Smoked Paprika Chicken Thighs with Tomato Caper Rice

Bae Rating: 2.5. Simply because this dish is literally chicken and rice. This is an "I had a long day at work so I need to cook for my husband of 25 years and our 5 kids" kind of dish. Still bomb though :). 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 LB Chicken Thighs (about 4)

1 1/2 tbs of smoked paprika

1 tbs of garlic powder

1 tbs of onion powder

1/2 tbs of dried oregano

Sea salt and black pepper (to taste)

1 cup of Tomato-Caper sauce

2 cups of chicken stock (plus extra)

1 cup of white rice (we used Uncle Ben’s)

2 tbs of vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Pat dry your chicken thighs, and trim any extra fat. Season them liberally on both sides with the spice mixture, and set aside
2. In a medium oven-safe skillet, heat the vegetable oil on medium-high, then add the chicken thighs skin-side down
3. Sear the chicken thighs until they are crisp and have a beautiful deep brown color, roughly 1-2 minutes depending on how hot your stovetop gets. Don’t worry about cooking them through, they’ll finish in the oven!
4. Remove the chicken thighs, and add the white rice. Coat the rice in all the chickeny, crusty goodness, and stir for about a minute
5. Add the chicken stock and tomato caper sauce and stir.
6. Place the chicken thighs on top, and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Check the chicken at about 20 minutes, they should be done. If so, remove them, stir the rice, and let it continue to cook. If it looks a little dry, add a little more chicken stock, stir, and continue to bake it for another 5 minutes.
7. Serve the chicken and rice hot!

Spicy and Garlicky Tomato-Caper Shrimp

Bae Rating: 3.5. The dish is fire and looks fancy but we had to make a 1.5 point deduction because...garlic breath. No one likes hot garlic breath. 

Vibes: Solange makes us happy and so does this dish. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of crushed tomatoes (We used Cento San Marzano Whole, Peeled)
• 1/2 lb of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine
• 2 tbs of capers
• 1 tsp of cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (or a little more, if you’re bold)
• 3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 shallot bulb, thinly sliced
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Olive oil, for cooking
• Fresh dill for garnish

Directions

1. Peel and devein your shrimp, then toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and the lemon zest. Set those bad boys aside for a second.
2. In a shmedium-sized skillet*, heat a heavy drizzle of olive oil on medium heat (about a 6-7/10)
3. Add the shallots and garlic, and cook until they're fragrant. Be VERY careful not to burn the garlic. Watch it more closely than you watch How To Get Away With Murder, or you might blow it.
4. Add the dry white wine, hand crushed tomatoes, cayenne and crushed red pepper flakes. You can always add more, or less crushed red pepper depending on who’s eating. Niks is half Bajan and lives for some spice, Fox dies when you open a bottle of Hot Sauce from across the room. Be accommodating.
5. Turn the heat down, and let the tomato mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes on medium-low heat (about a 4). This is when you should taste your sauce. Add more salt or pepper, a drizzle of honey. Do your thing, and be creative…within reason.
6. Add the shrimp and capers, and cook until the shrimp are opaque and not ONE SECOND MORE. Gummy shrimp is why nobody eat’s at chain seafood joints…that and the E.Coli.

Sprinkle with some fresh dill, and serve piping hot with some crusty bread for dipping. We served ours with herb focaccia, but any other delicious non-sandwich bread will work!