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Baked Chicken and Rice

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INGREDIENTS  

Chicken

  • ▢6 chicken thighs – bone in (skin removed)
  • ▢1 teaspoon salt
  • ▢½ teaspoon pepper
  • ▢½ teaspoon  paprika
  • ▢¼ teaspoon  garlic powder
  • ▢¼ teaspoon  onion powder
  • ▢¼ teaspoon  dried thyme

Rice

  • ▢2 cups long grain rice
  • ▢2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ▢½ medium sized onion (finely diced)
  • ▢2 carrots (finely diced)
  • ▢1 stalk celery (finely diced)
  • ▢1 clove garlic (finely minced)
  • ▢½ teaspoon salt
  • ▢½ teaspoon pepper

Casserole

  • ▢4 cups  chicken broth
  • ▢2  bay leaves
  • ▢½ teaspoon salt (if using unsalted chicken broth)

INSTRUCTIONS 

Chicken

  • Combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and dried thyme
  • Rub spice mixture onto both sides of chicken. Set aside.

Rice

  • Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a hot sauce pan.
  • Sauté onions, carrots and celery together until softened (3-5 minutes)
  • Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Turn heat to low.
  • Add additional tablespoon of olive oil and add rice. Stir until every grain of rice is covered with the olive oil.

Casserole

  • Spray casserole dish with a nonstick spray. Pour rice mixture into bottom of casserole dish.
  • Place chicken thighs on top of rice
  • Carefully pour chicken broth around chicken thighs
  • Sprinkle broth with salt (if using unsalted chicken broth) and add bay leaves
  • Cover tightly with foil and place casserole on a baking sheet
  • Place in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour
  • After one hour, carefully pull out rack with baking sheet and casserole dish. Remove foil to check on rice. Use a spoon and carefully stir or push rice down so the rice on top makes contact with any remaining liquid. Replace foil return to oven for an additional 30 minutes.
  • Remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes to allow chicken to brown slightly and the top of the rice to crisp.
  • Remove from oven and gently place foil over top of casserole. Let set for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve.

NOTES

Tips

  • Remove skin from chicken thighs. I buy with the skin on because they are cheaper than with the skin already removed. The skin can easily be pulled off by hand.
  • Place casserole dish on a baking sheet (or cookie sheet) to catch any overflow. Even with using a smaller casserole dish, my dish did not overflow. However, when placing in the oven, I did jiggle too much and had a bit of broth drip onto the baking sheet. The baking sheet is much easier to clean than the oven!
  • Keep the casserole dish sealed with the foil until the final few minutes of cooking.
  • Don’t be worried if you check your casserole and it seems like the rice isn’t cooking! The rice is slow to cook in the oven and will expand and absorb the liquid towards the end of the cooking time.
  • Remove bay leaves before serving
  • This recipe can be easily reduced to feed a smaller crew. Add as many chicken thighs as desired and maintain rice to liquid proportions at 1 part rice to 2 parts liquid. Baking time will decrease with less liquid and chicken.

NUTRITION

Serving: 1thigh and riceCalories: 607kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 29gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 142mgSodium: 1483mgPotassium: 602mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 3630IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 2mg