Everybody's got a one-dish chicken and rice recipe. I'm going to share mine anyway because I've made it once a week to twice a month for several years now for a cheap, easy dinner, and I haven't seen mine replicated. This is great for those cold evenings when you want the oven to warm up the house a little. It's also great when you’re on the computer all day, like I am, and you need a break before you finish that project. It takes about two hours at 415 if the chicken thighs are still frozen, and about two hours at 350 if they are mostly thawed.
 
First of all, chicken thighs are higher in fat than breasts. I really don't care once and awhile, especially when I'm feeding active teenagers! Thighs will have roughly 35% fat while the breasts range around 8-15%, depending on whether or not you've cut off the skin and excess fat. That being said, I do make sure to use long grain brown rice, because I know it's got actual food value, as opposed to white rice that has been stripped of the chaff, bleached, cut, and often pre-boiled. I don't think it can be called food at all after all that!
 
Concerning vegetables, the highest nutrient value will be found in fresh, but the next is frozen, and finally canned. They all serve their purpose, but canned is merely convenience with added salt so I tend not to use it very often.

So, it goes like this:

Spray an 11x 15"or 9x13" glass pan with cooking spray. Measure out 2 cups of rice and spread somewhat evenly in the pan. Cover with an average sized bag of store label frozen mixed vegetables, and 2 ½ C of water. I dissolve one or two bullion cubes of chicken broth in the water using the microwave. (See, enough salt already!) I finely chop some onion, not very much, and scatter on top of that. Then add your family pack of chicken thighs, they shouldn't cost more than $4-6 at the most, and cover with an herb blend similar to Ms. Dash. Cover with foil, and after a couple of hours, "Voila!" you've got a pretty nice dinner for a family of 6 for under $10.00. You'll know it's done when you see the meat pull away from the bone.

This does work with chicken breasts, both rib in and boneless, but you need to add more liquid, and watch your time so they don't get too dry. That's the beauty of using the thighs, to me, because they really don't get overcooked.

You can make ahead of time using a foil lasagna pan, but then you basically use the oven twice, unless you decide to microwave individual portions. I use the foil when I need the convenience of tossing the dish after use instead of cleaning!

What's your super easy chicken and rice recipe? Tell me what you think of this!