Marie's Lemon Chicken

Marie's Lemon Chicken (adapted from the English Kitchen)

4 small chicken breasts (I divided 2 huge ones in half)

3 Tb fresh lemon juice

a bit less than 1/3 cup of flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika. Try it!!)

1/4 tsp pepper

1 Tb butter

2 Tb extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon, cut into thin slices

2 Tb brown sugar

3 Tb liquid honey

1/2 cup chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a square glass baking dish. Set aside.

Place the chicken breasts in a bowl. Drizzle the lemon juice over them. Turn the chicken over a few times, making sure the lemon juice covers them. Let them sit about 15 minutes.

Mix the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper in a large plastic bag. Shake them together.

Take the chicken out of the lemon juice and put them in the bag with the flour mixture. Save the lemon juice. Shake the chicken until it is fully coated.

Heat the butter and the olive oil together in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Cook the chicken for a few minutes each side, until they are golden brown and starting to get little brown crusty spots. Transfer the browned chicken breasts, right side up, to the baking dish. Top with the slices lemons, and sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.

Add the chicken stock and leftover lemon juice to the pan drippings. Cook and stir, scraping the bottom to get up all the tasty brown bits. Add 2 Tb of the honey and bring to the boil. (Save 1 Tb for later) Simmer until slightly thickened. Pour the sauce into a corner of the baking dish and then give it a jiggle to distribute the sauce over the bottom and around the breasts, without disturbing the lemon slices. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Baste with the pan juices, recover and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Baste again. Drizzle the remaining TBS of honey over the lemon slices and return the dish to the oven (uncovered) and bake for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler for 5 more minutes, then remove from the oven. Enjoy!