The ultimate easy-to-prepare, delicious week night dinner.
Sometimes Monday’s are just hard.
There always seems to be a never-ending to-do list on Mondays. Completing the things, I neglected over the weekend; catching up on emails; starting a fresh work week; organizing for the week ahead. It can feel extremely daunting. Plus, I’m still dealing with the affects of weekend. The Monday scaries are a REAL thing.
The last thing I want to do on a Monday evening is put together an elaborate meal. I want to make something simple and easy. Preferably, something with very little clean up as well.
One of my favorite easy-to-prepare, one pan meal’s is my lemon herb chicken with asparagus. It’s packed with flavor but requires very little ingredients and maintenance. The perfect meal for a Monday night – or any week night for that matter.
Let’s get to cooking.
You only need one pan for this entire meal. I prefer a cast iron skillet as it browns the chicken perfectly and adds a lot of flavor. However, if you do not have a cast iron skillet, you can use a non-stick skillet (but seriously, you should invest in a cast iron skillet at some time as they are bomb!)
First, you should pound out the chicken to achieve equal size pieces. This will allow the chicken to cook evenly. It also helps tenderize the meat since we are not using a marinade.
Blend all of the species together: dried herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Drizzle a little olive oil on the chicken and sprinkle with the seasoning mix to evenly coat the chicken.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet starts to gently smoke, add in the chicken. Cook the chicken for 4 minutes on each side. I cook the chicken on the stove in the pan first to achieve that golden brown crust.
Add in the asparagus and toss it in the juice/oil left in the pan. Also, add in a lemon cut in half, flesh side down. I like to cook my lemon with the chicken and asparagus because the juices will seep out of the lemon in the oven and impart so much flavor into the chicken and asparagus. YUM! Allow it to cook for about 12-15 minutes in the oven or until the chicken is cooked through (which will depend on the thickness of your cut of chicken).
Take out of the oven, top with the fresh herbs and juices of the charred lemon, and serve. I also like to add my balsamic glaze (totally optional).
A delicious, healthy Monday night dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. You can’t beat that!
One Skillet Lemon Herb Chicken
The ultimate easy-to-prepare, delicious week night dinner.
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley and basil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze
- 1 lemon cut in half
- 1 bundle asparagus
Instructions
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Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
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Pound out chicken breast so you have equal size pieces and cover in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix all of the herbs and spices together (except fresh herbs) and sprinkle evenly over chicken.
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Heat remaining olive oil in pan on medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 4 minutes on each side, so chicken develops golden brown crust.
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Place the asparagus and lemon (face side down) in the plan around the chicken. Toss asparagus in chicken juices and olive oil in pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and asparagus is browned (flip asparagus half way through so it evenly cooks).
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Sprinkle with fresh herbs and lemon juice from charred lemon. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.
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Serve and enjoy!
