One Pan Chicken Thighs with Butternut Squash

 My brain is not here. I’m not sure where it is this week (well, yes we all know where our brains are this week), but my stomach is very present and it needs to be fed. If you’re all over the place like I am these day, then I’m happy to present you with these easy one pan chicken thighs with butternut squash.

Before we get to the chicken, how ARE you? I mean, really? I’m okaaaay. That is a true measure of the enthusiasm I have for that statement. Now, normally I pride myself on my superhuman ability to compartmentalize and push emotions aside to get SHIT done. This week has been hard. My normal 50-60 pulse cadence has sped up and I if it’s really quiet I can almost hear my heart pounding in my ears.  My workouts can’t even break me out of it, and every once in a while I catch myself holding my breath before I have to tell myself to just breathe.

It’s not just the election, but the sheer overwhelm of all that 2020 has been collectively building little by little each month and we are still in the position of being totally helpless. Or at least feeling that way. 

But, we do what we can. We vote. We go to work. We do the laundry. We do our routine. But then we sit and think about how we are JUST one vote and what does one vote even mean in the whole scheme of it? We watch our friends and loved ones suffer from Covid, or from the loss it leaves behind, and pray that we will be spared the same. But what if we aren’t? We wear the masks. We isolate ourselves. We wash our hands. And we wait for it to pass. And if we’re lucky, it does.

But the waiting. The waiting. 2020 it seems has been one bit waiting game and honestly, I’m not sure what we’re waiting to happen at this point. Waiting for a sign? I don’t even know.

Anyway, while we’re all waiting for, I don’t know what, this chicken, because if there’s one thing I can always talk about, it’s food. 

I love a one-pot chicken meal. I love chicken thighs, I love the no-messy kitchen, and the warm cozy smell that permeates my house whenever I make something like this. This particular dish came out of simply what I had laying around: an onion, a squash and ever-present-in-the-freezer chicken thighs. The flavors, though, did take some digging.

I spent Friday night paging through cookbooks looking for inspiration- and per usual, Marcus Samuelsson to the rescue. His Red Rooster cookbook is my go-to for when I need to take whatever mundane idea I have in my head to the next level. Here, it does the same.

The base flavors for this chicken dish come from, believe it or not, a ham dish. His recipe for shoebox ham requires well, a ham, and a brine and a bake.  I took the marinade from the last step in this process and turned it into chicken braise. It worked very well.

The marinade is standard until it isn’t:  olive oil, garlic, mustard, and cumin make it not that unusual. Coriander and white miso make it quite so.

Marinate. Sear. Saute. Simmer. DONE.

That, I think, we can all handle. Right?

One-Pot Chicken Thighs with Butternut Squash

November 5, 2020

Servings: 4

Prep: 4 hr

Cook: 1 hr

Total: 5 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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One pan chicken thighs with butternut squash are an easy and tasty dish, easy on the wallet and the kitchen cleanup!

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

• 1 TB olive oil
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 TB Dijon mustard
• 1 TB white miso
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 TB honey
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 cup red onion
• 4 cups butternut squashed, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 3/4 cup chicken stock

Directions

• Step 1 In a large bowl, add the oil, garlic, mustard, miso, cumin, coriander, honey, rosemary to a large bowl. Mix well. Add the chicken and coat thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight or at least four hours.
• Step 2 In a large skillet, add the remaining oil and the chicken, skin side down, being careful to not over crowd the pan. Let cook about 5 minutes until the skin gets crispy. Flip each piece, and cook another 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan.
• Step 3 Add the onion and squash and cook about 7 minutes until the vegetables start to get a little soft. Add the chicken back to the pan along with the stock, cover and cook over medium heat for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Serve with fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.