Lemon rosemary chicken breasts

A super-easy, super-flavorful marinade

This chicken marinade (tweaked from allrecipes.com) is pat-yourself-on-the-back delicious and so easy to throw together. Like, weekday morning easy. Then you come home to perfectly-seasoned chicken, give it a quick pan fry, and it tastes so good that you really bask in the kitchen-rockstar feeling. "What, this flavor explosion? It's nothing really," said with a casual hair flip. I love that feeling.

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LEMON ROSEMARY CHICKEN BREASTS

WHAT YOU'LL NEED
MARINADE:
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic (1-2 cloves)
zest from half of a lemon
2 TBS fresh lemon juice

*Note: If you're making more than dinner for two, double the recipe!

COOKING:
1–2 TBS butter or oil

WHAT YOU'LL DO
1. Whisk together all of the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Use a fork to poke holes in the chicken breasts. Pound the meat so it's roughly the same width throughout (this will not only tenderize the meat but give you the most even cooking results).

2. On each side of each chicken breast, season with salt and pepper. Dredge each side of each chicken breast through the marinade. Place all of the seasoned, dredged chicken in a freezer-sized ziplock bag. Pour the rest of the marinade into the bag. Place in the fridge and allow to marinate at least a few hours, all day, or even overnight. 

3. To cook, melt some butter in a pan on the stovetop (about medium heat). Place the marinated chicken in the pan and cook for a couple minutes until nice color forms. Flip the chicken, reduce heat a bit, and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken breasts) or until no longer pink in the middle. 

4. If desired, pour any remaining marinade into the pan, add a little extra oil or butter, and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan for a quick sauce. To serve, pour the sauce over the chicken for added flavor (not necessary, but definitely delish!)

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I served this with yummy veggies (recipe coming soon!) and it basically tasted like Thanksgiving in my mouth. Scrumptious and full of herbs and lemon — beautiful if you're big into the flavors of fall. So try this and get ready to feel like the kitchen rockstar you are!