Lemon chicken can be made in variety of ways

This week I'm offering one recipe that can be prepared three ways. This simple chicken dish is one that the kids can help Dad prepare when celebrating Mother's Day this weekend. The ingredients are easy - boneless, skinless chicken breasts; lemonade concentrate; and some pantry staples. The hard part is deciding which way to cook the chicken.

• Photos

Kendrick Brinson/Staff

Karin Calloway's Lemonade Chicken.

After the chicken is marinated, it can be grilled or baked. You can make it really special by choosing to bread, pan-fry and then bake the chicken.

If you grill or bake the chicken, you can boil the marinade to serve as a sauce to drizzle over the top. In the more time-consuming variation, the marinade is poured over the chicken after it's been pan-fried to partial doneness; then, the chicken finishes cooking in the oven.

The third variation is similar to one of my family's favorite chicken dishes that I call Mother's Party Chicken. It appeared in my second cookbook and is a dish my mother often served for company. Using the lemonade-marinated chicken adds pizazz to the dish, and I've boosted the lemon flavor by adding lemon-pepper seasoning to unseasoned bread crumbs.

Whichever way you decide to cook the chicken, it will be great paired with brown rice or couscous and steamed broccoli.

Lemonade Chicken Three Ways

Grilled or Baked Lemonade Chicken

1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 1 clove

1/4 cup water

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Combine the lemonade concentrate, soy sauce, garlic and water in a zip-top plastic bag. Seal tightly and refrigerate for several hours.

Heat grill for 5 minutes. Grill chicken for 5 minutes. Turn over and cook until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees, about 7 minutes more.

Or, heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken and bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Mother's Party Chicken (Oven-Fried Lemonade Chicken)

Ingredients for grilled or baked lemonade chicken (from above), plus:

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs

1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter

Combine lemonade concentrate, soy sauce, minced garlic and water in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add the chicken breast halves, seal tightly and refrigerate for several hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Pat chicken dry with paper towels.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a pie plate or in a zip-top plastic bag. Place the beaten egg in a pie plate. Stir the breadcrumbs and the lemon-pepper seasoning in a pie plate.

Dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour, then dip in the egg and then coat with the bread crumbs.

Heat half the vegetable oil and half the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add three of the chicken breast halves and brown on one side. Turn and brown on the other side. Remove chicken from the skillet and place in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Continue with remaining oil, butter and chicken. Pour the reserved marinade over the chicken, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS: Each serving baked or grilled provides: 220 calories, 4 grams fat, 1.1 grams saturated fat, 18 grams carbohydrates, 27 grams protein, 73 milligrams cholesterol, no fiber and 517 milligrams sodium.

Each serving fried provides: 417 calories, 14 grams fat, 4.7 grams saturated fat, 39 grams carbohydrates, 32 grams protein, 118 milligrams cholesterol, 1.4 grams fiber, 60 milligrams calcium and 1,136 milligrams sodium.

Nutritional analysis provided by Jeannie Hatfield-Laub, of the Augusta Area Dietetic Internship.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Sunny Fish Packets are a simple way to overcome "fish phobia" and prepare fish at home.

Write to Karin Calloway in care of The Augusta Chronicle newsroom, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, Ga 30903-1928. Or send e-mail to karin.calloway@comcast.net. You can find previous Quick Cooking recipes at augustachronicle.com/karin.