One-Pan Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mushroom Rice
Ingredients
- 6-8 Chicken Thighs, bone-in, fat & excess skin trimmed
- 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 cup Sweet Onion, small diced
- 2 cups Baby Bella Mushrooms, halved and sliced
- 2 cup Broccoli Florets, chopped small
- 1 large clove Garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups Long Grain White Rice
- 2 cups Chicken Stock (I use Better Than Bouillon)
- 1 1/2 cups Half and Half
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Fresh Parsley, chopped (for garnish if desired)
Instructions
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Heat your oven to 375°F.
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Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium to large skillet over medium-high heat. Mix the oregano, thyme, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Season both sides of each thigh with salt and pepper. Also, evenly coat both sides with the seasoning mix.
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Place each thigh in the skillet, skin side down. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until crispy. Remove the thighs to a plate and drain as much of the chicken grease as possible, along with and remaining seasoning.
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Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the same skillet. Add in the onions, mushrooms, and broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add in th garlic and stir for about 1 minute.
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Add in the rice and stir thoroughly. Let the rice cook for 2 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
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Pour in the chicken stock and half and half. Add the thighs back in on top of the rice. Try not to nestle them into the rice if possible. Be sure to keep the skin above the liquid so it stays crispy.
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Transfer the skillet ot the oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until the meat reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer.
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Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes
Equipment - You will need a medium to large skillet that is oven safe up to 400°F
Cooking the Thighs. Cooking the thighs in the pan first will make the skin nice and crispy. Thighs have a lot of fat on them, so cooking them first will get rid of a great deal of it. Otherwise, the rice will absorb it and the meal will be greasy, most likely giving you or someone else in the family a stomach ache. Some of the fat will remain and will add a nice flavor to the rice. But be sure to drain the grease from the pan after cooking the chicken.
Cooking the Rice. The rice will be slightly cooked in the skillet before adding the liquid. This is the same thing done with rice pilaf. It blooms the rice giving it a nice nutty flavor. Trust me, you'll love it!
Broccoli florets. The florets are the top parts of the broccoli we typically eat. I cut the florets off the stem on an angle so I wind up with small pieces the size of your finger tip. this way there's less stem in the meal and the broccoli is bit size.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Chicken Thighs. bone-in - I also like to use leg quarters with this meal.
Sweet Onion - you can sub yellow onions or Vidalia onions.
Baby Bella Mushrooms - white button mushrooms work great here as well.
Long Grain White Rice - I use just plain long grain white rice because it has little flavor. You can use jasmine rice or basmati rice with little change to the flavor.
Chicken Stock - I use Better Than Bouillon