Terrific Teriyaki Burgers

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
SAUCE:
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened crushed pineapple
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

BURGERS:
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
3 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons unsweetened crushed pineapple
3/4 pound ground beef
3/4 pound lean ground turkey
6 slices unsweetened pineapple
6 hamburger buns, split and toasted
6 lettuce leaves
6 slices tomato

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, pineapple, ginger, garlic and sesame oil; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the egg white, bread crumbs, onions, crushed pineapple and 3 tablespoons reserved ketchup mixture. Crumble beef and turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into six burgers.

Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 165° and juices run clear, brushing occasionally with remaining ketchup mixture.

Grill or broil pineapple slices for 2-3 minutes on each side or until heated through. Serve burgers and pineapple on buns with lettuce and tomato.

Comments:
I didn't read the recipe too well prior to making these so I didn't have any turkey thawed. So these are all beef. I also thawed a whole pound instead of the half-pound I thought I had pulled out so they were ginormous. And they fell apart. But they tasted good! That's what counts, right?

Pineapple Jerk Chicken and Rice

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
2 cups brown rice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeño chile—stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1/2 pineapple, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup jerk marinade, such as Lawry's
One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rice, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until tender, about 30 minutes; drain.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook until the onion is browned, 7 minutes; transfer to a bowl.

3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the same skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the pan and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the pineapple and jerk marinade and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the onion mixture, black beans and cilantro; cook until the beans are heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and serve over the rice.

Comments:
I really liked this. There was heat from the pepper, fresh coolness from the pineapple, fiber from the beans. I left out the cilantro (obviously) and used a dry jerk seasoning instead of a marinade, but it all turned out well and tasted good.

Grilled Teriyaki Shrimp

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook



Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Teriyaki sauce
1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups cooked white rice
4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

Directions:
1. Place the shrimp in a large ziploc bag and pour in 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce. Seal the bag, squeezing out the air; turn to coat the shrimp. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, at least 2 hours.

2. Spray the grill rack with nonstick spray. If using wooden skewers, soak 8 skewers in cold water. Preheat the grill.

3. Drain and discard the marinade. Alternately thread the shrimp, pineapple, and peppers on 8 wooden or metal skewers. Grill the kebabs 5 inches from the heat, turning frequently, until the shrimp are cooked through, 12-15 minutes. Serve over the rice, sprinkled with the remaining 2 tbsp teriyaki marinade and the scallions.

Serves 4. POINTS Value per serving: 8

Comments:
Fabian Seafood was in our area this morning so we picked up some super fresh shrimp for tonight's dinner. Only downside - these were not deveined, so Adam got down with the shrimp poo this afternoon. :) Better him than me.

Anywho, fairly easy prep, although the original recipe says to finely chop the pepper, which is obviously not a good idea if you're wanting to thread them on skewers. It also wants you to use their teriyaki sauce (a recipe in the same book) but I lazed out and just used bottled stuff.

I didn't eat the shrimp, but Adam proclaimed it great. I had the veggies and rice, which were also very good.

Grilled Pork Meatballs with Pineapple-Chiptole Chutney

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds bulk pork Italian sausage
2 scallions, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 slices canned pineapple in juice, finely chopped, plus 1/2 cup juice
One-quarter of a chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the sausage and half of the scallions; season with salt and pepper. Shape into 16 meatballs.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using a fork, stir in the sesame seeds.

3. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning, until cooked through and browned, about 15 minutes.

4. In a small saucepan, combine the pineapple, pineapple juice, chipotle and cumin; cook over medium heat until reduced by half, 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meatballs; stir in the cilantro and remaining scallions. Serve on top of the rice.

Comments:
I didn't want to buy a whole can of chipotle in adobo for one quarter of one pepper. So I got a serrano instead and chopped that up. Added some nice heat. Which I managed to get in my eye even though I wore gloves while chopping. Argh. Stupid pepper.

Anyway.

This was good. I'm not sure why it's called "grilled" meatballs when you don't grill them, but whatever. Adam liked the meatballs best, but didn't mind the other components. Of course, I preferred the rice and pineapple.

