Blackened Chicken

A massive clean out of the Davis family basement is underway!  This is fair warning to our two wonderful children who may or may not still be using our basement as a storage unit. 🤣  The motivation behind this whole get-rid-of-everything movement was not simply to clean out - but rather to make space for a new home office for my hard working husband.  You heard that right - as of this week - we're BOTH working from home - the same home.😬  We thought it might be best if we were on separate floors while we get used to our new work situations.  😂

We've had an unfinished basement for 18 years and we're really good at using it to store a whole lot of unnecessary junk.😂  Now that we're talking about finishing our basement and adding an office to the space - we've been forced to consolidate all of our random "stuff " and fit it into just one area of the basement.  You wouldn't believe what I found when we went through some of our boxes during our clean out. I had been saving my old recorder from elementary school!!  🤣  Did I really think that I was going to get it out again one day and play Moonlight River on the recorder after dinner?  🎶 🤦🏻‍♀️

A good basement clean out every once in a while, is good.  I will admit that after a week of hard work - our basement has never looked so tidy.  I'm not sure that we would have tackled that project had we not been motivated by a new office space  but - whatever it takes. 🤣  In the end - I'm happy that it's finished and we can move forward with our plans to get the basement finished and a proper office built.​

Here's the thing about cleaning out one room (or level) of your house though - somehow it highlights all of the flaws and disorganization in the other rooms of your house. 🤷🏻‍♀️ The spice cabinet in my kitchen didn't bother me until I spent a week in extreme home organization mode.  All of a sudden, I have an overwhelming need to see a cabinet full of alphabetized spices with forward facing labels.  😅  Piggybacking off of the organizational momentum - I tackled my spice cabinet with gusto this week too.  I emptied everything, checked all the expiration dates and then started to organize.  

If the thought of organizing your spice cabinet doesn't light you up - not to worry - I've got a solution.   Make my Blackened Chicken recipe.😅  By the time you're finished putting together the dry rub - most of your spice containers will already be out of your cabinet and you can be systematic about how they go back in. 😂 

​There's no question that there are a lot of different spices that go into this seasoning mix but the flavors are truly extraordinary.  You can pan sear your chicken, bake it in the oven or cook it on the grill - your choice.  

Blackened Chicken
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
6 chicken thighs
1 teaspoon oil
​3 Tablespoons butter

Combine paprikas, salt, garlic and onion powders, pepper, oregano, thyme and cayenne.

Place wire rack in baking sheet.  Cut each chicken thigh off of the bone.  

Place between plastic wrap and gently pound to 1/3" thick.

Dredge each thigh in spice mixture. 

Heat oil and 1 T. butter in skillet.  Add 6 cutlets and cook without moving for 2 minutes. 

Flip cutlets and cook 1 minute.  Transfer to wire rack.  Wipe out skillet and repeat with remaining cutlets.

Unlike most of the "blackened" seasoning mixes that I buy at the grocery store, I get to control the amount of HEAT when I make my own rub.  My family prefers it on the mild side so I go lighter on the cayenne than recommended but it's still got a lot of big, bold flavor.  Enjoy!

​Ciao!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe