I’ve actually been cooking dinner these days. My family is thankful. Since I’ve been cooking real food for almost 6 years (before I heated up food from the freezer – I’ve come a long way!) and blogging for a few years, I can tell I’m reverting to my beginner years where I kept things pretty simple. Chop up fresh food, add it to a baking dish and voila! It’s a meal. I love these flavors from the Mediterranean, and this is a simple way to change up a boring chicken dinner. And roasted cherry tomatoes? There is nothing better than that pop of fresh garden flavor, that brightness when you chomp into them. I’m obsessed. And I want to hold on to those summer flavors as long as I can. Yesterday I made something with similar flavors to this – a zucchini gratin (anyone else of a bounty of zucchini waiting to be used?) with added chicken to “make it a meal” as my family would put it. I wish I had thought to combine this recipe with the gratin – next time! For now, here is my Mediterranean Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe.   

Mediterranean Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe

Ingredients:

– 1 Small Jar Capers

– 1 Jar Pitted Kalamata Olives

– 1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes

– 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

– 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

– 8 Chicken Thighs (skinless, boneless)

– 1/4 Cup Breadcrumbs

– 1/4 Cup Flour

– 1/4 Cup Milk

– Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel – seriously, this makes stuff stick to it, it is essential.

3.  Mix flour, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper together in a small shallow bowl.

4. Dip chicken into milk (use a shallow bowl) and then breadcrumb mixture.

5. In a jar, shake the EVOO and balsamic vinegar together. 

6. Pour the olive oil mixture into a glass baking dish. 

7. Add chicken to baking dish.

8. Sprinkle tomatoes, olives and capers between chicken.

9. Bake for 25 minutes.
The breadcrumbs, balsamic vinegar and tomato juices made a little sauce, the chicken is super moist thanks to it, but still crispy on the top thanks to the golden brown breadcrumbs. It was gobbled up very quickly!