Weeknight Lemon Chicken Skillet Dinner

How can recipes be "saved" in the recipe box?

I am giving your comment two stars because you failed to mention the well-known flavor conflict between acids such as lemon, lime, and tomato and a less than well seasoned cast iron skillet. The result is a bitter taste and off colored food. There are ways around this, but the bottom line is this : you sound like a know it all in your review and I needed to shoot your little plane out of the sky.

Thanks for all the tips!  I made these changes: 1) Used 4 boneless, skinless thighs; 2) Added some garlic while sautéing the chicken + spices; 3) While the chicken roasted in the oven, I sauted the boiled potatoes, French green beans and crimini mushrooms;  4) Used cream instead of milk (use it or lose it day); 5) Whisked the Wondra with the cream + salt/pepper and then whisked in the chicken stock; 6) After the flour cream mixture was added and let to thicken with the veggies, after the chicken was added back in, I added 1/4 cup grated Parmesan.  A definite keeper.

The recipe turns out perfectly with some alterations. My guest loved it and I will definitely make it again as they plan on Making it also. I boiled the potatoes and Partially cooked the green beans earlier in the day. I seasoned the chicken with kosher salt, pepper, Emerill's original and garlic powder. I browned the one side of the chicken in a nonstick pan with canola oil and a small amount of butter. With the nonstick pan it takes very little fat to brown the meat. I put the pan in the oven after browning only one side of the chicken and baked 450 degrees for approximately eight minutes. By putting the chicken in the oven made a nice brown crust on the pan which really intensifies the flavor. I then remove the chicken to a plate and covered it with foil.

Next step was to Brown the red potatoes halves and the mushrooms in a small amount of oil and butter. Be sure to use the cream meanie or Bella mushrooms to give this dish more mushroom flavor white button ones are kind of bland and not as pretty and color. I added some dry thyme. After the potatoes and mushrooms were browned I place them in a bowl.

Making the sauce with the vegetables and chicken out of the pan makes a huge difference in the texture and consistency of the final sauce. I made some alterations in the sauce by increasing the chicken broth to cook 2 cups. I do not have whole milk so I used half skim milk and half half and half. I added about 1 teaspoon of lemon zest to the sauce while cooking it. I increased amount of flour because I increase milk of chicken broth. I used to 21/2 Tablespoons of wonder flour. If you're not familiar with wonder flour it comes in a can and it's made by gold-medal I think, is wonderful for sauces because you will not have alarms if you do it the way it's has to do it. To prevent having lumps it is very important to mix the flour in a bowl and mix as you slowly add the broth. if they can get about four minutes or so. I tasted The sauce and adjusted it by adding splash of white wine and a little garlic powder.

Place the chicken, potatoes and , the green beans in the pan and gentle mixed for some of the sauce to get on the chicken. I put the lemons on top, covered the skillet, and let it heat for about five minutes.

I was amazed what that lemon did to the sauce. The lemon desk and out but it's not overpowering. In the lemons if also delicious when you serve it. If I judged this dish without putting the lemon in , it would've been a bummer. This dish could be used with pork or shrimp.

Can't wait to share this recipe and make it again

seasoning

When I read this recipe, I was concerned about the step of finishing chicken in oven with high heat. If you are an experienced cook, it's obvious that fast high heat would make them dry and rubbery. Liked your approach not to fast cook in the oven.

This has become a family favorite.

The only thing I do different is I slice the lemons a lil thicker and add them all.

Made this with skin on/bone in thighs.Otherwise followed the recipe. Very good. Loved the potatoes. Kept this to make again.

We really liked this recipe.  I used the zest from a lemon and added it to the mix.  It really brought a nice stronger lemon flavor.  I also used 8 oz of mushrooms as they shrink up.  Very good solid recipe.  My only complaint was that it used a lot of dishes, measuring cups etc. to prepare so clean up was longer than I expected!

Not very good, wouldn't make again

I made this because I was tired of the same old chicken and it came out great! I added more salt and pepper when cooking the chicken and other than that I followed the recipe. Next time I make this I will add more mushrooms. Great recipe and very delicious!

while this was pretty easy to make, my family thought it lacked flavoring.  if i make this again, i will definitely add other seasonings.  

I rarely leave reviews, but I was really impressed with this dish. Usually before i attempt I always read reviews from others to see their experience.

I did make alterations and i made this dish to fit my own taste and appearance.

1) I use vegetable stock instead of chicken

2) I boiled the green beans with the potatoes

3) I used cornstarch instead flour

4) For spices I used lemon pepper and garlic herb for the chicken

5) I prepared the sauce on the side first adding a little salt and pepper

With the alterations I made I did followed the recipe on hand and everything came out good. My chicken was nice and juicy and very flavorful.

