Sometimes our best intentions end up, well, scrambled. Such is the case with this recipe. I intended to make pineapple stuffed chicken meatballs after reading about olive stuffed meatballs. Being the overachiever that I am, I decided to grind up my own chicken breasts in the food processor so they’d be extra moist. However, as most moms do, I got to multi-tasking and was doing my grinding while on the phone with my best friend, while holding the baby on my hip. Note to self: DON’T over puree the chicken breast while chatting away on the phone (which is what I did). Doing so creates a gloppy mess that won’t bind into proper meatballs. So what did I do, you ask? I made lemonade out of lemons! I created a flavorful scramble, or stir-fry, out of my tropically seasoned meat, and served it over grilled pineapples (which I soaked in rum, because, well, why not?!). My trick to super flavorful ground meat is garlic and caramelized onions. The sweet onions are then ground up into the meat, flavoring it with minimal calories and some extra health benefits; they are anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and some believe, contain anticancer properties. In the end, my family ended up with chicken over rice, and I ate mine over pineapple and fresh spinach. It was a light, fruity and easy dish that turned out great, despite my accidental efforts to ruin it.
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 can pineapple in juice, drained, pineapple tidbits split into two halves
- 1 onion, chopped and caramelized
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 jalapeno minced (optional)
- 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
- salt and pepper
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 fresh pineapple, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds (soaked in rum, if you like)
- cooked rice or a bed of spinach to serve your chicken over
Directions:
Grill your pineapple on a hot grill, set aside. Toss your chicken breasts into a food processor and pulse until lightly ground. Toss in remaining ingredients (through salt and pepper), reserving half of the pineapple tidbits. Pulse 3 times to combine. Heat a non-stick pan with Pam over high-medium heat and add your chicken mixture. Allow it to cook through, stirring as you go. During the last minute of cooking, toss in the green onion and extra pineapple bits. Spoon by the 3/4 cup over rice or spinach, and serve with your grilled pineapple. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes if you like some spice.
Serves 4
