BBQ and Grilling

My Favorite 16 Recipes of 2017

January 9, 2018 by Mirlandra 2 Comments

Last week I gave you a list of the 10 most popular posts from 2017. This week I’m giving you a list of my favorite 16 posts from 2017. There is absolutely no overlap! Every recipe I share is one I love but these are my special favorites. Happy cooking!

Broccoli is a beloved snack, appetizer, and side dish at our house because we serve it up right with an easy Korean BBQ Sauce for dipping. Traditional flavors of ginger, garlic, green onions and soy sauce make for some darn good sauce! Kids and adults love the sweet and salty flavor and the broccoli disappears fast. These flavorful meatballs in a sweet teriyaki pineapple sauce always go quickly! We serve them as appetizers or with rice and veggies for a simple dinner.

Tender blueberry scones with a crunchy top and creamy vanilla glaze. You won’t be able to resist this warm, buttery treat full of berries. They are a perfect mid-winter pick-me-up or a glorious summer treat.

This chocolate cake is everything you want a classic chocolate cake to be: chocolaty, moist and decadent. Whipped vanilla buttercream is the cherry on top!

This Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole is a family favorite full of flavorful rice and creamy sauce with celery, mushrooms and chicken. It only takes 10 minutes to get it into the oven which makes it perfect for busy nights! If you have leftovers they heat up well.

This lemon drop martini is my version of heaven. Simple to prepare, and lemony perfection to drink. Try my lemon sugar recipe on the rim – it is excellent! You can make these a few at a time or mix up as a big batch cocktail for a party. Perfect for bridal showers, Easter brunch, or summer BBQs.

Easy no chill sugar cookie dough, fluffy cream cheese sauce, and piles of fresh fruit toppings make this Fruit Pizza a smash hit for any occasion.

5 minutes. 5 ingredients. 1 perfect salsa! This recipe is fast and easy but makes some of the best salsa I have ever had! We eat it on everything from breakfast burritos to chips. It is a healthy way to add some veggies to our life and great flavor to our food. It is great mild or spicy.

Refreshing and delicious, this Frozen Watermelon Margarita is my favorite summer drink. It is the perfect blend of tequila, sweet watermelon and tangy lime.

These Refried Beans get their amazing flavor from a smoked ham hock, several aromatic veggies and a bit of bacon drippings. I lick the spoon every time!

Grilled chicken the way it should be! Tender, sweet and savory – grilled up with juicy brown sugar pineapple for an easy dinner in 20 minutes.

Creamed corn is the perfect side dish for dinner or the holidays. This rich and creamy slow cooker version only takes five minutes to throw together.

7 Up cake is a true Southern classic – sweet, moist and flavorful! Nobody can resist this lovely citrus pound cake with 7Up glaze.

These Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies are my perfect cookie! They have just the right soft chew, tons of chocolate chips and excellent flavor! This is the recipe for all of us die hard chocolate chip cookie lovers! These are the best soft chocolate chip cookies I have ever made by far!

Fall in love with these delicious no chill cinnamon roll sugar cookies! The cookies are soft and sweet and packed full of the delicious cinnamon roll filling we all love. These are the most addictive cookies I have made to date and actually easier than they look (you don’t even have to chill the cookie dough.)

Sticky honey garlic shrimp is a fast and healthy dinner full of flavor with just the right amount of stickiness. This Asian take on shrimp is always a hit! Serve it over rice or individually as a party food if you like. Either way, be prepared for it to disappear quickly!

Free Simple Weeknight Meal Plan

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken & Pineapple

August 14, 2017 by Mirlandra Leave a Comment

Grilled chicken the way it should be! Tender, sweet and savory – grilled up with juicy brown sugar pineapple for an easy dinner in 20 minutes.

Full Disclosure: Albertsons compensated me for developing this recipe with their products. That being said I have been an Albertsons shopper since I was a little girl and shop there on a regular basis. My promise to you is that I will only promote products and companies I love and use in my home.

We like our chicken tender and we like it weeknight easy! Grilled chicken can be one of the best dinners you ever make but all too often recipes turn out dry and flavorless. This, my friends, is NOT one of those recipes!

Pineapple juice and a few simple spices transform the humble chicken breast to a flavorful and classy dinner. This is one of those recipes that has a lot of flexibility to it. You can add a bit more sweet chili sauce to make it spicy or add some green onion for pizazz. By all means make this your own!

