My favorite show of all time is Little House on the Prairie. I have most every episode memorized. I own the series on DVD and I watch episodes countless times each week. It’s my comfort show. I watch it to calm myself at night before bed and I watch it when I fly. You may be asking yourself what on earth does my love of Little House have to do with cinnamon chicken?? Well, if you are a lover of the best tv series of all time, then you will know that the first episode of season 6, Laura falls in love with Almanzo and Mrs Oleson had other plans by trying to set him up with the evil Nellie by offering to have him for dinner. Almanzo said he liked cinnamon chicken. Laura offered to “cook” the dinner for them since Nellie couldn’t cook and she used cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon. Their faces were buried in the water faucet and it was a hysterical scene! I watched that episode the other day and thought I could come up with a yummy cinnamon chicken recipe, so I threw this together on a Monday after work and both Carl and I loved the autumn vibes it gives. The butternut squash and rice is the perfect bed for the chicken as it bakes in the oven. Give it a try and if you wanted to spice things up even more, go the Laura Ingalls route and throw on some heat! LOL!
Cinnamon Chicken
4
servings10
minutes30
minutesIngredients
*For the Seasoning*
1 tsp 1 Hot Hungarian Paprika
1/2 tsp 1/2 Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp 1/2 Dried Rosemary
1/2 tsp 1/2 Salt
1/4 tsp 1/4 Black Pepper
1/4 tsp 1/4 Cinnamon
4 4 Bone in Skin on Chicken Thighs
2 Tbsp 2 Olive Oil
1 1 Small Yellow Onion, Diced
2 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 cup 1 Long Grain White Rice
2 tsp 2 Fresh Rosemary, Minced
1/2 tsp 1/2 Cinnamon
10 oz 10 Butternut Squash, Cubed
1 1/2 cups 1 1/2 Chicken Stock or Bone Broth
1/2 cup 1/2 Apple Cider
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400. In a small prep bowl, add all seasoning ingredients and mix well
- Brush a light coating of olive oil on your chicken thighs and evenly coat your chicken with the seasoning
- Preheat a skillet on medium/high heat. Add your olive oil and allow it to heat. Once it’s shimmering, add your chicken skin side down in the skillet. Sear chicken for 5 minutes without moving. Flip chicken and cook for 3 more minutes before removing chicken to plate
- In the same skillet, throw in your diced onions and sauté until translucent. Add your garlic and stir to combine
- Add rice and toast in the skillet for a couple minutes
- Combine broth and cider in a pyrex measuring cup and pour small splashes in the skillet to deglaze the pan
- Add your butternut squash, rosemary and cinnamon. Stir well. Add the remaining broth and stir to combine
- Place chicken back in the skillet on top of the rice and squash, skin side up. Cover skillet and bake for 30 minutes or until chicken temps 165 and the rice is cooked through. Enjoy!