Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Shallots

I now have three freezers in my house. Three! Me thinks it’s one freezer too many. We have a chest freezer in our breezeway and another full size fridge in the garage. Chest freezers are a bugger to find things in and measuring in at only 5 feet tall doesn’t help when it comes time to dig in and find something that has made it’s way to the bottom. Half the time John finds me with my legs dangling off the floor. I’m going to try and empty out my chest freezer once and for all and bid it adieu. I need to get everything else in the garage freezer, so there’s going to be lots of “make it up as you go along” recipes. This is one of them.

I use a lot of chicken thighs when I cook. I can get them on sale for as little as 79 cents a pound sometimes so I stock up on them and vacuum seal them into handy little bags of 5 or 10. After crawling down to the dark belly of the chest freezers this past weekend, I found 10 thighs just waiting to be cooked. I then looked through the fridge and saw I had some baby bella mushrooms and some shallots. Hmmmmm…..I can make something with this….and I did.

The flavor of this dish was amazing. I had some of the sauce left over so I’m going to stretch it with some regular sauce and serve it with some breaded chicken cutlets for dinner another night. Fast, easy and economical.....oh and tastes great!

Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Shallots
Printable recipe
10 bone in chicken thighs
6 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 shallots, sliced thin
1 package of baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
Oregano
Basil
Italian seasoning
Fresh thyme
Salt & pepper

In a large heavy bottomed pot heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil the shallots, and the mushrooms. Cook until the mushroom are slightly softened then add in the chopped garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Dry your chicken thighs thoroughly with paper towel on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add in 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and place half the chicken thighs in the pan and let them sear for about 3 – 4 minutes on each side. Try not to lift the chicken up and peek so it gets a good crunchy sear on both sides. Sear the other half of the thighs, remove from the pan and set aside.

Finally add in the last 2 tablespoons of olive oil and your chopped onion. Let the onions cook until they are translucent. Add in the can of crushed tomatoes and season to your liking. I add in some basil, oregano and Italian seasonings. Let his simmer for about 20 minutes.

Place the thighs in a casserole dish. Add the mushroom and shallot mixture. Pour the sauce over the top and add a few sprigs of fresh thyme to the top. Bake uncovered at 350 for about a half hour.

You could serve this over pasta or rice and it would be fantasic.