Herb Baked Chicken Breasts

I got some huge chicken breasts on sale at the grocery store the other day.  They were bone-in, skin-on breasts, which I like best because they don't dry out when you cook them.  I don't eat the skin (or the bones!) but cooking breasts skin-on makes them more flavorful and juicy.  I had leftover tarragon and some rosemary from the only herb plant to survive the big chill this month in Austin (can you say snow??), so I chopped the herbs, added some olive oil, garlic and lemon juice and put it under the skin of the chicken and some on top.  It ended up being really good.

I'm sure you can use any combination of fresh herbs and don't worry about measurements.  Use what you have and however much of it you have.  I served it with Quinoa and Mango Chipotle Sauce and Roasted Carrots.  Definitely a great dinner!  Here's the recipe:

3-4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

Olive oil

2-3 T. each fresh tarragon and rosemary, finely chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

½ lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper

Rinse chicken breasts and dry with a paper towel. 

Mix herbs with about 2 T. olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  Loosen skin from breast and put herb mixture under and on top of skin. 

Put breasts, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake 375° for 40-60 minutes.  The cooking time depends on the size of your chicken breasts.  Use an instant-read thermometer and remove from oven when the temperature reads 155-160°.  Cover chicken loosely with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.  The internal temperature should rise to 165° after resting period.

Update:  Tonight I made this recipe again and, since I have all kinds of herbs growing now, I used different ones.  I used a mixture of tarragon, parsley, basil, thyme, and rosemary.  Chopped them all up and mixed it with olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, and lemon juice.