The chicken may be the main here but gotta say it’s all about this spectacular lemon rice. Rice, chicken, spinach ( and yes Joel didn’t even detect here and ate it up) I went a little lighter on the spinach for fear of spoiling it for him but go with full 2 cups of spinach if you’re family loves it. I chopped it up so it was hard to really see that it even was spinach but you can just chop it up roughly. This would be delicious served with a Greek Salad and the one I would go with is my Maroulosalata salad. Perfect!! and very delicious and I marinaded chicken from about 10 till 5 but if you can do overnight even better and if you can’t do at least an hour. One pan means less clean up which is also an extra added bonus. Enjoy this wonderful meal.

i*should serve 4-6 but for 6 I would add 2 more thighs

*for the chicken marinade

6 chicken thighs ( I only used 4 for the 2 of us) I go to butcher when I can so thighs are meatier if they’re very small make 8

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients:

For Chicken and Rice

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 yellow onion, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 cups baby spinach, lightly packed and roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice ( I love Carolina brand)

3 cups chicken stock/broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

*crumbled feta for end if you’d like or some lemon slices or lemon zest and a little squirt of fresh lemon juice at the end — all of this is optional and up to you. I used crumbled feta at the end ( not too much just a sprinkle) and I used a little fresh lemon juice — you can also add chopped parsley and some lemon slices for a lovely presentation

Place Chicken in a large bowl or in a large resealable plastic bag ( I used plastic bag method)

Add all the marinade ingredients to the chicken ( pat chicken dry first) and toss chicken to coat well. Seal bag or cover bowl and marinate chicken in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 1 day ahead (obvi the longer the better)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees , remove chicken from fridge while preheating the oven.

In a large ovenproof pot ( I used my Le Creuset dutch oven) or large skillet that is oven proof heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. When oil is very hot without burning please add chicken thighs skin side down (and reserve the leftover marinade in bowl or bag — you will be adding the liquid to the skillet later) Brown chicken about 5 minutes each side — you’ll be cooking more later this is just to get them golden and crispy. Remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate.

Add the onions and garlic to skillet and stir cooking for a few minutes or until the onions are very soft and translucent. Adjust the heat a little if needed– don’t burn the onions.

Add the chopped spinach, oregano, salt, pepper, and reserved marinade to the pot. Cook stirring for another minute or so until spinach is wilted

Add the rice to the skillet, and stir well to coat the rice with the pan juices

Pour the chicken stock into the pot and stir well, bring to a simmer or low boil

Arrange chicken thighs on top of the rice, the cover the pot ( if no cover use aluminum foil)and place pot in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid or foil covering, return the skillet to the oven, and bake until chicken and rice is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Feel free to broil for the last couple of minutes if you’re feeling like chicken isn’t crispy enough

Remove from the oven and let chicken and rice rest for 5-10 minutes. Fluff rice so that the spinach and onions that may have settled get evenly distributed. Sprinkle with feta now or extra lemon juice or parsley and lemon slices then serve straight from the pan or dish out onto plates.

Enjoy! this one is a winner