Sheet Pan Cobb Salad Chicken and Brussel Sprouts

I love experimenting in the kitchen. Most of the time, it happens when I have a bunch of ingredients and I just don’t know what to do with them. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a toned-down episode of Chopped! Last night, the Chopped basket contained chicken thighs, brussel sprouts and bacon.

Oh...what to do with those ingredients...? After a few minutes of contemplation, I decided to make a dish inspired by the traditional Cobb Salad! It's one of my favorite salads - in no small part due to the delicious, savory dressing. So the first step in my kitchen creation was to marinate the chicken thighs in my favorite homemade Cobb salad dressing. I whisked together some red wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard and salt and pepper. Then threw in some diced red onion to really get the Cobb Salad flavor going.

I topped each tender thigh with some crumbled bacon and blue cheese at the end of cooking. To complete the meal, I paired them with Brussel sprouts coated with olive oil, salt and pepper. These scrumptious little green cabbages substituted for Romaine. Top with grape tomatoes and avocado if desired.

The outcome of this little kitchen experiment was nothing short of amazing - if you love Cobb salad as much as I do, of course.

And because this is a sheet pan dinner, all you need to do is place them on a baking sheet and cook it all up together! It couldn’t be easier or tastier!

YAY for trying new things in the kitchen!!

Sheet Pan Cobb Salad Chicken and Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, trimmed

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 tbs dijon mustard

• Salt and pepper

• 1/4 small red onion, chopped

• 1 lb Brussel sprouts trimmed and halved

• More olive oil for coating

• 2 tbs Blue Cheese crumbles

• 4-6 slices of center cut bacon

Instructions:

1. Place chicken thighs in a sealable bag. Combine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt, pepper and red onion in a bowl and mix well. Add to chicken. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hrs.

2. Meanwhile, cook bacon and set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 400 F. On a metal sheet pan (not lined to let the Brussel sprouts get extra crispy) place marinated chicken thighs.

4. In a medium sized bowl, toss sprouts with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on sheet pan surrounding chicken, cut side down.

5. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Top with bacon and blue cheese crumbles. Preheat broiler and broil chicken until cheese melts (approximately 2 minutes).

6. Serve with Brussel sprouts (and avocado and tomatoes, if desired).

ENJOY!