Today we’re talking about thighs and breasts.

I feel like I’ve been cheated! Cheated out of years worth of yummy chicken thigh dinners. I’ve been buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts for years because that’s what “they” say is the healthy thing to do, but recently Tim and I have started buying and cooking chicken thighs more often. Oh my gosh they are so much more delicious! I think thighs get such a bad rep for being fatty because they are a dark meat, but when you compare the rest of the nutritional information, they really aren’t that much worse for you than chicken breasts are. It’s still high in protein, low in carbs, and if you go easy on the skin, the dark meat just provides you with healthier monounsaturated fats. Plus, chicken thighs are so much cheaper than chicken breasts are! Bonus.

Here’s one of the go to chicken thigh meals we’ve enjoyed in our home recently. CSA friends, it’s a great recipe to use up any collard greens!

Crispy Chicken Thighs with Collards and Bell Peppers

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs
• 1 bunch collard greens (rinsed, stems removed, and chopped into large pieces)
• 4 bell peppers, sliced
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tbsp rosemary
• 1/4 cup white wine
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. To prep: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, spray a large oven-safe skillet with cooking spray, and season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
2. Place your skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, place chicken thighs in the skillet, skin side down. Cook seven minutes or until the skin gets crispy, then flip and cook until golden brown.
3. Remove the chicken thighs from the skillet and set aside. Add the onion, crushed red pepper, rosemary, salt, and pepper, and cook until the onion becomes translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the peppers, and cook until they begin to soften.
5. Then add the collard greens and white wine. Mix and cook until the greens start to wilt.
6. Put the chicken thighs back in the pan with the veggies on top. Place the skillet in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is around 160 degrees F. If you do not have an oven safe pan, make sure to transfer to a large baking dish before putting the chicken and veggies in the oven.
7. Serve with a whole grain of choice, if desired, and enjoy!

Another bonus about preparing chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts is that because they are juicier, they have more wiggle room with cooking time. Since the chicken breasts do have a lower fat content, they tend to be easier to overcook, and there is nothing worse than dry, bland chicken, amiright? These chicken thighs though? Juicy, crispy, awesome. The bell peppers also add a sweetness to the dish, along with a burst of color.

As for the collard greens, they’ve been one of the trickier greens to use from our CSA. They are definitely more bitter than other greens like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard. We’ve found we like collards best when cooking them with either chicken thighs, ground turkey, or grass fed beef. Sauteing them like we do in this recipe is a great way to cook down some of the bitterness and add the nutrients to our meal.  Of course, if you have the other greens on hand, you could swap them out for the collards too.

Finally, to bring it all together, I recommend serving with a whole grain of choice. We’ve been randomly loving pearl couscous lately, so that’s what you see here. If you try this one, snap a pic and let me know!

Readers, let’s chat! Do you prefer chicken thighs or chicken breasts? How do you cook with collard greens? 

P.S. It really bothers me when people say they don’t eat dark meat (or anything really) without having a valid reason! Is it that you don’t like it? Or just refuse to eat/try it? The two are very different reasons, my friends! Just a little pet peeve of mine.