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!

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)