Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Basil and Red Chillies (A.k.a. Maria’s Chicken)

Chicken thighs are baked up with grape tomatoes, red chiles, and fresh herbs, giving you a hearty, healthy, easy, and delicious dinner!

There’s nothing as easy as a big pan of baked chicken and veggies for a delicious weeknight dinner. And this recipe is so good you’ll be making it for all your guests too!

Author: cookthestory.com

Prep time 6 mins

Cook time 45 mins

Total time 51 mins

Serves: 4

It takes 6 minutes to toss everything into the pan for this dinner. If your oven isn’t done preheating in that time, no worries. Slam it in there anyhow. It’ll be ready in 45 minutes to an hour. Go relax for a bit and then put on some rice and toss some salad greens with dressing. Dinner is served!

Ingredients

♦3.5 lbs. skinless bone-in chicken thighs (about 8)

♦1 pint grape tomatoes

♦1-2 red chillies, sliced (don’t even bother to remove the seeds)

♦15 large basil leaves (torn up a bit) plus 10-12 smaller ones for garnish

♦1 Tbsp. olive oil

♦1 tsp. salt

♦½ tsp. coarse black pepper

Instructions

✖Preheat oven to 425F.

✖Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer in a large rimmed pan or baking dish (I use my 12″ cast iron skillet). Topple in the tomatoes. Skatter everything with the chillie slices and the 15 large basil leaves. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

✖Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes to an hour. The chillies and basil leaves will be blackened. But they taste good, don’t worry. Scatter the remaining 10-12 basil leaves over top before serving

Chicken Souvlaki

These authentic Chicken Souvlaki are so stupid easy to make and so crazy good, you'll probably want to eat nothing but that all summer!

Author: Thehealthyfoodie.com

Yield: 8 kebabs

Ingredients

♦900g (2lbs) skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks

♦1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

♦2 tbsp lemon juice

♦2 tbsp white wine vinegar

♦3 cloves garlic, minced

♦1 tbsp dried oregano

♦1 tsp Himalayan salt

♦1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

►Add olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper to a small mixing bowl or measuring cup; whisk until well incorporated.

►Place chunks of chicken in a bowl and pour marinade over them. Mix to coat really well, cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for a couple of hours, or better yet, overnight.

►Place skewers to soak in cold water for about 30 minutes before you start building your kebabs.

►Preheat outdoor grill (or grill pan) to medium-high heat.

►Remove chicken from the marinade and skewer onto bamboo sticks. Discard unused marinade.

►Grill the kebabs, turning them a few times, until chicken is cooked through, is nicely browned and has nice grill marks and is no longer pink in the center, about 10-12 minutes total.

►Serve with tzatziki sauce.

NF based on 1 kebab

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne

Tender noodles and juicy Italian-seasoned chicken breast are tossed with an easy 5-minute creamy pesto sauce! A perfectly tasty and comforting dish for those busy weeknights!

Author: lecremedelacrumb.com

Recipe type: Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

•12 ounces penne noodles, cooked al dente according to package instructions, drained and patted dry

•2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness

•1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

•1 cup of homemade basil pesto OR 1 small jar of store-bought pesto

•2 tablespoons butter

•2 tablespoons flour

•1½ cups half and half or heavy cream

•2 teaspoons minced garlic

optional

•2 roma tomatoes, diced

•½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

•fresh parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

►Spray a large pan or skillet with cooking spray. Season both sides of chicken breasts with Italian seasoning and cook over medium-high heat 4-6 minutes on each side until juices run clear and completely cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate and slice into strips or cut into bite size pieces.

►In the same pan where you cooked the chicken, melt butter. Add garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant. Add flour and stir until a ball forms. Gradually whisk in half and half (or heavy cream) until mixture is smooth. Whisk in pesto. Continue to stir until mixture thickens.

►Pour creamy pesto sauce over noodles and top with chicken and remaining optional ingredients OR add noodles, sauce, chicken and optional ingredients to a large bowl and toss together. 

►Serve warm. Enjoy!