Lemon-Garlic Chicken Thighs

Recently, I came across a whole three ring binder of Cooking Light Magazine recipes I had clipped from 2000 to 2007. I had given up clipping the newer ones, instead I collected all the Cooking Light Annual Recipe books from 1999 to 2011. It seemed more tidy that way.

There were several I kept as clippings, despite having the books, putting them in various other binders so they could be found amongst their category. One of them was this recipe for Lemon-Garlic Chicken Thighs.

I buy chicken thighs more than any other cut of chicken, I'm not a fan of the breasts as they wind up dry and tasteless. I prefer the darker meat, it has more flavour. Another thing in favour of this recipe is that it uses things I generally have on hand - molasses, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce.

I've also done this with pork chops and they have turned out beautifully! And as I rarely plan ahead for dinners, I haven't marinated my meats, but they turn out flavourful when just baked in the marinade.

Lemon-Garlic Chicken Thighs

Cooking Light Magazines, August 2002

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I use bottled)
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, chopped (I use 2, 4 is a lot of garlic)
8 chicken thighs, skinned (about 2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Lemon wedges (optional)
Parsley sprigs (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a dish; add chicken. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Remove chicken from dish; reserve marinade. Arrange chicken in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Pour reserved marinade over chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake at 425° for 20 minutes; baste chicken with marinade. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve with lemon wedges and garnish with parsley, if desired.