First thing is ty for the hard work you put into your site as well as recipes ….. :)Ive made this chicken quite a few times as well…..its turned out great everytime 😉 Now having said that and reading some of other comments. i just wanted to toss a bit of opinion out there in regards to the timing and heat. A couple people mention being worried about timing… so ill just toss what ive realized out there. and maybe it will help you get a better understanding of how i try to do things when a recipe comes up like this.
First thing is …. what i find to be the key is the sizing of the thighs themselves …so if you have 3 pounds and its 4 thighs, then this will turn out amazing without instance ,…..however do the exact same amount only instead the weight is still 3 pounds but instead it is 6 thighs meaning smaller actual pieces then you might wanna adjust time lower a bit … This is where you drying out will start to happen ….withing the size of the pieces ….this is again according to your own taste! in my house… half of us are dark meat eaters and the other half are white meat…. meaning the one half like it kinda dry and the other wants the wet greasy or juicy stuff .
Anyways thats my two cents on the timing and heat issue that people are concerned about i hope this helps if it can! P.S. side tip – how far apart you place each piece onto the pan or tray or grill matters as well ….the farther apart the pieces are the more the heat in your over consumes the meat….keeping in mind also where you rack is set in your oven also matters ;)All of the above is just my personal opinion and May not be suitable for peoples purposes!Ty Tom
Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
4 ounces Neufchate
l cheese, softened
2 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons creamy basil and ricotta pesto (such as Barilla®)
1 tablespoon dry Italian salad dressing mix (such as Good Seasons®)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cups fresh spinach
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighssalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (optional)
3 slices mozzarella cheese.
Directions:
Melt butter in a skillet and cook onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine Neufchatel cheese, chicken broth, pesto, dry Italian salad dressing, garlic powder, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes in a bowl and beat using an electric mixer until well combined. Stir in spinach and sauteed onions. Gently fold in tomatoes and basil. Transfer mixture into a casserole dish.
Season chicken with salt and pepper and place on top of spinach mixture in the dish.
Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 20 to 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
Remove chicken from casserole dish, top with mozzarella cheese, and microwave until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Serve chicken topped with spinach mixture.
source :allrecipes.com
