Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs with a Honey-Mustard Thyme Glaze

I love to cook. When it comes to baking, I can follow a recipe, but I'm not a huge sweets fan and baking has too many rules for my taste. It's more like chemistry. Cooking is art.

I follow recipes, but I love adding my own twists or substituting for items that I have on hand. I love trying new spices and flavors, and for a while - pre-kids - I rarely cooked the same thing twice. I buy cookbooks and read them like novels. Seriously. (I know, I know...that's just weird.)

Anyway, now that I'm a busy mom-of-three and don't have as much time (or mullah), once I find a tasty recipe that fits into our crazy lifestyle, it goes into my monthly rotation.

My new favorite is lemon-pepper chicken thighs with a honey-mustard thyme glaze. Sounds fancy, but it is super easy to prepare, yet tastes like it took hours. Always a plus in my opinion.

The first time I made it I used boneless skinless thighs because that's what I had on hand. The second time around I bought bone-in skin-on, and let me tell you, they rocked my world. The meat stayed tender and incredibly juicy, but the skin got glazed and crunchy and oh-my-goodness awesome. Also, treat yourself and make sure you purchase fresh thyme...dried won't have near the same "wow" factor. Plus, if your bunch is large enough, you should have enough left to put together a pretty little some'n some'n for yourself.

*small spoiler alert for the next post* Ahem.

This recipe serves 4, but I usually double it so I have some leftovers.

Lemon-Pepper Chicken Thighs (with Honey-Mustard Thyme Glaze)

Ingredients:

• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• pinch of coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced 
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Place an oven-safe cooling rack on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet.
2. Combine lemon juice, olive oil and garlic powder in a large bowl and whisk until combined. Add chicken and stir to coat.
3. Place chicken on rack and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes.
4. While chicken is roasting, melt honey in a small pot and whisk in the minced garlic, thyme and Dijon. After the 30 minutes are up, brush each thigh with the honey-mustard mixture, coating thoroughly. Return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes or until the chicken's juices run clear. (If the skin starts to blacken, but the chicken still needs more time, cover with a piece of foil.)
5. Die happy.

Foil and non-stick spray help make clean up hassle-free

Make sure you stop and smell the roses - I mean - spices.

I prefer silicone basting brushes to the fibrous kind. They are easier to clean cuz you just pop 'em in the washer.

Walla! Bon Apetit.

All is Grace,

Carie