Don’t Change Your Life, Just Change Your Chicken

When it comes to making dinner, I don’t like recipes that have a lot of ingredients. If a recipe is longer than 4 or 5 ingredient, I click on. I don’t have time for it. With an active toddler and busy 1st-grader, I need recipes that are easy to throw together. I love this recipe for chicken because it is just that. It stands alone, or it can be used for any recipe that calls for prepared chicken as an ingredient. Prepare it ahead of time and use it in your meals all week long.

Look, I know The Lazy Genius has the market cornered on “Change Your Life Chicken”, but I think I’d even put this up against hers. It will not take 50 minutes. You’ll have dinner on the table long before you’re pulling Change Your Life out of the oven. You don’t need to change your life for this chicken, you just need to change your chicken.

Shredded (or not) Chicken for All Your Chicken Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 packages of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (this provides extras for leftovers for our family of 4)
• Juice of half a lemon
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 onion, diced (optional)

Directions

1. In a saute pan over medium heat, heat the cooking oil of your choice (avocado, coconut, etc.).
2. Saute diced onions for 5 minutes until translucent. If you’re feeling a little extra, add minced garlic.
3. Salt one side of the chicken thighs and place chicken thighs salt-side down in the pan. Saute until slightly browned. Salt the other side of the chicken.
4. Flip the chicken and cook until slightly browned.
5. Squeeze lemon juice over the chicken.
6. Put a lid on the chicken and cook until chicken reaches and internal temp of 165 (about 12 minutes).
7. You can serve the chicken as is or turn down the temp and shred the chicken with two forks.

This chicken is excellent on it’s own with rice and a roasted vegetable. But I also like to use it for chicken enchiladas, substitute the turkey in Defined Dish’s Turkey Taco Skillet Bake, add to salads, throw it in soups, add it to your sweet potato bar, you cannot go wrong with this chicken.

What are you cooking this week?