I assume everyone in America has been to Carrabba’s at least once. And I also assume everyone has tried Chicken Bryan, because as far as I’m concerned it’s the only thing on the menu.

If you somehow have never had it, it’s grilled chicken topped with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and a lemon butter sauce. There are about a million copycat recipes circulating the Internet, and I even have the recipe from Carrabba’s.

The thing is, when you make Chicken Bryan yourself, it just doesn’t taste as good as at the restaurant. So, I stopped trying. This recipe is inspired by Chicken Bryan, without trying to be it.

I originally was going to stuff chicken breasts with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. But after browsing through the Epicurious app on my windows phone on T-mobile, I was inspired by an awesome recipe for stuffed chicken thighs. Crispy chicken skin AND goat cheese? I may have outdone Carrabba’s afterall. I used a ton of chicken thighs so I could have a lot leftover, but you can easily adjust — just use 1 oz of goat cheese, 1/2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes and one basil leaf per chicken thigh.

I could only make meals that contain goat cheese for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.

Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Thighs

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

·8 oz goat cheese

·¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

·6-8 basil leaves (one for each chicken thigh)

·6-8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs

·2 tbsp olive oil

·Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.

Gently lift skin from chicken thighs and spoon about 1 ounce of the goat cheese mixture under skin. Place a basil leave on top of the goat cheese, then pat the skin down to evenly distribute the goat cheese.

Repeat with remaining chicken.

Place chicken in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Coat well with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake chicken for 45-55 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

Note: Bone-in, dark meat takes longer to cook than lean cuts (like chicken breasts). Depending on the size of your chicken thighs, they can take anywhere from 35-60 minutes to cook. If in doubt, use a meat thermometer and let the internal temperature reach 170.