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I love lemons. I seriously do. Every time I go grocery shopping I buy them by the dozen because you can use them for anything. Lemon curds, scones, desserts, chicken marinades-you name it. Using fresh lemons is SO much better than using the store bought lemon juice because using the zest and squeezing the lemons yourself makes things so much more fresh and lemon-y tasting. It's seriously to die for.
Two of my favorite things to use lemons for is chicken marinades, and lemon blueberry (or raspberry) bars. Both are so simple to make and produce really amazing results. Things to have on hand when using lemons:
a grater
a juicer
a sharp knife
measuring cups to catch the juice.
-you can use a bowl but I squeeze into measuring cups so I know exactly how much juice I am squeezing :)
I made an amazing chicken marinade recently that came out kind of Greek-ish. I really enjoyed it. The marinade used about 4 ingredients, all things on hand, and the results made the chicken so flavorful! I used chicken thighs because they are really inexpensive and so versatile and I personally am a fan of dark meat. You can use chicken breast for this recipe if you prefer.
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp lemon zest
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp dried oregano
Combine all ingredients, and add 4 chicken thighs-skins removed, of course. (double the recipe if cooking for more than 2 people) marinade overnight. I got a really awesome panini grill pan for my wedding and I grilled the chicken on that for about 15 minutes to get those beautiful grill marks on there, but being in an apartment it got smoky in there pretty quick so I finished them in the oven-350 degrees for 15 minutes longer. If you have an actual grill, I'm sure they will turn out just fine that way too! For the lima beans I tossed a small can of cooked beans with lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic. The idea to toss it with feta cheese came to me afterward, but I think it would really finish the meal. Marinading overnight made the chicken really tender and juicy. This one is a keeper!
On the sweeter side of things you can literally make no end of desserts with lemons. Lemon sorbet, lemon cheesecake, lemon curd, etc etc etc. I made a really good batch of lemon bars today that kind of turned into a pie because I used a pie plate instead of a square pan-but the results were great! You can use any kind of fruit that would go good with lemon. I used frozen blueberries because I had those on hand but raspberries, or strawberries would go wonderfully as well.
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
Filling:
2 large egg yolks
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
6 oz blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 cake pan or 9" pie plate with cooking spray and set aide.
In a medium bowl, combine graham crumbs, melted butter, sugar and lemon zest. Stir until the crumbs are moist-press into pie plate or cake pan. Bake the crust for 10 min and cool completely.
Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Whip until slightly thickened. Gently fold in your fruit of choice. Pour over cooled crust and bake 15 min, or until set. Cool to room temperature and chill in the fridge for one hour before serving. It was a huge hit with my husband, who absolutely loves anything lemon flavored, as does my mom. :)
Seriously guys, buy some lemons, and look up uses for them and guaranteed you'll use them daily!!
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