Spiced Lemon Chicken with Raisins

How could Above My Raisins not have a recipe using Raisins?   ha!   Well, let's change that!  I must admit, I don't normally associate raisins with savory dishes, but this really works!  The raisins are the star of this dish and plump up nicely to add a really fantastic burst of flavor.  The lemon does have a predominant taste in this recipe but the cumin, garlic, and raisins just round everything out nicely.  And on the plus side, this recipe is actually pretty healthy.  This dish is chock full of vitamin A from the carrots, lean protein, and lots of vitamin B3 from the raisins, not to mention the health benefits from garlic and using olive oil as the healthy "fat".  My family couldn't get enough of this dish!!

Spiced Lemon Chicken with Raisins

3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons cumin

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 cups thinly sliced carrots, on the diagonal

1/2 cup raisins

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

3 cups, hot cooked long grain rice or brown rice

Salt and pepper

Directions

To prepare chicken, begin by heating olive oil on medium high heat in a large skillet.  Once hot, add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and then add chicken, breast side down, to the pan and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.   Turn over and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.   Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and carrots to the pan, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Chicken internal temperature for chicken and remove to a clean plate when it reaches 165 degrees.  Cover with foil.  At this point, if carrots are tender, add in raisins and parsley to the pan and cook until raisins plump, about 1 minute.  Add cooked rice and stir to combine.  Remove from heat and serve chicken over rice.

Source:  SunMaid