BAKED LEMON-GARLIC CHICKEN WITH BELL PEPPERS

BAKED LEMON-GARLIC CHICKEN WITH BELL PEPPERS image

Categories Chicken

Number Of Ingredients 13

Sauce:
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
3/4 cup fat-free Italian dressing
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
Chicken:
2 cups (1/4-inch) red bell pepper strips
1 cup (1/4-inch) green bell pepper strips
1 cup (1/4-inch) yellow bell pepper strips
3 chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 chicken leg quarters (about 1 1/2 pounds)
12 (1/8-inch-thick) slices lemon (about 1 lemon)
Cooking spray

Steps:

To prepare the sauce, combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cover and chill 1/2 cup sauce. To prepare the chicken, combine remaining 1 cup sauce, bell peppers, and chicken in a large bowl, and toss to coat. Cover chicken mixture, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 400°. Remove chicken from bowl, and discard the sauce. Loosen the skin from the breast halves and leg quarters by inserting fingers, gently pushing between the skin and meat. Insert 2 lemon slices under loosened skin of each chicken piece. Place the chicken pieces, loosened skin sides up, on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread the bell peppers on broiler pan around chicken. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until the chicken is done. Remove the skin from the chicken. Arrange chicken and bell peppers on a platter, and keep warm. Place 1/2 cup chilled sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until warm. Pour warm sauce over the baked chicken and bell peppers. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 chicken piece, 1/3 cup bell peppers, and about 1 tablespoon sauce)