Baked Lemon Herb Chicken w/ Lemon Sauce

Um, so I was supposed to post this recipe up last week! I need to stop promising posts by a certain time. Sorry if you were looking out for this!  Ended up not having the free time I wanted.

It's that time of the year for Shia Muslims to observe the month of Muharram (the beginning of the new Islamic year), which unfortunately is a more somber observance for us as we reflect on the history and stories of that time, and life gets super busy!  Between work, cooking, errands, and making it to the mosque on time, I barely have had enough time to just sit these past 10 days. Just the other day, I came home, threw my purse on the kitchen table, opened the fridge and started cooking dinner because I literally had an hour before having to meet up my friend so we could drive from one side of the city to the other for a sermon at the mosque.  I didn't sit until I got in the car.  If you were wondering though, I whipped up my super fast citrus baked chicken fajitas.

This is another flavorful baked chicken dish that can be whipped up if you are ever in a rush and need to get something on the table to feed growling bellies.  And duh, it's healthy!

Lemon Herb Chicken w/ Lemon Sauce and Orange Veggies (sweet potatoes & carrots)

Baked Lemon Herb Chicken w/ Lemon Sauce:

4 chicken breast cutlets
1 lemon, zested and juiced (reserve the juice separately)
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves off
1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (more or less)
sea salt
black pepper
olive oil
1 tbs. butter
1 tbs. minced garlic
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 tbs. corn starch
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 chicken or vegetable bouillon cube
fresh parsley, chopped, or lemon slices, for garnish

For the chicken, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and lay down chicken breasts.  Brush olive oil on both sides of the chicken breasts.  In a small bowl, combine the zest, thyme leaves, rosemary, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper. Generously sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with the seasoning.

Bake chicken in the oven for about 20 minutes.  They'll cook quickly since they are thinner slices of the breast.  Always check the thickest cutlet for done-ness.  Remove the baking dish from the oven, and let the chicken rest as you make the sauce.

Now on to the SAUCE.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic.  Cook until garlic is fragrant being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add 1/2 cup of the stock to the pan, and stir cornstarch in to the remaining half of the stock, and then pour that in as well.  Add the Worcestershire, reserved lemon juice, and bouillon cube to the sauce and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickness.  Add salt and pepper to your liking.

Transfer the sauce to your blender/bullet and blend the sauce until smooth.

Serve the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with fresh parsley or top with a lemon slice, and enjoy!!