Garlic Butter with Lemon and Thyme

There’s a storm rolling in!  So excited we are going to get some rain this weekend, so Mario and I thought we should BBQ before the wet weather comes in.

To go on our chicken, I made one of my favorite things to have on hand in the fridge to add great flavor to just about anything.

Garlic butter with lemon and thyme.

This butter is also such a great way to stretch the shelf life of lemons and herbs.  The finished butter will last up to two weeks in the fridge, and 6 months stored in the freezer.  Whenever I have leftover herbs I love to whip up a batch of this butter.

This recipe is really versatile.  You could put any combo of herbs and spices into your butter, this just happens to be one of my favorites.

Start with two sticks of softened butter.

Chop up your herbs finely. In this case I am only using thyme.  You can also add parsley, rosemary, oregano, cilantro, basil, or anything else you might have on hand.

Next is a little lemon.

I used the zest of about half  the lemon and the juice of the entire lemon.

And then the garlic, chopped.

Add it to the bowl with all the other ingredients, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

And finally mash it all together.

Scoop your butter onto plastic wrap and mold into a log, twist the ends and  store in the refrigerator or freezer.

When you are ready to use, slice and add to grilled meat, vegetables, you can even put it on bread and toast for garlic bread with a twist.

Not only is it delicious, it’s really beautiful too.

Like I said, last night it was put to great use on the BBQ.

I’m ready for the rain, because I have LOTS of leftover smoky chicken to last all weekend long!

Again, this is more of a method than a recipe, but it really is so great to have on hand.

I also wanted to share this over at Fiesta Friday from The Novice Gardner.  It’s a great place to spend Saturday morning with a cup of coffee.

Happy Friday Everyone! Enjoy your weekend!