rain. Did I mention he's the bomb?

Everyone loved this chicken! It was super tender and very flavorful. The recipe is definitely a keeper.

Grilled Chicken with Garlic, Lemon & Herbs

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-3/4 lbs. total)
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced (I used dried, minced garlic)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano (I used 1-1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning instead of the thyme and oregano)
• 1-1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• zest from one lemon

~Mix all ingredients except chicken in a small bowl. Place chicken and marinade in a zip-lock bag, seal, and massage marinade into the chicken until it's evenly coated. Marinade 4 - 12 hours.

Question of the Day:

What are your best lemon zesting tips?