As family we make it a priority to use high quality ingredients and make most of our dinners healthy. But the family rule is that dinner still has to taste great! Every time I’ve used Open Nature® chicken I have been impressed with the quality. When you open the package it smells and feels great.

I also like that the meat is raised without antibiotics or added hormones. When I bring home Open Nature® Chicken Breast Tenders I feel confident that I’m feeding my family something wholesome. I appreciate that the price fits within my budget! It is nice that Albertsons® believes that good quality food should be available at a good price!

Jack turned 18 months this week. He has always spent a lot of time with me in the kitchen but as he gets older, I have been involving him in the cooking process as much as possible. I talk to him about what we buy and why. It may sound a bit crazy but over and over I have seen Jack learn by watching what the adults around him do. He is a little sponge and now more than ever I want to live out good food choices and skills that will stay with him the rest of his life.

As he watches me cook I want him to see that quality ingredients are an important part of a good meal. Being able to cook simple but delicious food is an important life skill. Considering how much he enjoyed Hawaiian Grilled Chicken, I’m sure that this recipe will be one he will use time and time again.

Open Nature products are only available at the Albertsons family of stores. I shop at Albertsons here in Boise and at Safeway when I’m in Oregon visiting my family. In your area the stores may be under one of these names: ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Express, United and Carrs/Safeway. You can visit Albertsons.com to find a store near you and to get more great recipes like this.

Have a great week guys. Thanks for stopping by to cook with me!

Tools In This Post: Food should always be cooked enough to be safe but never overcooked. Nobody likes dried out chicken! Using a good quality thermometer will help you get all your food just right with no extra work.

Love easy dinners? Check out this simple baked salmon. Our family and guests love it!

Grilled chicken the way it should be! Tender, sweet and savory - grilled up with juicy brown sugar pineapple for an easy dinner in 20 minutes.

5 from 1 vote

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken & Pineapple

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 6

Author Mirlandra Neuneker

Ingredients

For The Chicken

2 pounds Open Nature® 99% Fat Free Chicken Breast Tenders
¼ cup canned pineapple juice
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 - 2 tsp. sweet red chili sauce optional
Fresh cilantro to taste

For The Pineapple

1 large pineapple 12 wedges
¼ cup packed brown sugar

Instructions

In a one gallon ziplock bag place all the ingredients for the chicken except the cilantro. Seal the bag and shake the contents around until all the ingredients are mixed and the chicken is coated.
Leave the bag on the counter to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 2 hours flipping occasionally.
Remove the top and bottom of the pineapple and cut the rind off the sides. Cut the pineapple into quarters from top to bottom and then cut out the core of each piece. Slice the quarters into about 4 spears each.
Place the spears of pineapple into a 2nd gallon ziploc bag with the ¼ cup brown sugar. Toss gently to coat and leave out with the chicken.
When the marinating is finished, pre-heat your grill to a medium heat of about 350 F.
Add the pineapple to the grill first and let it cook 3-4 minutes before adding the chicken. (Reserve the sugar sauce for basting or serving if desired.)
Add the chicken along side of the pineapple. Grill 4-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked on the bottom. Flip the chicken and the pineapple and grill another 2-4 minutes until the chicken is firm to the touch and has reached an internal temperature of 160 F.
The pineapple is done when it is hot through and has good grill marks. Remove the chicken and pineapple to a platter and use a cooking brush to baste the sauce from the pineapple bag over both if desired.
Tear up some fresh cilantro leaves and scatter over the chicken and pineapple. Serve with steamed rice. Teriyaki sauce and sweet chili sauce are good condiments for this meal.

Recipe Notes

Only Use Canned Pineapple Juice: Pineapple has an enzyme in it called bromelain. It is amazing for breaking down meat protein and making it tender. However, it can also go too far and destroy the texture of your chicken. Canned pineapple juice has been heated which deactivates the enzyme. It will give you a great marinade without breaking down the chicken too much.

Time is Key: When it comes to pineapple juice some time to marinate is good but too much is bad. I found that more than two hours in the marinade was too much. This is not a marinade to leave overnight.

Store Leftovers Separately: I also suggest storing any leftover pineapple and chicken in two separate containers. The grilled pineapple will probably not be heated enough to deactivate the enzyme.