Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts (And an Update on the Side!)

Sooooo... This happened yesterday:

What you see there is a skillet full of deliciousness. Wait, let me rephrase that... What you see there is an AIP compliant skillet full of deliciousness!

I'm coming off of a really rough weekend. The good news is that my latest blood test that I took 2 weeks ago showed that I am slightly hyperthyroid. That's good news because it means that my thyroid is functioning more than it was previously. My endocrinologist called me and said that since it was just on the border, he wanted to keep me at my current medication dosage and have me redo my bloodwork about a week before my upcoming appointment with him later this month. 

I was good with that.

The bad news is that apparently I had become even more hyper since my bloodwork. I had trouble sleeping at night last Wednesday and Thursday, then did not sleep at all Friday and Saturday. My heart was racing. I felt like I had just finished running a mile as fast as I could all day on Saturday. 

ALL. DAY. 

My resting heart rate was 96. I was getting headaches anytime I stood up or started to do anything that brought my heart rate up. After some support from my favorite AIP Support group on Facebook, I called in to my doctor's office and left a message. They don't have on-call service so I decided to skip a dose on Sunday. By Sunday evening, I finally started to feel a little bit better and was able to get some sleep. I took my meds on Monday and my doctor called to tell me he had called in a lower dose (YAY!!!) and still wanted bloodwork done before my next appointment. 

I feel much better today (Tuesday) after getting sleep for two nights in a row. Unfortunately, I missed a weekend of food prep. Those on AIP know that prep is KEY! I work full-time, so being able to prep food on the weekends makes following AIP much easier throughout the week. 

I had Bible Study at my church yesterday evening after work, so by the time I got home and was thinking about dinner for hubby and me, it was almost 8pm. Our bedtime is 9pm... Not that you needed to know that.

 I opened my fridge and did the stare. You know the one... What little brainpower I had left started to work and I assembled a dish in my mind. And get this... It's a ONE-PAN meal!

First, I grabbed two bone-in chicken thighs and seasoned them with a little bit of sea salt. Then I schlepped some coconut oil into a cast iron skillet. Cast iron is WONDERFUL! I love that I can start something on the stove and then finish it in the oven! Lodge offers pre-seasoned cast iron cookware at a really affordable price. This is the skillet I used for this meal:

If you're looking to buy a small set, my husband got me this one for Christmas two years ago and I love it! 

Anyway, enough about heavy duty, long lasting, durable, indestructible cookware...

Heat the coconut oil on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs, skin side down. Be careful, you might get some hot oil spit at you. 

It's worth it. 

Let the chicken sear until the skin gets golden brown and crispy. This might take about 10 minutes, but varies depending on how hot your pan is, so check it every so often. While the chicken sizzles away, grab some Brussels sprouts. I used about 1/2 pound. Chop the nubby end off and either halve or quarter them, whichever you like. I did both.

Pay no attention to the shadows... I have very poor lighting in my kitchen. 

Don't forget to check your chicken now and then. The pan would have to be really hot to make the skin burn, but keep an eye on it just in case. In preparation, lay two slices of bacon down next to each other on a flat surface near the chicken. 

Note: This flat skillet just happened to be next to the skillet with the chicken, so I used it as a surface to wrap the chicken. The burner is not on. You can lay the bacon on a cutting board or a plate or whatever surface you'd like. I didn't want to dirty a cutting board. 

I'm lazy like that. 

When the chicken skin side is brown and crispy to your liking, turn the stove off, stab a piece of chicken with a fork and place it skin side UP in the middle of the bacon.

Stop and admire the beautiful, golden chicken skin... Then wrap it up like a baby in a blanket.

Snug as a bug in a rug.

Then return it back to the skillet with the skin side still up, just as you wrapped it. Do the same with the other chicken thigh. When both thighs are wrapped with love and returned to the skillet, then add the Brussels Sprouts to the pan around the chicken thighs. Toss them a little with a fork to get them coated in the oil from the bottom of the pan. 

Normally I would say to sprinkle a little sea salt on the sprouts, but.... there was only one piece of bacon left in the pack. 

One piece. 

Before I knew it, the extra piece was chopped up and tossed in with the Brussels... I had no control over my actions.

Then I put the whole skillet into the oven. 45 minutes later...

It was beautiful, it was salty, it was crispy, it was DELICIOUS! Sometimes not being prepared isn't so bad... :)

Here's your recipe in case you had trouble following my blathering: 

• 2 bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1/2 pound of Brussels Sprouts
• 4 pieces of bacon (5, if you have an evil streak like me and want to add it to the sprouts)
• Sea salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat coconut oil in a heavy, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly salt chicken thighs. When oil is hot, lay thighs skin side down in the skillet to brown and crisp. While chicken is sizzling, chop ends off of Brussels Sprouts and halve or quarter them. Lay two pieces of bacon on a flat surface. When skin on thighs is browned to liking, turn off heat. Using a fork, lay one piece of chicken on the bacon skin side UP. Wrap the chicken in the bacon and return to skillet, still skin side UP. Lay two more pieces of bacon down and repeat with the second thigh. When both chicken thighs are wrapped up and returned to the skillet, add the Brussels Sprouts around the chicken. If using bacon, chop the extra piece and sprinkle around the sprouts. Toss to coat in the oil at the bottom of the skillet. Slide the skillet into the oven for roughly 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 160 degrees. When the chicken is done, pull the skillet out and let rest for 5-10 minutes. I don't need to tell you what to do next. :)

This recipe has been shared on Phoenix Helix AIP Recipe Roundtable!