Chicken Thigh Meat Pie

 

An Easy Pre-Made Meal for the Week

Inspired by My Mom

This meal goes together as a main in the best way possible - About 10 minutes of prep and oven heating, and about 35 minutes of baking, all told!

 

Chicken Thigh Meat Pie

Goes great with just about any side you can come up with, but our favorite is wild rice (20 minutes), and arugula salad (10, max, especially if it's just arugula, tomatoes, onions, olives and feta). I prefer to use a glass Pyrex baking dish, but have used a sheet pan and a brownie tin. Cooking times may vary, and I recommend using baking parchment when not using the glass dishware.

Ingredients

•  1-2 Packagets of chicken thighs, boneless and skinless (sorry the graphic is bone-in)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

• 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze or vinegar

• Course salt to taste

• Garlic powder or granulated garlic to taste
  

   

  Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375. Slap those chicken thighs into a 9x12 glass dish and coat them with the olive oil. The thighs will get juicy as they cook, and the oil will keep them from sticking to the bottom. Sprinkle with garlic, salt, and drizzle with the glaze. Place in the heated oven and bake for about 35 minutes, or until interior temp is 165 degrees (or "done" according to your temperature gauge for poultry. It may say 160. I've seen it both ways.)

While it's baking, I like to clean up and start the wild rice and then the salad. The kiddos love the warm oven smells on Sundays!  "Smells like Grammy's house in here!" Double points if I make brownies after. 

This dish is cheap if you can buy chicken thighs on sale and then freeze them. Bone-in works just as well! They just take longer to cook. This is the main reason I love this meal. Plus it's really, REALLY hard to screw up chicken thighs...