Look No Further: Best Marinade You Will Ever Make

I am a huge believer in marinating.  It is simple, easy, extremely flavorful, and most of the work is done in your fridge, while you are off seizing the day!  Before I became I teacher, I had a job that allowed me to meet many different interesting people.  I got to know two wonderful Brazilian women, who passed on this amazing marinade.  The below recipe is for chicken, but this recipe is great on seafood as well (if using seafood, just marinate for about 30 minutes.)  It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but if I don't have a few of them, I use what I have and believe me, it always turns out amazing.

Ingredients:

Bone in, Skin on Chicken Breast (I never used to get the bone in or skin on, but it adds so much to the flavor of the chicken and keeps the breast meat moist, which is hard to do.  When I am ready to eat, I discard the skin to keep the meal low in fat.)
Juice of 2 lemons
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 - 2 tbs. of dijon mustard
1-2 tbs. of soy sauce
1/4 cup of white wine
handful of herbs, your choice (for this dish, I usually add rosemary, parsley and dill - the more herbs, the better!)

Marinate overnight, all day, or just for a few hours.  It will taste good, believe me.

In a casserole dish, add all of your marinade ingredients and mix together with a whisk or spoon.  Your marinade should not be as thick as a paste, but not super runny either.  If you need to add more dijon, add more dijon.  If you need more liquid, bump up the wine content or lemon.  There really is no messing up this recipe.  Add your chicken breasts and coat.  Lift the skin and add marinade under the skin.  This ensures every bit of that chicken will be flavorful.

Cover in fridge and let it works its magic.

When you are ready to cook, heat oven to 375 degrees and bake the dish (chicken and marinade) covered in foil for about 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and spoon marinade over chicken to baste it and bake uncovered for about 15-20 more minutes, until chicken is cooked.

I tend to let the chicken cool, take it out, shred it and add it back into the marinade, which now turns into a yummy sauce.  Add any sides you like, but I love to make a chicken bowl out of this recipe:
Brown Rice
Arugula
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Shaving of Parmesan
And the yummiest chicken you will ever have!
(If you are strapped on time, this chicken bowl is great with just shredded rotisserie chicken that is ready made at the grocery store.  But if you have time, make this recipe and you will soon be sending this marinade recipe to everyone you know!)