Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs

I started to run out of ideas for dinner, I cook more and more everyday so it's getting tough.  But one thing I can always count on for dinner is a chicken dish.  You can make chicken a thousand or more different ways, it's so versatile. Supermarkets sell chicken in a variety of ways - ground chicken, whole chicken, chicken parts, cutlets, boneless, skinless, whatever you are looking for they will have or cut it for you.  I am not a fan though of chicken with bones in it, however, thighs are a good choice.  They are tender and juicy, and you can also buy them boneless if you choose or debone them yourself.  I left the bone in my chicken thighs for added flavor.
For my dinner I made Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs in a dutch oven, baked them in the oven, and the meat just fell right off the bones. There was virtually no work in preparation of the chicken and I let the oven do the rest.
This is how I made them:

I used eight thighs, they are not that big so I figured 2 for each person.
I coated the bottom of my dutch oven with a little olive oil. Sprinkle thighs with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the thighs around the pan and in the middle.  Brown on  both sides over medium high heat on top of the stove.  After they were browned I sprinkled 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary and 2 teaspoons fresh thyme over them, and added a quartered whole sweet onion to the pan.  Bake at 375 for 1 1/2 hours, or until juices run clear.  The skin was crispy, the meat was tender and the flavor was awesome. Honestly I don't think I even checked on them once while they were roasting.

And here they are! All done, ready to eat and they were fabulous.
Alongside my chicken was fresh Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto di Parma.  Clean the asparagus, drizzle a little olive oil on a sheet pan, wrap each asparagus spear in prosciutto, line up on the sheet pan, drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake at 375 degrees until asparagus is slightly tender and prosciutto is crispy.
I also served mashed potatoes as another side. This meal was delicious I have to say, a comfort food for sure. Enjoy!