Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice

 

Summer vacation is finally here, and what better way to kick of the steamy summer months with an amazing grilled chicken dish! This recipe has got to be my new favorite recipe! It's INCREDIBLE tasting and super easy to make.
The chicken is marinated in pineapple juice, lots of garlic and lemon zest/juice and then it's grilled. Which in itself is pretty delicious, but then you top the whole kit and caboodle with big rustic chunks of pineapple and red bell peppers that have been sauteed in...wait for it...brown butter, honey and Dijon mustard! To. Die. For. It is really that delicious!

I love the look of this chicken dish with its rustic chunks of pineapple and red pepper served family style on a big platter! But I imagine this would be equally amazing as kabobs, brushing on the browned butter mixture after grilling, just like BBQ sauce...yummy.  Sounds perfect to me, I'll give the kabobs a try this summer!  Hope you will too, enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice (adapted recipe from Diethood)
Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 20-oz can of pineapple chunks, juice reserved
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
Zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 t paprika
1/8 t cayenne pepper

Topping
3 T Brown butter (from ~4T unsalted butter)
2 T Honey
1 T Dijon mustard
Reserved pineapple chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1-inch pieces

Coconut Rice
1 3/4 cup Jasmine Rice
1-14 oz. can low sodium chicken broth (~1 3/4 c)
1-14 oz. can lite coconut milk (~1 3/4 c)
1-2 T Canola Oil

Marinade: 
Combine pineapple juice, minced garlic, salt & pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice, paprika and cayenne pepper into a Ziplock freezer bag and add chicken breasts. Zip bag closed and allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. 

To make Coconut Rice:
Over medium heat, add canola oil into large saucepan and then add Jasmine Rice. Toast rice, stirring often for about 4 minutes taking care not to burn the rice. Then a add coconut milk and chicken broth and stir well. Cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and then let sit for 15 minutes.

Grill the chicken, wrap with foil to keep warm. 

To make browned butter: (or substitute with regular melted butter)
In a small skillet, heat 1/4 cup butter and allow the milk solids to brown to a dark golden color. Pour off the liquid portion of the browned butter into a clean large skillet, leaving behind the browned solids in the smaller skillet to discard.

Stir the Dijon mustard and honey into the melted browned butter and then add the pineapple chunks and red bell peppers. 
Over medium high heat, saute until bubbly and fragrant about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Pour the sauteed pineapple over your grilled chicken and serve with Coconut Rice. 
Garnish with sliced green onions.

Other Chicken recipes:
Chicken Florentine                            Easy Ranch Chicken                      Honey Butter Chicken