How To Cook Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs in the Oven

What You Need

Ingredients
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
Sauce or additional seasonings (optional)

Equipment
Bowl
Spoon
9-inch or 8-inch baking dish

Instructions

1. Buy boneless skinless chicken thighs. I mention this as one of the steps here because I think it's always worth talking about where you get your meat. And I certainly don't mean to be didactic — I think meat is something most of us are conscious of, and we all try to get the best stuff we can. My point is really to say that chicken thighs are one of the cheapest, easiest things to buy organic or pasture-raised. Even at a high-end butcher counter, these only cost me $4/pound, for instance.

2. Heat the oven to 425°F. Put the chicken in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. The most basic seasoning that this meat really needs is salt and pepper. At this point, if I'm not adding another sauce, I drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the meat too, to help it brown well in the oven.

3. Make a baking sauce (optional). If you want to add a little more punch to the chicken, you can make a quick sauce of nearly any oil, acid, and spices. Here, for instance, I combined a couple tablespoons olive oil and about 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar with 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 4 garlic cloves, and a dash of red pepper flakes. I often make Asian-inspired sauces with sesame oil, rice vinegar, and lots of chili garlic sauce. You can also pour pre-made salad dressing over the chicken.

4. Toss the chicken with the baking sauce. Coat the chicken with the sauce.

5. Spread the chicken in the baking dish. No need to grease the dish. Just lay the chicken inside.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165°F. Boneless skinless thighs cook quickly. Check after 20 minutes, and if they are not quite up to temperature, put back in the oven and continue cooking and checking the temperature in 5-minute increments.

7. Remove the chicken from the oven and rest the meat, covered, for 10 minutes. Cover the baking dish with foil and let the chicken rest. This will help it be more tender. Eat and enjoy!

How to Cook Rice on the Stove

How to Cook Rice on the Stove

What You Need

Ingredients

1 cup rice
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter or oil (optional)

Equipment

Small (2-quart or so) saucepan with a lid
Stirring spoon

Pre-cooking: It's good practice to rinse your rice in a strainer before cooking. This isn't strictly necessary, but it will rinse off any dusty starch on the surface of the rice along with any leftover chaff or stray particles. (Some rices have more starchy coating than others.)

1. Measure the Rice and Water: For most rice, use a 1:2 ratio of one cup of rice to two cups of water. Measure a half cup of uncooked rice per person and scale this ratio up or down depending on how much you're making. Some rice varieties will need a little less or a little more water as it cooks, so check the package for specific instructions.

2. Boil the Water: Bring the water to boil in a small sauce pan. Rice expands as it cooks, so use a saucepan large enough to accommodate. A 2-quart saucepan for one to two cups of uncooked rice is a good size.

3. Add the Rice: When the water has come to a boil, stir in the rice, salt, and butter (if using), and bring it back to a gentle simmer.

4. Cover and Cook: Cover the pot and turn the heat down to low. Don't take off the lid while the rice is cooking — this lets the steam out and affects the cooking time.

Approximate cooking times:

• White Rice: 18 to 25 minutes
• Brown Rice: 30 to 40 minutes
• Wild Rice: 45 to 60 minutes

Start checking the rice around 18 minutes for white rice and 30 minutes for brown rice. When done, the rice will be firm but tender, and no longer crunchy. It is fine if it's slightly sticky but shouldn't be gummy. If there is still water left in the pan when the rice is done, tilt the pan to drain it off.

5. Turn Off the Heat and Remove the Lid: When the rice is done, turn off the heat and take off the lid. Fluff the rice with a spoon or a fork, and let it sit for a few moments to "dry out" and lose that wet, just-steamed texture.

Rice keeps well in the fridge for several days, so you can make extra ahead to serve later.

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Banana Bread

A moist, light and fluffy strawberry banana bread with Greek yogurt.

Servings: makes 1 loaf
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

• Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3 large over-ripe bananas (mashed)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup strawberries, sliced

  Directions

  1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
  2. Mix brown sugar, bananas, eggs, vanilla extract, yogurt and strawberries in another large bowl.
  3. Mix the dryy ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  4. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  5. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes.

Fresh Cranberry Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

romaine or mixed greens of your choice
apple, thinly sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
pecans or walnuts, toasted

Cranberry Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp. evaporated cane sugar
1/4 cup white wine (or white balsamic) vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange or tangerine juice
6 Tbsp. canola oil (that's 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp.)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine cranberries, sugar, and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the cranberries pop, about 5-10 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat and let cool. Transfer to a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Add the mustard and orange juice and blend to combine. With the motor running, stream in the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Serve over a bed of mixed greens, apple and red onion slices, and pecans or walnuts OR over any salad of your choice!

NOTE: This will last at least a week stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 1 cup.

(Adapted from Culinary Fool )

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

1 package no boil lasagna noodles (whole wheat if you can find them)
2 jars (48 oz.) marinara sauce  (your favorite or try this recipe)
mozzarella, grated
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Asiago, grated (optional)
fresh basil, chopped

Roasted Vegetables:
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, quartered
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 large carrots, shredded
6 cloves of garlic (skin left on for roasting)
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
dash dried oregano
dash dried basil

Ricotta Mixture:
16 oz. ricotta
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup mozzarella, grated
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
fresh basil, julienned
dash dried oregano
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large bowl toss the chopped vegetables with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper, oregano, and dried basil to coat. Spread the vegetables in an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, toss, and continue cooking an additional 15 minutes until tender. Remove from the oven and set aside until ready to assemble the lasagna. 

2. To make the ricotta mixture, combine ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, egg, garlic, fresh basil, dried oregano, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir until well incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

3. Reduce the oven heat to 350 F. Coat a large glass baking dish (9x13) with cooking spray. Cover the bottom of the dish with a bit of marinara sauce. Place 1 layer of lasagna noodles over the marina (do not overlap). Top with a thin layer of marinara, then spread half of the ricotta mixture over top. Sprinkle a layer of freshly grated cheeses over the ricotta. Next, place on half of the vegetables, followed by another layer of sauce, noodles, sauce, the remaining ricotta, cheeses, the remaining vegetables, sauce, noodles, and the remaining sauce. Top with a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Asiago.

NOTE: At this point the lasagna can be covered and refrigerated until ready to bake. You will probably need to increase the baking time if the lasagna is refrigerated first.

4. Cover lasagna with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking another 15 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling and the noodles are soft throughout.

5. Remove from the oven and top with freshly cut basil. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes a heaping 9x13 pan of lasagna.

(Adapted from For the Love of Cooking)

Healthy Tasty Weightloss Food

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