Nom. Just nom. Yet another win from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice! This light chicken dinner is seasonal win for the upcoming summer evenings, plus it’s easy to put together and leaves satisfied customers all around. The artichoke marinade can be prepared ahead of time, so it’s perfect if you’ve had a long day and want a simple (and delicious) meal ready within 30 min.

Lemon Artichoke Chicken

by Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts
• coarse salt and fresh black pepper
• 12 ounces artichoke hearts, jarred cut in half lengthwise
• 1/4 cup capers
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 lemons, 1 of them zested and thinly sliced and seeded
• 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• about 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Ingredients for both the chicken and spinach cous cous side dish

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a large non-stick baking sheet, lather 2 tablespoons of oil from edge to edge.

Get ready to pound out your aggression, by placing chicken in between two sheets of wax paper, use the flat side of the mallet and whack away. The chicken breasts are ready when they’re nice and thin (but not so thin they’re see through). Cut them in half and season them well with salt and pepper then place them in the pan, spreading them out so they’re not touching.

In a medium bowl toss the artichoke hearts, capers, garlic and lemon slices with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, the zest of the lemon and a few shakes of salt and pepper. Arrange them all around the chicken in the pan, filling in the empty spaces. I particularly made sure the lemons are around the edge of the chicken, instead of right on top of it. Citrus has such a powerful flavor, that I prefer to have “essence o’ lemon” rather than “holy Jamoly Lemon!” Know what I mean?

Sprinkle the parmesan all over, then add a spattering of Italian seasonings, salt and pepper. Bake until the chicken is cooked through anywhere from 25 – 45 minutes, depending on their size.

While the chicken cooks, get started on the spinach parmesan couscous side dish. They are a delightful pairing together.