Most chicken dishes rely on chicken breast, but this is one that uses chicken thighs, a much cheaper kind of chicken and just as nutritious. The original recipe calls for the boneless chicken thighs but it is just as easy to remove the bones from drumsticks yourself.
Cooking method
In a large mixing bowl season chicken with salt and black pepper. Add ranch dressing and cayenne pepper; marinate 5 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
In a large sauté pan over high heat add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sear chicken skin-side down until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate skin-side up; set aside. Drain skillet, reserving 1 tablespoon fat, and discard balance. Turn heat down to medium and sauté garlic, onion, and celery for 2 minutes. Stir in stock, rice, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Place chicken in rice mixture, skin-side up. Simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
| Ingredients | Serves 4 |
| Chicken thighs | 6–8 boneless |
| Salt | |
| Freshly ground black pepper | |
| Buttermilk ranch dressing | 1 cup |
| Cayenne pepper | 1/4 tspn |
| Extra-virgin olive oil | |
| Garlic cloves, minced | 3 |
| Onion, chopped | 1 |
| Celery chopped | 1 cup |
| Chicken stock | 2 cups |
| Pilaf rice | 1 cup |
| Parsley chopped | 1/4 cup |