Spicy Jerk Chicken Kebabs with Bell Peppers and Pineapple

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
8 garlic cloves
3 large shallots, peeled and cut in half
1 (3-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, halved and seeded
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups (1-inch) cubed pineapple (about 1 medium)
1 1/2 cups (1-inch) pieces red bell pepper (about 1 large)
1 1/2 cups (1-inch) pieces green bell pepper (about 1 large)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray

Directions:
Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add first 3 ingredients to pan; cook for 1 minute or until lightly toasted and fragrant.

Place spices, brown sugar, and next 9 ingredients (through jalapeño) in a blender; process until smooth. Combine spice mixture and chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Thread chicken, pineapple, and bell peppers alternately onto each of 8 (12-inch) skewers. Brush reserved marinade onto pineapple and bell peppers. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 8 minutes or until chicken is done.

Comments:
These were very good. They're spicy, but not too spicy. There's definitely some kick from the jalapeno and pepper, but I could handle it. It helps that the pineapple and peppers have such a light, sweet taste to offset the heat. I'd make this again. We're going to look for some more metal skewers though because the wood ones broke in half when I took the stuff off of them. Yikes!

Teriyaki Pineapple & Pork Chops

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
4 bone-in pork loin chops (8 ounces each)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 fresh pineapple
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

Directions:
Place pineapple juice in a large resealable plastic bag; add pork chops. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Drain and discard marinade. Combine the rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper; sprinkle over chops.

Peel and core pineapple; cut into eight spears. Grill chops and pineapple, covered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160° and pineapple is tender, basting occasionally with teriyaki sauce.

Comments:
This is so simple - especially since Adam manned the grill. Ha ha! We skipped the spinach part of the original recipe and boiled up some edamame. Adam has recently become obsessed with it. So much so that we drove to Milwaukee today to Trader Joe's JUST FOR EDAMAME. So sad. Seriously people, if you know where we can get edamame in the shell closer to here (that'd be Neenah), let me know. At least the weather wasn't horrible.

Anyway. The flavor of the pineapple and teriyaki together is mighty good. I'm not a fan of pork, but I ate my whole chop.

Aloha Chicken

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 can (15-1/4 ounces) peach halves, drained
1 cup pineapple tidbits, drained
Hot cooked rice, optional

Directions:
In a large skillet, brown chicken on both sides in 2 tablespoons butter. Transfer to a shallow microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes or until juices run clear.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and pineapple juice until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon peel, soy sauce and thyme. In the same skillet, saute onion in remaining butter until tender. Stir juice mixture and add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Arrange peaches and pineapple over chicken; baste with sauce. Cover and microwave for 1 minute or until sauce is bubbly. Serve over rice with remaining sauce if desired.

Comments:
I think the directions for this recipe are stupid. Just because a recipe is "quick" doesn't mean it has to nuke things in the microwave. I hate, HATE, cooking chicken in the microwave. It's so gross.

So I pretty much ignored the directions. Here's what I did:

Cooked the chicken in olive oil. Cooked about 3 minutes per side - I had butterflied the breasts open so they were pretty thin. Took the chicken out, put the onions in the skillet. Cooked for a minute or so and then added in the cornstarch/juice mixture. Cooked another minute or so then added the pineapple and peaches. Brought to a boil, then added the chicken back in to reheat a bit while the rice finished cooking. Voila. Not hard, pretty quick, and no microwaving of chicken. Yay!

Anywho, nice flavor and combination. Adam liked it too so we'll probably see this one show up on the menu again.

Pork Skewers with Pineapple-Scallion Rice

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
One 20-ounce can of pineapple chunks in their juice, drained and juice reserved
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil Salt and pepper
1 1/4 pounds pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes 4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice

Directions:
In a resealable plastic bag, combine the pineapple juice, garlic, soy sauce, ginger and oil; season with salt and pepper. Add the pork and scallions and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium-high. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 3/4 cups salted water to a boil. Add the rice, cover and cook over low heat for 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, thread the marinated pork and two-thirds of the pineapple chunks onto four 10-inch skewers and the marinated scallions onto one 10-inch skewer. Grill the kebabs, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

Coarsely chop the remaining pineapple chunks and stir into the cooked rice. Remove the grilled scallions from the skewer and stir into the rice. Serve the pork kebabs with the pineapple-scallion rice.

