Greek Style Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Thighs and Rice In the Oven

One of my youngest favorite dishes is Arroz con Pollo or Chicken and Rice. I am a big fan of Greek Style chicken. If you make the Arroz con Pollo stove top, the skin looses it's crispiness in the broth. This way, the chicken still has a crunchy skin with a little time in the oven. The marinade leaves the chicken with an added zing. You can marinate for as little as 30 minutes or up to two hours.
This will be a favorite of your family too! Chicken thighs are very economical. You can get a bag of frozen under $3.00 or wait for thighs to go on sale fresh at the grocery store. I used a cast iron skillet. I don't have a lid for it so I covered it with tin foil. Any oven ready pot will do.

Greek Style Chicken Thighs
Marinade
4 TBSP lemon juice
1 whole lemon zested, sliced, and juice reserve
1 TBSP Italian Seasoning
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp salt

4-6 bone in chicken thighs
2 TBSP oil
1 medium onion
2 cups rice (long grain)
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cups water
10-12 Kalamata olives
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
a pinch of pepper

Firstly clean your thighs under some cool water. Pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice, zest, lemon slices. Italian seasoning, and salt to a zip loc bag. Add the chicken thighs and let marinade for 30 minutes to two hours.

In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade reserving the lemons and marinade. Place chicken skin side down in the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Let brown for 10 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and add the reserved marinade. Add the onion and brown for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and brown for another 2 minutes.
Next add the chicken broth  Return the chicken to the skillet and bring up to a boil. Cover the chicken with the reserved lemon slices Add the olives and cover the pan with foil. Carefully put in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 10 minutes. The chicken should be done but always check that the juices run clear and the temperature is 160 degrees.
Season rice with salt and pepper to taste.