Garlic Chicken

So I needed something to do with chicken thighs for dinner tonight.  I cook them fairly often, but I wasn't feeling inspired.  Off to Google chicken recipes.  I found this recipe, with lots of great reviews:

Easy Garlic Broiled Chicken

I'm one of those cooks who just can't leave a recipe alone.  I rarely go exactly by a recipe, unless it's for sweets or something really off the wall that I've never made before.

So I tweaked it.  The nice thing about this recipe is that is a very good basic recipe that lends itself well to tweaking.  I took some of the suggestions of the reviewers, and used what I had on hand in the kitchen.

Here's how I made it:

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 tbsp minced garlic (from a jar)
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt (optional)
1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms

1.  Turn oven on to 350 degrees F.

2.  Mix the sauce ingredients and microwave until the butter melts, stir and spoon over the top of the thighs (You could put the thighs in a baggie with the sauce and marinate for 30 minutes to increase the flavor).  Reserve some of the sauce for basting.

3.  I topped with sliced mushrooms and set to bake for 20 minutes.

4.  Turn the chicken over, make sure the mushrooms were down in the sauce, added a little more sauce.  Bake for another 20 minutes.

5.  Turn the oven to broil, baste again, broil for 4-5 minutes.  Turn over, baste, broil another 4-5 minutes.

6.  Remove from oven, and let rest for a few minutes.

To serve, plate the chicken with some mushrooms and spoon a little of the pan drippings over the top.  The rest of the pan drippings would be lovely mixed with rice or pasta, or used for dipping bread.  I served the chicken with mixed vegetables and cheesy rice.

This was a very easy dish to make, and the flavors were yummy.  The mushrooms really absorbed the flavor well and added a nice touch.

As I said, this is a good recipe for tweaking.  Next time I make it, I may add rosemary, or a splash of lime juice or orange juice for a bit of a citrus-y twang, wrap the chicken in bacon, or add some red pepper for a little heat.  I also think the marinated chicken thighs would be awesome cooked on the grill.  This chicken would be great diced up for a salad or mixed with pasta, or for chicken fajitas.  The recipe is also very economical, so it is perfect for large families.

Enjoy!  If you make this recipe, let me know how it turned out for you!

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