Comments:
I didn't read the recipe all the way through so I actually bought canned pineapple. I've never had any luck getting those wimpy, small pieces of fruit to stay on a skewer, so if I had actually read the recipe I would have bought a cored pineapple and cut it up myself. Oh well. So we skipped the grilled pineapple part. I also only had four skewers so I just cooked the scallions on the stovetop. It all worked out. The rice was a little bland, but the pork was tasty.

Hawaiian Slow Cooker Chicken

From Recipezaar.com



Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple slices, reserve juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. Place chicken breasts in oblong slow cooker sprayed with vegetable cooking spray and sprinkle with a dash of salt if desired.

2. Place pineapple slices over chicken.

3. In a medium bowl, combine pineapple juice, brown sugar,lemon juice, ginger, cornstarch, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, and black pepper, until cornstarch mixes with liquids.

4. Pour over chicken breasts.

5. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours, or on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Comments:
I stopped home at lunchtime to throw this in the crockpot for dinner. It turned out quite well despite the fact that I didn't measure anything. :) The chicken was tender and just fell apart. Adam didn't like the pineapple, but I didn't mind it. I cooked up some rice to go with it and it was a good dinner.

Teriyaki Burgers

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
1/2 pound lean ground beef
2 hamburger buns, split
4 slices deli ham (3/4 ounce each)
2 pineapple slices
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium teriyaki sauce

Directions:
Shape beef into two patties. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Serve on buns with ham, pineapple and teriyaki sauce. Yield: 2 servings.

Comments:
I was a little hesitant with the teriyaki sauce, never having cooked with it before. I probably could have gone a little heavier with it. You could hardly taste it at all. Other than my constant problem of making the burgers way too small for the buns, this was a successful dinner.

Grilled Chicken with Mango-Pineapple Salsa

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
Salsa:
2/3 cup diced peeled ripe mango (1 medium)
2/3 cup diced fresh pineapple
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:
4 (6-ounce)skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup pineapple juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Dash of crushed red pepper
Cooking spray

Directions:
1. To prepare salsa, combine first 8 ingredients. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. To prepare chicken, place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Combine pineapple juice and next 5 ingredients (through red pepper) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.

3. Prepare grill.

4. Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until done.

5. Place reserved marinade in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Drizzle over chicken. Serve salsa with chicken.

Comments:
I altered this recipe a bit to our tastes, so the "salsa" ended up not being so much a salsa as some fruit on top of the chicken. I also didn't grill the chicken - I baked it. It all turned out pretty well. I'm sure it's a different dish completely if you prepare it the way the recipe tells you to. But this was good for my tastes.

Pineapple Chicken and Potatoes

From Slow Cooker Magic in Minutes



Ingredients:
flour
salt
nutmeg
cinnamon
onion powder
pepper
chicken breasts
potatoes
cream of chicken soup
pineapple juice
brown sugar

Comments:
I left out a couple things (mushrooms, orange peel) and swapped the sweet potatoes for regular potatoes. It turned out alright although I think maybe 8 hours would have been plenty. Adam didn't dig the potatoes and even the chicken wasn't really his thing. It was ok for me but I don't know that it's a keeper either. And I'm not really sure why it's called "Pineapple chicken" when it's just the juice and you can't even taste it anyway. Oh well...

Pineapple Chicken Kabobs

From Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2008



Ingredients:
Canned pineapple
Worcestershire sauce
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
bacon
onion
green pepper
cherry tomatoes

Comments:
Did a little straying from this recipe (like omitted three ingredients and added one, nixed the marination and bacon-wrapping steps.) I kind of used it for inspiration and then altered it to be quicker and use ingredients we like. I prepped it, Adam cooked it, and we both enjoyed it. :)

Peanut-Crusted Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

From Cooking Light March 2008



Ingredients:
pineapple
cilantro (left out)
red onion (left out)
dry-roasted peanuts (used almonds)
bread
salt & pepper
chicken cutlets (or in my case boneless, skinless breasts pounded thin)
canola oil

Comments:
Yeah, yeah, what's with all the alterations? I forgot I had thrown out the big container of peanuts when I cleaned the pantry out a little bit ago so I had to improvise. I also hate cilantro and didn't have an onion. So I guess this is really "Almond-Crusted Chicken with Pineapple." It works. This recipe takes very little brain power and tastes delicious. I threw some green beans in the microwave and the first thing Adam said was "I hate green beans." Sigh. (He ate them anyway...) Anywho, another simple variation on the crusted chicken theme.