Loteria: El Catrin

This week's Loteria-themed meal is for El Catrin - The Gentleman.  And the gentleman in my life loves lemons, so this meal is inspired by and for him.  

Lemony Chicken with Brown Rice (recipe below)
Lemon Shortbread with Raspberries and Cream (link to recipe here) 

This is a made-from-scratch recipe!   My friend, Melissa, and I were at a shall-not-be-named restaurant in Brenham and she had the Lemony Chicken and Rice lunch special.  It was good, not too strong of a lemon taste.  We asked for the recipe and they pronounced it a secret.  Okay, sure....so here's my version which I think was even better.  (Cue sound of evil villian laugh.)


Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 T. olive oil
1 T. flour
1 T. butter
1 c. chicken broth or stock
Juice of 1 lemon
1 to 3 tsp. of sugar (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bag boil-in-the-bag brown rice, cooked
1/4 c. cooked, minced carrots for garnish
1/8 c. minced chives for garnish

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a skillet and cook the chicken pieces until nicely browned.  Remove to a plate and set aside.  Add the flour and butter to the pan bits and drippings to make a roux.  Slowly add the chicken stock and lemon juice.  Reduce until nicely thickened, stirring often. 

Once the sauce is reduced, salt and pepper the sauce to taste, and then decide if the sauce is too lemony (sour) for your taste.  At this point, you could add sugar to balance the lemon (I added 2 tsp.) 

Add the cooked chicken and the rice back to the skillet to incorporate, then serve with carrots and chives as garnish.

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