Balsamic Lemon Chicken

What can I say, my tree was FULL of lemons.  So I picked a bucket full.  Squeezed them.  And froze the juice in cubes.

Since I've got lemon juice coming out of my ears freezer, I've been on the look out for recipes to use it up.  And not just desserty type recipes.  This chicken recipe was really good.  Nice and balsamicy and lemony.

Balsamic Lemon Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients:
8 pieces chicken (legs and thighs, skin on, bone in)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 whole lemons, zested, 1 juiced and the other cut into wedges
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions:

1. Prick the chicken pieces all over with a fork and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar with have of the lemon zest, salt, and pepper.  Add the chicken and turn to coat.  Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
3. Mix the sugar with the remaining lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 400F.
5. Heat the oil in a large oven-save skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 2 minutes.  Melt 2 tbsp of the butter, and place chicken skin side down in the pan along with the remaining marinade.  Cook until the chicken is browned on one side, 3-4 minutes, and then flip each piece over and cook 1 more minute.  Sprinkle the lemon sugar over the chicken and transfer skillet to oven.  Roast until chicken is completely cooked through and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165F, about 25 minutes.
6. Remove chicken from oven.  Cut remaining 2 tbsp of butter into small pieces and scatter around chicken.  Pour the lemon juice over everything.  Once the butter is melted, serve the pan sauce drizzled over the chicken and lemon wedges on the side.

Adjustments:

• I don't tend to have bone in skin on chicken in my house, so I used chicken breasts.  BI-SO probably would have give it a different flavor.
• I used more juice, i think 2 lemons worth. 

Source:  Tasty Kitchen, Balsamic Lemon Chicken

Corn Dog Muffins

Fast easy finger food!  And yes, the corn dog muffin does taste like a normal corn dog, less the fried calories.

Ingredients:
2 (8.5 oz) packages corn bread mix
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c milk
9 whole hot dogs, diced
1 c grated cheddar cheese
condiments

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.  Lightly grease mini muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cornbread mix and brown sugar.  In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk, and then stir into dry mixture until moistened.  Mix in hot dogs and cheese.
3. Spoon a good tablespoonful into muffin tins, making sure you get some hot dog in each spoonful.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool for about 10-15 minutes in the pan before removing.  For easy removal, cut around outsides of the muffins, then tip upside down onto a large cutting board and urge the muffins out using a knife to tap the bottoms of the muffin tins.  The should slide right out.
5. Serve warm with desired condiments.

Tips:

• Alternately, you can use your favorite cornbread mix, follow the instructions on the box, add in 1 cup of cheddar cheese and mix in chopped hot dogs too.  If your favorite cornbread mix doesn't have a sweet element to it, add in 2 tbsp brown sugar.  (This is good if your cornbread mix only calls for water = less calories!)
• You can use paper liners if you'd like.
• I used turkey dogs.  Yum!
• I also added a can of diced green chiles to one of the 2 batches!
• Can also freeze muffins for later use.  Takes only a minute or 2 to thaw in microwave.

Recipe from www.recipegirl.com