Jazzing Up Chicken

We eat a lot of chicken in this house, and I'm constantly looking for ways to make it a little more interesting because let's face it, chicken is a pretty boring food on it's own. Recently I found two easy recipes that I really like, both of which were the result of looking through the house to see what we had and then looking on Pinterest for ideas.

The first recipe is Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken. You will need:

12 chicken breast tenderloins
4 tablespoons of EVOO
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1/3 cup of honey
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon of rosemary
1/4 cup of fresh basil

To start, in a medium sized bowl whisk the EVOO, honey, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and rosemary. Pour out a few tablespoons of the marinade into a small dish such as a ramekin (you will need this later for basting) and then place the tenderloins in the medium bowl and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours. Since I had the time, I let it sit for 6 hours which gives the flavors more time to marry together.

Heat your grill or grill pan to medium high heat, then place your tenderloins on and cook on one side for 2-3 minutes, then flip, baste with the extra marinade that was set aside earlier, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. You may need to cook them a little longer depending on your stovetop, grill, etc. Just keep an eye on them.

Once done plate them and serve topped with the fresh basil and with whatever side you like!

The second recipe is Double Lemon Chicken Breasts with Tomato Basil Salsa, You will need:

For the salsa:

5 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into cubes (I used grape tomatoes and cut them into small slices)
5 large fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of EVOO
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

For the chicken:

3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts pounded thin
EVOO for cooking
2-3 lemons halved

Mix the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl and set aside. On a flat dinner plate, mix the flour, salt and pepper and lemon zest with a fork. Heat enough EVOO to cover a saute pan over medium high heat, then dredge your chicken in the flour mixture and saute until cooked through. Once done plate, squeeze lemon juice over the chicken, then top with the salsa mixture.