Skillet Chicken with Mexican Green Rice

August. The word lands different when you're a football coach. August is when it starts — not the games, not yet, but the work that makes the games possible. Two-a-days begin next week. Equipment issued. Physicals cleared. The building smells like fresh paint and rubber and ambition, and I have not slept well in three nights because my brain is running defensive formations at two in the morning. Lisa says I talk in my sleep during August. She says I called a cover-two from the pillow on Tuesday. I neither confirm nor deny.

This is my third season in Denver and the program feels like mine now. The first year you're inheriting someone else's culture, cleaning house without making it obvious you're cleaning house. Second year you're installing your own. Third year, the kids in the program have only known you. The freshmen coming in this fall — they didn't play for the old coach. They chose this program. They chose me. That matters. That changes the temperature in the room.

Diego's flag football team had their first game on Saturday. They lost 21-14, which is irrelevant at nine years old but try telling that to my son, who sat in the backseat on the ride home with his arms crossed and his jaw set in a way that is pure Medina stubbornness. I told him he played well. He said, "We lost." I said, "You can play well and lose. It happens." He said, "Not to us." Lord. He's nine. He's already got the disease. Lisa caught my eye in the rearview and mouthed, "Your fault." She's not wrong.

Made a big pot of green chile chicken soup on Sunday — except without green chile, so really it was just chicken soup with attitude. Chicken thighs simmered with onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and hominy. I added a can of diced green chiles at the end, which is the culinary equivalent of putting a bumper sticker of the Grand Canyon on your car and calling it a road trip. But the hominy was good, the broth was rich, and the twins ate it, which is the only metric that matters when you're feeding three-year-olds. Marco ate his with a spoon. Elena ate hers with her hands. Both methods were effective.

Five weeks until chile roasting season. I'm counting. Feed your people. The game is won at the table.

The Sunday soup was good — honest, nourishing, exactly what a pre-two-a-days weekend called for — but when I told Lisa I was writing it up, she reminded me that what I actually make when I’m in full August mode and need dinner on the table fast is this skillet chicken with Mexican green rice: one pan, thirty-five minutes of cook time, and a salsa verde base that does all the heavy lifting so I don’t have to. It’s got the same cumin-and-oregano backbone as the soup, the same spirit, and it’s the kind of meal that feeds Diego, shuts down the twins, and leaves enough in the pan that I can eat standing over the stove at ten o’clock when I finally stop drawing up formations.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 5

Ingredients

2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 5 pieces)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1 cup salsa verde (store-bought or homemade)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles, drained
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

Instructions

Season the chicken. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and black pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken, including under the skin where possible.
Sear the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large, deep oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs skin-side down and sear without moving for 5–6 minutes, until the skin is deep golden brown. Flip and sear the other side for 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; it will not be cooked through yet.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. In the remaining fat in the skillet, add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Toast the rice. Add the rice to the skillet and stir to coat in the fat. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice just begins to smell nutty and looks slightly translucent at the edges.
Add liquids and chiles. Pour in the salsa verde, chicken broth, and diced green chiles. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a gentle boil.
Nestle and simmer. Return the seared chicken thighs to the skillet, skin-side up, pressing them gently into the rice mixture. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
Finish and rest. After 20 minutes, check that the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F). If using peas, scatter them over the top, replace the lid, and let the skillet rest off the heat for 5 minutes.
Serve. Fluff the rice gently around the chicken, scatter cilantro over the top, and serve directly from the skillet with lime wedges on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Skillet Chicken with Mexican Green Rice — When the Soup Needs Backup