**** with the broth and the lemons being added to it i did notice that the lemon overpowered the taste making it taste acidic, so with that i addded natural raw cane sugar to soften the taste and bring back balance, and it work.... so its all about making the taste work for you regardless of the receipe****

And instead of keeping the chicken breast whole i cut into shreds so it can go over bed of rice, as well as cutting the potatoes into quarters instead of halves.

I would make this again!

I liked it a lot and the guys both gave it a thumbs up. I'll be making it again. Now, here are all the changes I made. First, we had no mushrooms, because my son hates them. Second, we buy 2% milk so that's what we used, and I can't see where it was any worse for that. Third, I used 1t dried thyme instead of 1T fresh, just because it's what I had. Fourth, I forgot all about the parsley. No big loss. Oh, and frozen cut green beans worked (though the French cut may be better, it's what I had on hand.) The only criticism either of the guys had was that the sauce could be thicker; I wonder if that was the 2% milk switch.

Came out great.  I used Tuscan infused olive oil (from a local company), red, yellow and purple potatoes,  and GF flour blend instead of regular flour.  I used 1/2 cup of milk and 2Tbsp of the flour and 2 cups of broth, it came out great.  

I thought this was really good and would make it again. I don't like mushrooms so substituted Brussels sprouts and it turned out delicious. This will be going in my weeknight dinner rotation.

Minor changes - I used lemon pepper in place of pepper.  I sliced large chicken breasts in half lengthwise, but did not pound them flat.  No haricots at my market, so I used thin-ish green beans and increased the cooking time to 10 minutes total.  I also used cornstarch in place of the flour.  Flavors were very good and this was pretty darn easy to throw together.  My teenager was just so/so on it but DH thought it was good and so did I.  So I'd make it again.

we hoped the flavor would be in the sauce but it wasn't there either.

I've noticed a few comments like this, mentioning that it was too bitter from "so much lemon". I'm wondering if maybe some people used 8 lemons instead of 8 slices of lemon?

The lemon was overpowering to the point that it made the entire dish bitter.  I cook with organic ingredients, so this meal turned out to be a waste of about $18 worth of ingredients.  The sauce never thickened, even with the addition of corn starch.  I tried to save the leftovers, by adding butter and cream to combat the bitterness, to no avail.  Highly disappointing.  

I stuck to the recipe and it turned out delicious! My family loved it. I have added it to the new and save folder to make again.  Great time saver for a busy mom.

If you mix the flour into broth or wine any liquid before adding it to the pan you should not have the lumpy flour problem. As for the blandness I added more salt as needed. Came out perfect.

Even got a two thumbs up from my eleven year old!! My family gives this one *****

I made the recipe as is for the first time around and it came out very well.  Sauce thickened up nicely and I use almond milk.  The green beans came out perfect and I would definitely make this again.  The lemon added a nice touch to the dish and if anything next time I might add capers just to give it an extra bite.  All in all a very easy and quick meal to put together that tastes great and is pretty healthy.

made for Easter, and family loved it. Will make again

Have made this a couple of times, and my family likes it. We like a bit thicker sauce, so I just increased the flour (could use corn starch instead). I go a bit heavier on the pepper, but that's a personal choice. I also increase the cooking  time at the end to get the preferred sauce consistency. This also helps to cook the french green beans to a softer texture, which my husband prefers. 

Actually, since it tells you to make a slurry with the milk and the flour there shouldn't have been any lumps when it was incorporated into the dish.

I have made this a couple of times now and thought this had excellent flavor ---it did not seem too watery, When sauce is watery I just cook a little longer to reduce the liquid and enhance the flavor before adding the chicken and vegetables. To reduce the flour lumps whisk the milk and flour until lumps are gone.It should have a smooth consistency before adding to the hot mixture.

Made mostly as written. Added 1 extra teaspoon flour (I use Wondra, but I do that most of the time instead of flour). Mixed flour into milk and then milk mixture, salt and pepper into broth, so all arrived in pan at once. (Aside - Once, long ago, I was told that when you add a liquid and dried ingredients (salt, pepper, spices) at the same time, you should mix the dried ingredients into the liquid and add them together. The liquid helps more evenly disperse the dried ingredients. End aside) Had to use dried Thyme, but would use fresh once our plant comes back. Had no issues with sauce thickening or veggies cooking. Important to remember that haricot vert are not just green beans; they are smaller in size. If you have to sub green beans you will need more cooking time (5 minute with the potatoes would probably work). Lastly, I used Meyer lemons because that's what I had. Flavor was very good and not bitter. Not sure why that suggestion wasn't made by the magazine.

