Baked Feta Chicken

Yesterday may have been 60 and sunny in Chicago, but we've had many rainy (sometimes snowy) days, and I had all but given up hope that spring would come. The long months of cold weather meant that I was making a lot of warm, hearty dishes, and this is one that I came across on Real Simple's website and adapted to suit my tastebuds.


Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 zucchini
1 turnip
3-4 carrots
1 onion
4 oz. crumbled Feta cheese
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a glass baking dish, drizzle olive oil. Set aside.
3. Heat more olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
4. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
5. Saute the chicken on both sides until browned. This will help keep some of the juices in  during roasting.

6. While the chicken browns, slice the zucchini, turnip, carrots and onion. 
7. Mix the vegetables with salt, pepper and fresh parsley. Squeeze half of the lemon over the top and toss to coat.

*Note: The original recipe calls for the lemon to be sliced and roasted with the chicken, but I found I couldn't taste any lemony-freshness this way. So instead, I would try using the juice.
**Note: Before cutting the lemon in half to squeeze, you can zest it and reserve the zest to sprinkle on top with the feta cheese later on if you want some extra lemon zing.
8. Spread the mixture into the baking dish, and nestle the seasoned chicken breasts into the dish.
9. Sprinkle feta cheese over the top.
10. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. 
11. Before serving, squeeze the other half of the lemon over the top.