Chicken with Millet and Vegetables One-Skillet Meal

Adapted from Whole Foods Market

The first time I cooked this dish, I followed the recipe exactly as written on Whole Foods website. The millet was a bit soggy and scorched at the bottom. It was delicious, but the dish did not look appetizing at all. This will not be a good meal to cook for your dinner guest.

The next time I made this dish, I didn't want the millet to scorch a second time so baking this dish in the oven did solve this problem. Replacing the spinach with kale made this dish heartier and added better texture. I also read that if you stir millet during cooking, it will cause the millet to be more creamier rather than fluffy so I added the millet towards the end just when this dish was ready to go in the oven. Adding sun-dried tomatoes and tomato paste added another layer of flavor and color to this dish.

I'm thinking that you can also go meatless and just cooking the millet and vegetables all by itself as a side dish, If you haven't try millet, you will love this dish.

1-1/4 cups millet (8.3 ounces)

8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs, all visible fat removed (about 2:4.8 pounds)

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped (about 11.3 to 12.1 ounces)

4 large garlic cloves, finely minced (0.7 ounces)

1-1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste (1.0 ounce)

1/4 cup extra-moist, julienne sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (0.7 ounce)

One 14-ounce can Swansons brand 33% less-sodium chicken broth and add enough water to measure 2-1/2 cups broth/water (1:4.0 pounds)

1 bunch lacinato kale, thick stems removed and thinly sliced (about 6.3 to 6.7 ounces)

Chopped fresh Italian parsley or thinly sliced chives for garnish (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of the oven.

Place millet in a fine sieve. Wash millet under slow-running cold water, using your fingers to rub through the millet until the water runs clear. Set aside to drain well.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat an oven-proof deep skillet over medium high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Place 4 chicken thighs in the pan and cook until browned on both sides (about 3 minutes per side). Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add more olive oil to the pan and brown the remaining 4 chicken thighs. Set aside.

Using the same skillet, add another tablespoon of olive oil and add the mushrooms. Continue to cook on medium-high heat until mushrooms are browned and all liquid released from the mushrooms have evaporated, stirring frequently, about 3 to 5 minutes. If skillet becomes dry and looks like it's going to scorch, stir in 1 tablespoon water and proceed with browning the mushrooms. Add the onions to the mushrooms, and continue to cook on medium-high heat until onions are lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and tomato paste. Continue to cook until fragrant, about 10 to 20 seconds. Add the chicken broth/water, sun-dried tomato and kale to the skillet. Continue to cook on medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil and kale has cooked down considerably, about 2 minutes. Stir in the millet to evenly distribute the millet. Lay the chicken pieces on top of the millet and vegetables. When mixture returns to a boil, cover and bake for 30 minutes. When done, remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Sprinkle with parsley or chives as a garnish, if desired.

Yield 4 servings