Braised White Wine & Soy Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms

In my early stages of learning how to cook, I made many meals from a cookbook that I think was called How to Cook Everything. It wasn’t mine. It belonged to my live-in boyfriend at the time and it was a huge book! Probably the size of a dictionary. From what I remember, it had some good recipes. It has been awhile, maybe 15 years since I’ve last seen that book but I remember making a chicken dish that I really liked that had white wine, soy sauce, and mushrooms. And that is really about all I remember from the recipe. This week, I wanted to try to recreate it. So I played around with some ingredients and came up with this recipe. I think it’s pretty good. It’s simple and easy to make and it only requires a few main ingredients.

BRAISED WHITE WINE & SOY CHICKEN THIGHS WITH MUSHROOMS (serves 2-4)

Ingredients:
• 1½ lbs chicken thighs (about 4 small, bone-in with skin)
• 10-16 oz of white button or crimini mushrooms, sliced (depending on how much you love mushrooms)
• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• ½ cup of white wine
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ Tsp salt
• ½ Tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup of water
• parsley, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Season chicken w salt and pepper. In a braising pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Pan-sear chicken for a few minutes with skin side down, until golden brown. Then set aside.

Lower heat down to medium. Add another tbsp of olive oil. Brown onions and garlic. Add mushrooms and cook until they have shrunken.

Pour in wine and soy sauce. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and thyme and gently stir. Return chicken to the pan, skin side up. Cover pan, with lid slightly ajar, and cook for about 30 minutes.

Remove chicken and set aside.

Taste the sauce in the pan. It should be very flavorful and maybe even a bit salty. Add about ½ cup of water or less to dilute. Increase heat if need and let the sauce reduce and thicken for about 5 minutes.

Serve chicken over rice and spoon over a generous portion of mushrooms and sauce on top. Sprinkle w parsley.

Easy Pantry Recipes with Rubbermaid Brilliance

This blog post is sponsored by Rubbermaid, but all opinions are my own

I love enjoying a home-cooked meal wherever I go but I don't always have a lot of time.  I like to meal prep so that I can have delicious homemade meals to pack up to bring to work for lunch, take on a picnic in the park, or to eat later in the week. I'm also a huge fan of freezing my food for those nights when I don't want to cook at all. That’s why I’m excited to partner with Rubbermaid to feature their Brilliance food storage line, which has made meal prepping so much easier. I love that it’s crystal clear, stain resistant, air-tight, and 100% leak-proof.  Because it's leak-proof, I don't have to worry about spillage whenever I pack up food to-go.  Everything stays fresher so that I can enjoy my meals longer. The set comes with a variety of sizes including small containers which are perfect for sides or sauces. The clean, modular design makes them easy to stack, so fridge and pantry organization feels effortless.

Want to try Brilliance for your meal prep? I have 5 sets to give away, so be sure to head to my latest Instagram post and comment using  #PrepBrilliantly for a chance to win a Rubbermaid Brilliance set for yourself!

Meal prepping doesn't have to be a lot of work. I often prefer my homemade dishes to eating out. Plus, it's healthier and budget friendly. You can create a variety of delicious meals with just a few basic ingredients. Here are 4 simple recipes that are made with up to 6 of the same main pantry staple ingredients:

Recipes:

·       Braised White Wine Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes (see recipe below)

·       Linguine in a Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce (click on link)

·       Spicy Shrimp Linguine  (click on link)

·       Tomato Confit (click on link)

All of these recipes include a combination of the below pantry staples and also your basic herbs and spices.  I always have these ingredients at home and find that they have become the base for many of my recipes.  Depending on the recipe, you may need to get chicken, shrimp, or fresh cherry tomatoes.  If you have a different combination of pantry staples, get creative.  Substitute your items with mine, skip what you don't have, or create new recipes of your own.  If you happen to have some fresh herbs or cheese, add them to your dish to give it an elevated finish.  It's so fun to experiment!

Pantry Staples:

1.       Garlic

2.       Onions

3.       Canned Diced Tomatoes

4.       Linguine

5.       Lemon

6.       White Wine

You can find all of my recipes by clicking the links above.  The Braised White Wine Chicken dish, however, is new and I'm excited to share it with you below.

Braised White Wine Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes (serves 4)

Ingredients:

·       4 cloves of garlic, diced

·       ½ sweet yellow onion, diced

·       1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)

·       1.5 lbs. of bone-in chicken thighs, with skin (about 4 thighs)

·       1/2 cup of white wine  

·       2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

·       ½ tsp salt

·       ½ tsp pepper

·       ½ tsp sugar

·       1 tsp thyme

·       1 tsp basil

Directions:

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a 3.5 qt braising pan over medium to high heat.  Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.  Pan-sear each side of the chicken thighs until golden brown.  Start with the bottom side first for roughly 5 minutes and then flip over to the top skin side for about 4-5 minutes.  Remove and set aside. 

Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in the same pan.  Saute onions until golden brown.  Add garlic and lightly toast.  Pour in ½ cup of white wine and let it simmer for a few minutes.  Pour in canned tomatoes.  Throw in ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp sugar, 1 tsp thyme, and 1 tsp basil.  Stir and let sauce cook for another few minutes.  Return the chicken to the pan and partially cover.  Braise chicken on low heat for about 20 minutes or until cooked.  Flip chicken over half way through. 

Serve braised chicken over linguine, rice, mashed potatoes, or eat it on its own—whatever you fancy or have in your pantry!  If you have fresh basil, sprinkle some over your final dish.

And to store leftovers, use Rubbermaid Brilliance to keep this meal fresh!

Hope you like my 4 easy recipes!  Happy Eating !