We loved this dish! I made a few changes: parboiled the green beans for three minutes, then shocked them with ice-cold water to keep in the bright color, used fat-free half and half since I never have regular milk around, and used leftover preserved lemon (from the wonderful chicken with preserved lemon recipe in the same CL issue) instead of fresh slices. And I always use 50% less cornstarch instead of flour--dissolves better with no flour taste. We did have a light salad on the side, but otherwise no additions needed. Really lovely flavor!

We enjoyed this recipe, but I made some adjustments. I cooked the sauce before adding the vegetables back in the pan. I also never use flour to thicken things. We always use corn starch. After it got thick, I put everything back in the pan and simmered it longer than they suggested. It was great!

I was able to get the sauce thick by additional cooking time. Since I knew it might take longer, I added veggies (I used broccolini) later. This recipe- and the sauce- sort of reminded me of a deconstructed chicken pot pie. I too, think it needed a bit more flavor. If I make again, I would reduce chicken stock and add some sherry to sauce to see if I could get a deeper flavor. I used organic chicken from Trader Js and it was delicious. Not the rubbery stuff I typically find with Foster Farms or equivalent.

Simple and delicious. I followed recipe just about as written and it turned out perfect. To those who had issues with the sauce thickening; I wisked the flour in the milk, then added the stock and wisked again, then poured in pan with veggies (the directions do say simmer 1 minute or until slightly thickened). My sauce became slightly thickened in about 5 minutes.

This may be the worst Cooking Light recipe I've ever made. It had no flavor on the first night and leftover it was bitter and inedible (probably from all the citrus). The sauce didn't thicken on the first night. Just terrible. I make a lot of CL recipes and most of them I like, but this one is terrible.

Will never make again. The chicken was tough. The potatoes were promising til they were put in the sauce. The sauce was weak, bland and thin. This was a horrible meal. Thankfully I didn't waste too much time making it.

I agree, the sauce was thin and bland, other than the overwhelming lemon flavor. Finishing off the breasts in the oven was unnecessary, it just dried them out. Next time, I will just sauté the chicken with a bit of fresh lemon juice; this keeps them nice and juicy. Remove the breasts. Then brown the veggies and make the sauce in a separate sauce pan. Put the chicken back in with the veggies and pour the sauce over the top. The lemon slices look pretty, but made it way to strong! I taste nothing but acid.

As is, the recipe is poor. I initially try to follow recipes exactly but even this first time, I left out the oven instruction and just fried the chicken to mostly done. That worked fine since the olive oil helped it brown nicely. Next time, I'm going to simmer the green beans in with the potatoes, reduce the chicken stock to a cup and per lbsupler take out the veggies before I make the sauce. If they're going to put a recipe on the cover of their magazine, it should be one that works first time.

I had a lot of regular potatoes on hand, so we just cut them into smaller chunks and microwaved them vs. boiling. Thanks to the other reviews, I thickened the sauce first before adding everything back - that was perfect. It did take longer, but the sauce was fantastic. We didn't have fresh lemons on hand, so I threw in 3T of fresh lemon juice that I'd frozen. Meanwhile, we microwaved the beans for a minute or so to start them off, so they didn't need too much time in the pan. Delicious.

A nice healthy & quick weeknight meal. The flavor profile of this reminded me of wiener schnitzel (a German dish of breaded veal with lemons). We made it almost as written - we subbed 2% milk for whole, used more flavorful shiitake mushrooms in place of creminis, and we simmered it at the end for 5 minutes to get the beans to the crisp/tender stage we like. To avoid lumps we added the chicken stock to the pan first, then the milk & flour mixture. Result was minimal lumps but next time we'll add the chicken stock to the milk & flour before putting it in the pan in hopes of zero lumps. Other than a few little lumps the texture of the sauce was perfect - not too thick but not runny. Yummy and definitely going into the regular rotation.

Sauce did not thicken at all and was nearly impossible to remove lumps of flour because the recipe has you add the flour while the vegetables are in the skillet. Flavors were bland (other than lemon) and tasted even worse the next day re-heated.

I agree that longer cooking time and additional flour is needed to thicken the sauce - otherwise it was very watery. I also found the lemon to be a bit overpowering and otherwise was a bland dish. My kids didn't like this dish at all. I doubt I will make this again.

This is a great recipe idea, but it definitely needs more cooking time at the end, after you add the mushrooms and beans -- at least 15 minutes, I'd say. You eventually get something tasty!

Great, but take out potatoes and mushrooms after browning, add flour mixture, thicken and add everything back according to recipe. Otherwise to watery

SUPER yummy!