Pan Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken and Vegetables

I love roast chicken and I really like it when I find a dish that reminds me of roasted chicken.  An added benefit to tonight's dinner is that I actually pulled it all together over a week ago and stuck the whole thing in the freezer.  This made the process of tonight's dinner a really simple process.  All I had to do was put a frozen pan of vegetables and sliced lemons in the oven to which I had added a couple of chicken breast halves which had been frozen with some of the Lemon-Garlic sauce.  The only part of dinner that I had to think about beforehand was to defrost the chicken breasts.

This dinner was extremely simple to get on the table and the flavors of the lemon-garlic sauce really made everything pop.  I love the convenience of having meals in the freezer that need very little attention the day you want to serve them.

Pan-Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken and Vegetables (4 servings - makes 2 pans; each pan serves 2)

6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon, juiced
1 cup lemon, sliced
4 teaspoons garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed
8 cups small red potatoes, halved
4 pounds bone-in, skin-on split chicken breast

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch green beans for about one minute.  Drain and set aside.  Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of two 9 x 11" baking dishes.  Spread sliced lemons over the bottom the the pans.  In a large bowl, whisk together remaining olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.  Toss green beans in lemon mixture to coat.  Remove with a slotted spoon and spread over lemons in the pan.  Add potatoes to the same lemon mixture and toss to coat.  Remove with a slotted spoon and arrange around the edge of the pans on top of the green beans.  In a large freezer bag, combine the chicken and remaining lemon mixture.

Freezing Directions:

Cove pans of vegetables tightly with foil and freeze.  Freeze chicken and lemon juice mixture separately in a freezer bag.

To serve:

Thaw chicken in refrigerator overnight, but do not thaw pan of vegetables.  Place thawed chicken in the center of the pan on top of the frozen vegetables and drizzle with remaining lemon juice mixture.  Bake at 450 degrees for 45-50 minutes (juices will run clear.)  Remove chicken and keep warm.  Return vegetables to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until tender.  Serve chicken with a side of the roasted vegetables.

Adapted from Once a Month Mom