30-minute Chicken Dinner
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Any day is chicken dinner day when you want to eat crispy-juicy chicken and cheesy rice. This recipe only takes 30-40 minutes all together, one pot and one skillet. Easy, delicious, comforting and filling, it`s a great week-night recipe.
Pre-heat the oven to 415F and place a skillet on high heat with 1-2 Tbsp of oil (to lightly cover the bottom of your skillet. For crispy skin, the skillet needs to get extremely hot.
Make sure your chicken is fully defrosted before cooking it. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel to make sure you have a better sear and generously season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
On a different cutting board, cut ½ an onion and the garlic into thin slices and zest ½ a lemon – yellow part only.
Once the skillet is extremely hot, carefully place the chicken thighs one at a time with the skin facing down and press them for about 4 seconds before moving on to the next one.
Cook them for about 2-3 minutes (or until the skin is browned and crispy). Flip them to sear the other side.
Add butter to the top of each thigh, 12-16 whole cherry tomatoes, sliced onions, whole garlic, rosemary and thyme leaves and the lemon zest.
Put the whole skillet in the pre-heated oven and roast for 15-20 minutes – until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F.
Note: To get an accurate reading of the internal temperature, insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken and go all the way to the middle, but do not touch the bone (the bone has a higher temperature than the meat itself.
Remove from the oven and serve with a lemon wedge.
The rice is even simpler, start by soaking 1 ½ cup in lukewarm water for 5 minutes and thoroughly draining. Mince one clove of garlic.
Melt 1/3 cup of butter in a medium pot slowly (low-medium heat) and sauté the minced garlic clove until it begins to get a golden colour. Add drained rice and stir to coat all of the rice evenly. Add 1 cup of milk, ½ cup of heavy cream, 1 cup of water, 1 ½ tsp of salt, ¼ cup of chopped fresh herbs (we used thyme, basil and oregano), ½ cup of frozen spinach and ½ cup of frozen peas. Bring it to a simmer, put the lid on and cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat stirring occasionally.
Check if the rice is cooked and the creaminess of the sauce. If still too water, take the lid off and cook for another 5 minutes stirring softly. Add 1 cup of parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of sour cream and mix. Garnish with more parm and fresh herbs.
Crispy Chicken Thigh
Servings: 2-4
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
4 Chicken Thighs (with Skin and Bone)
1-2 Tbsp Oil
1 Garlic Clove
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Rosemary Sprigs
2 Thyme Sprigs
2 Tsp Fresh Lemon Zest
½ Spanish Onion
12-16 Cherry Tomatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Step-by-Step
1. Pre-heat the oven to 415F an put a seasoned (oiled) skillet on high heat and let it get really hot (about 5 minutes on high heat).
2. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and generously season the fully-defrosted thighs with salt and pepper on both sides. Once the skillet is really hot, place each one carefully with skin side down. Leave them for 2 minutes (until skin is browned and crispy).
3. Add whole cherry tomatoes, sliced onions, whole garlic, thyme and rosemary leaves, butter and lemon zest to the skillet and place everything in the oven for 15-20 minutes – until internal temperature of the chicken is 165F not touching the bone.
Creamy Rice
Servings: 4
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 ½ Cup Rice
1 Cup Milk
½ Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup Water
1 ½ tsp Salt
1/3 Cup Butter
1 Garlic
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1 Cup Parmesan
½ Cup Fresh Herbs (Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, Parsley, Sage and/or Oregano)
½ Cup Frozen Peas (optional)
½ Cup Frozen Spinach (optional)
Step-by-Step
1. Soak the rice for 5 minutes in warm water. Drain and reserve.
2. Melt the butter on low-medium heat in a medium pot and sauté sliced garlic until lightly browned – about 3 minutes.
3. Add the rice and stir to coat it with the butter evenly. Add milk, cream, water, salt, vegetables and half the fresh herbs.
4. Simmer with a closed lid for 15-20 minutes, until rice is fully cooked and the mixture creamy. Add grated parmesan cheese and sour cream and mix until fully incorporated. Top each serving with the rest of the fresh herbs.
