It’s November and everyone is publicly stating what they’re thankful for on social media.
Well today I am thankful for good friends. One in particular who helped me out of a small dinner rut. (I am thankful for her for many more reasons. This just happens to top the list today.) We had scheduled a play date for the kids and as we sat chatting I mentioned that I didn’t really have a plan for dinner, except that I was making chicken thighs and probably a broccoli medley. She said that awhile back she’d made a one-dish meal of chicken thighs, potatoes, and carrots with Italian dressing. My response was, “Good idea! I love one dish meals. I think I will do that. I have some potatoes I want to use anyway.” (The idea sounded better and better the more I thought about it!)
So I sprayed a glass baking dish with non-stick spray and added 5 chicken thighs which I had trimmed some fat off. I chopped 3 baking potatoes and added them around the chicken, along with some thin strips of bell peppers and baby carrots. (Guess what I added the peppers? Yep, they were in my OHI and I wanted to make room for the fresh ones I bought today. Plus peppers are always good with Italian dressing! ) I sprinkled with salt and paprika then drizzled Italian dressing over top.
Looks good right? It reminded me of beef stew my mom would make in the winter months. Except with chicken, and this would take much less time.
After cooking for 40 mins at 375ยบ, I removed from the oven and switched some things around. I knew it’d be a stretch with the baking potatoes, and I didn’t want them to be dry, so I lifted each thigh, pushed the surrounding potatoes down, and replaced the chicken on top. I added a little more dressing where needed and sprinkled everything with parmesan. (Once I started prepping, my friend Rochelle had said, “oh! And do you have parmesan?” I smiled and responded “always!”)
After 20 more minutes (an hour total) I removed it from the oven. Chicken was perfect but the potatoes needed more time, so back in they went after I cut a few of the bigger pieces and drizzled a tad bit more dressing.
Well, I should’ve kept the chicken out when I wanted to cook the potatoes because the chicken got a teensy bit overcooked that last time. But it was REALLY good.
A few notes:
*Take the skin off if you want to skip the fat. Most of the seasoning ends up on the skin so it’s not as delicious if you just eat around it after the fact.
*Next time I will definitely add onions as they would be REALLY good in this.
*I will also cut the potatoes up a little smaller to ensure they cook through without overcooking the chicken.
Sooo.. try it and let me know what you think, our I’d there are any modifications you’d make!
Meals, Deals, & 31 Thrills 