Pineapple Chicken

My husband always loves to come home from the grocery store with the biggest pineapple he can find. We both love pineapple, but with the size he brings home, I have to think of many things to do with it. Often we eat it plain, grill it, put it in salads, but tonight I decided to make Pineapple Chicken with some of the bulk chicken we had in the freezer. I defrosted 4 pieces of chicken breast, split them in half, and pounded them out giving me 8 pieces of thin and tender chicken. I then patted the chicken dry (sears much better this way), added some salt and garlic powder (as always), sprinkled them with just a little bit of flour, and seared them in the pan with a little bit of yogurt blend butter. The only reason I used the flour in the dish is because it helps the sauce in the end to stick better. I sear them until golden brown and look like this:

I sear them in 2 batches so I do not over crowd the pan. Since they were pounded out and thin, the cook time is incredibly fast. After they are all cooked I put them on a plate altogether while I am preparing the sauce:

The sauce literally is things thrown together. I use the same exact pan (makes for easy clean up), and throw in some pineapple chunks. We obviously use fresh pineapple because we have so much of it, but you can also use canned if your husband isn’t the type to come home with a big pineapple. I also chop up some onion to throw in the pan and I let both of those caramelize for a few minutes. After they soften, I add a generous amount of soy sauce (low sodium), some garlic, ground ginger paste (found in international aisle, but you could also use ginger powder … or not use ginger at all), a very small amount of sesame oil (I love the flavor of sesame, but I can’t have sesame seeds), and I just let the sauce sit there and thicken up a bit (leftover flour left in the pan also helps thicken). The sauce is on the thin side, so I add some Dijon mustard, mix it in, and the sauce forms perfectly. The sweetness of the pineapple, salty-ness of the soy, tang from the mustard, and fresh flavors of garlic and ginger makes the sauce go great on top of chicken (also would work with pork, shrimp, or vegetables):

After the sauce is complete, I pour the sauce over the chicken and serve it “family style”. This makes for easier clean up and makes the dish look appetizing. Although tonight I did not make any side dishes, this would go really well with some whole wheat rice and a vegetable on the side. The finished plate looks something like this:

On a Friday night, it is nice to make a dish all in one pan and serve it all on one plate! This means less time for clean up in the Newlywed Kitchen and more time with the one you love.