Start by prepping your chicken.

Wash chicken thighs in cold water, trim fat and take out the membrane. Lay out on a paper towel and pat dry. Season with salt, pepper and paprika to taste and mix together making sure all the pieces are seasoned equally. Cover with a plastic wrap and set aside.

Note: seasoning the chicken first will give it a little extra time to marinate and absorb the seasonings giving your chicken more flavor as you prepare the filling.

For the filling: Cook 1 cup of rice with a pinch of salt. Rinse with cold water and drain. Place in a deep mixing bowl.

Finely dice the onion and fry in a pan with 1tbsp of butter until the onion is translucent then add to the rice.

Roughly chop spinach and add to the same bowl together with mozzarella cheese, pressed garlic, softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and paprika to taste.

Mix everything very well to combine. Taste to see if you need more salt.

Prepare the chicken thighs by using a meat tenderizer and tenderize on both sides until it lays flat and even thickness throughout the piece. Cut the piece in half if desired and place a heaping spoon of the rice filling onto each piece and roll up. Secure with toothpicks if needed. repeat with the remaining chicken thighs.

Preheat a skillet on medium-high heat add 1tbsp of oil and 1tbsp of butter to the pan and brown the chicken rolls on all sides. Do this in batches to avoid steaming the meat. (if you have enough grease in the pan after your first batch, do not add more)

Transfer all the browned rolls to a baking dish, cover with a lid or foil and bake for 15- 20 minutes at 425F. (time depends on the thickness of the rolls. adjust time as needed)

Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!

P.S. These reheat wonderfully the next day.