Italian Chicken Thighs

The basic idea for this recipe came from a Paleo website. There were several things I didn't like about it, so I had to improvise a bit. I was a little nervous about it, as I didn't see the seasonings really coming together well. Since most of the calories are coming from the chicken (very little from seasonings or sauces), it's quite healthy, especially when considering we're using thighs. You could use breasts, but I like the tenderness and flavor you get from the thighs. I trim them of any fat I can possibly get a set of scissors around, which also helps a great deal. If you do elect to use breasts, I recommend pounding them flat with a meat cleaver, otherwise they won't cook through the center. 

These come together really fast, which I love. This is a good option if I'm roasting a vegetable, as I can do the vegetable first, and I don't have to keep it warm very long while the chicken cooks. It's also good on a night when your stomach is eating itself because you're starving and you need dinner, like, now.

Ingredients: 

8 boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed 

2 T. lemon juice (bottled or fresh squeezed) 

2 T. honey

Seasonings: 

Sea salt 

Black pepper 

Oregano

Onion powder 

Crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
Preheat broiler. Cover a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together lemon juice and honey and set aside. 

Arrange chicken thighs in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with salt, pepper, oregano, onion powder, red pepper and paprika. I was very delicate with the red pepper as I can't handle a lot of spice, but add as much or as little as you like. Flip the thighs and sprinkle seasonings on opposite side. 

Put chicken in the oven on second rack from the top. Broil for 4 minutes, flip, then broil an additional 4 minutes. 

Flip again. Baste each breast with half of the honey-lemon mixture using a pastry brush. Return to oven, broil an additional one minute, then flip, baste again, and broil one minute more. Remove from oven and serve. 

Note: These times were for fairly small thighs. If you have thicker pieces of chicken, add 30 seconds to 1 minute to the initial broiling cycle. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness - make sure you hit 160 degrees. Because of the dark color of thigh meat, I don't trust my usual "cut it down the middle and make sure it isn't pink" method.