My Most Awesome Lemon Chicken Recipe!

This is my very coveted, very awesome recipe for lemon chicken that I'm willing to share with my wonderful readers. After you eat just one bite of this dish, I promise you, you won't want to order the lemon chicken you get in Chinese restaurants (with their questionable chicken parts, MSG, etc.) ever again!

This is my own spin on an adaptation from Emeril Lagasse's recipe.  This version is much healthier, and in my opinion, much tastier. Click on the link for Emeril's original recipe.

So here goes:

Jenine's Awesome Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size strips or cubes
• 1-1/2 tsp arrowroot powder or cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water (arrowroot is the healthier option)
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• a healthy oil such as olive or coconut (my preference is coconut oil)
• the juice from 1 lemon OR 2-3 drops of YL lemon essential oil (or a combo of each!)
• the zest of a lemon OR a little more lemon essential oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons minced/grated ginger root OR a toothpick swirl of ginger essential oil
• 1/2 cup julienned green onions - around 2 or 3 'stalks' - split up
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Trim and cut up the chicken and start the chicken browning in a pan with a little bit of oil. 

While the chicken cooks, make the sauce by combining the chicken stock, soy sauce, lemon juice/or lemon essential oil, lemon zest, and brown sugar.  The zest is to add flavor without adding excess liquid which why the addition of lemon essential oil is a great idea because of it's concentrated flavor!

Stir the sauce well and test the sauce for taste. It should taste lemony and tangy!

TIP: If you're using the lemon juice from the lemon instead of lemon essential oil, zest the lemon FIRST before juicing it. It makes for a very difficult zesting experience trying to do it with a squished lemon!

Remove the chicken from the pan (keep warm in the oven on a low setting if desired) and add a little more oil to the pan with half of the green onions (1/4 cup), the grated ginger root/or ginger oil, and the minced garlic. NOTE:  If you elect to use the ginger essential oil, just a toothpick swirl into the ginger oil bottle and then swirled into the pan will do it!  

Stir the mixture constantly so that nothing burns. Cook just a minute or so.

Add the sauce mixture to the pan. Get the sauce nice and hot so that it boils and there are a LOT of bubbles.  Add the arrowroot/cornstarch and water mixture when the sauce is hot and bubbly and stir it constantly while the sauce thickens.

Return the cooked chicken pieces to the pan and coat thoroughly with the sauce. 

Serve with rice and the top the entire dish with the other 1/2 of the green onions (1/4 cup) and the toasted sesame seeds.

This dish is SO yummy!  I can't emphasize tasting the dish all the way through the cooking process so that the taste is exactly to your liking.

So let's talk a little bit about Young Living's lemon essential oil.

Did you know that lemon essential oil is not only an uplifting citrus oil, but is a wonderful support for various body systems as well? Young Living's lemon essential oil is cold-pressed from the rinds of lemons. It is estimated that it takes roughly 3,000 lemons to make 1 kilo of oil. That's about 75 lemons that have to be cold-pressed to make one 15 ml bottle of YL lemon essential oil.

Aside from being uplifting, lemon essential oil can also be used to:

• remove gum, oil, grease, adhesive, and crayon
• freshen wood cutting boards
• pull out stains and brighten carpets
• deodorize and freshen air
• help minimize the oil that causes blemishes
• support circulatory, lymphatic, and digestion systems
• lift spirits and improve mental function by inhaling
• enhance foods and drinks

Young Living sets the standard for essential oil purity and authenticity by diligently scrutinizing every step of their production process.  They call this ‘Seed to Seal’.  From the time the seed is sourced and planted until the essential oil is sealed in the bottle, Young Living applies the most rigorous quality control possible.  What does this mean?  It means that Young Living can provide us with the purest oils the earth has to offer.  And we reap the benefits of knowing that the oils we use for ourselves and families are unadulterated and exactly the way that nature intended.  This is one of the reasons that Young Living oils are the only oils that I trust.

Click on the link for more information about Young Living's Seed to Seal Promise.