pineapple – Page 2 – The Pajama Chef

Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches {Repost}

January 28, 2013February 12, 2013 Sarah

So, I used to post once a month on a blog called Today’s Housewife. Last fall, the group decided together to stop posting due the busyness of life and families and such. Though sad, I enjoyed being part of the group. As of early January, the blog was officially taken down. But I don’t want to lose my recipes, so periodically I will be reposting them on here. Enjoy!

from July 14, 2011…but BBQ is good in January too, for a taste of summer, of course 🙂

About a month ago, my parents, sister, sister’s boyfriend, [edited to add…they got married on December 28, 2012… YAY!] and grandfather came for a visit. Yup, that’s right–seven people in a two bedroom, 1000 square foot apartment. Pure craziness, at least in terms of space. As I do with any visitors, I wanted to be sure to prepare a fantastic dinner that everyone would love, but with several caveats: we couldn’t grill out (apparently outdoor grills in “multi-family dwellings” are now illegal in the state of Indiana) and I didn’t want to spend all night in the kitchen.

So what’s a girl to do?

Use the crock pot, of course!

When Ben and I got married two years ago, I was a total crock pot skeptic. I thought crock pots were for lazy cooks and that nothing good ever came out of them. I vowed I would never use the crock pot we received as a wedding gift (in fact, we only registered for it at Ben’s insistence). I totally ate my words on that one! Aside from my KitchenAid mixer (fortunately inherited from my grandmother), my crock pot is probably my most-used kitchen appliance. I love it for making soups, applesauce, and large hunks ‘o meat.

As I was brainstorming what to make, I kept coming back to this recipe I had seen on Tasty Kitchen for Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches. The combination of sweet pineapple with vinegary, tomato-y BBQ sauce intrigued me to say the least. So I threw the ingredients together in my crock pot, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best

And “the best” delivered. Many a sandwich were devoured by all that night, and the sweet yet savory BBQ just couldn’t be beat. This is definitely a recipe to make again and again. It’s so easy, so delicious, so tasty, so why wouldn’t you? Enjoy!

Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches [from MyRetroKitchen via Tasty Kitchen]
click to print

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless chicken, thawed
1 large onion, cut into chunks
1 – 20 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
1 – 18-20 ounce bottle BBQ sauce [I used KC Masterpiece]
hamburger buns

Directions:

Place chicken in bottom of crock pot. Cover with onions. Drain pineapple, reserving juice (see note) and add over top. Pour in BBQ sauce. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. About an hour or two before it is finished, shred chicken with two forks, stir to incorporate the sauce, and let cook for the rest of the allotted time.

Serve on hamburger buns. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, try these: they are quite easy and really tasty! Enjoy!

Note:

For an extra sweet sauce, the recipe recommends a BBQ sauce like Sweet Baby Ray’s (which is so great) and the addition of up to 1/2 cup of the reserved pineapple juice. I didn’t add any juice to mine and it was plenty sweet for us, but others might feel differently. I just chose to drink the juice! 🙂

Shared with the Made with Love Linky Party and Weekend Potluck.

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes, Rice, Sides

Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Pineapple Black Bean Rice

July 19, 2012July 18, 2012 Sarah

Let me start off with a huge disclaimer: this jerk chicken is not authentic. Just wanted to get that out in the open. I mean, it’s cooked in a crock pot and not smoked in a pit… so that’s a pretty big difference. And furthermore, traditional jerk seasoning has a lot of heat to compliment the sweet, smoky flavor of the myraid of spices [primarily allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg] that make up the jerk seasoning blend. Or at least, that’s what my cookbook said. 🙂 My jerk seasoning blend has more sweetness than heat, but that departure from the norm isn’t bad… it just means you can enjoy what’s there instead of burning your mouth to bits.

Now that we have established that my version has been adapted, shall we say… let’s get on with it. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, let’s focus on what we do: this Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Rice is amazing. It’s sweet and smoky with a little bit of jalapeno-induced kick. Plus, this crock pot cooking method does not require traditional overnight marinating that most jerk chicken recipes do… meaning you can whip this up on a whim, no planning required! Though if you are thinking ahead, I bet marinating the meat would take an already fantastic dish absolutely over-the-top!

If I do say so myself though, the marinating to take things over-the-top-bit might not even be necessary. I got you covered on that over-the-topness. Instead of serving this pulled meat [almost type “slow cooked” meat… you remember how I feel about that!] on boring rice or a sandwich bun, I decided to fancify my regular white rice with some Caribbean-inspired ingredients like more allspice, crushed pineapple, black beans, and cilantro. The rice was undoubtedly my favorite part of this dinner [and the chicken Ben’s, but he’s a meatloving man so that’s not surprising].

I mean, how fantastic does this look? Sweet, smoky, fresh, substantial rice paired with sweet-hot pulled chicken. What else would you want? If you figure it out, please do let me know because I don’t have a clue. 🙂 Enjoy!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Pineapple Black Bean Rice [chicken adapted from Slow Cooker Classics from Around the World by Victoria Shearer, rice is a TPC original!]
click to print

Ingredients:

for chicken

1 cup chopped sweet onion
4 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
sprinkle salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 jalapenos, sliced [deseed if you wish–I did]
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
4 pounds cut up chicken pieces, bones and skins removed

for rice

1 1/2 cups white rice
3 cups liquid [drained pineapple juice + water or chicken broth]
1 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained [1 15 ounce can]
1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple [fruit + juice]
~3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

Place all ingredients for chicken in large crockpot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily.

About thirty minutes before eating, prepare rice. Drain pineapple, catching liquid in a large measuring cup or bowl. Add extra water or chicken broth to make 3 cups liquid, then add liquid and rice to a large pot set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until rice has absorbed liquid. Stir in black beans, reserved pineapple, allspice, and cayenne pepper. Just before serving stir in cilantro.

Serve shredded chicken over rice, or on sandwich buns.

Time: 5 hours.

Yield: alot of food!

Notes: This recipe can be halved and cooked for 3 1/2-4 hours in the crock pot. I did make the full amount of rice so if you’re cooking for a crowd, the rice may need to be doubled or tripled.

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes

Pineapple-Apricot Teriyaki Chicken

April 2, 2012December 14, 2012 Sarah

I used to turn my nose up at dark meat. Chicken, turkey, whatever. I’ll stick with white meat. At Thanksgiving, I’m all about the side dishes anyway. But then I got married. To a meat lover. I quickly realized that the large package of chicken that would have lasted single me all month now lasts a much shorter time. Then I also realized how expensive buying boneless skinless chicken breasts exclusively is. So I decided to be brave, be bold… and embrace the dark meat! Guess what–it isn’t that bad. It’s less expensive and *gasp* actually pretty good. Especially when you pair it with fruity, tangy sauces and marinades, like this Pineapple-Apricot Teriyaki sauce that I adapted from Beth at Budget Bytes.

This pineapple-apricot teriyaki sauce is definitely sweeter and fruitier than your average teryaki sauce… not authentic by any means. But we loved it paired with the hearty, complex flavor of dark meat chicken thighs. [I do try to buy boneless skinless because it’s just easier.] A perfect early-spring dinner, if I do say so myself.

And word to the wise… if you enjoy eating sauces by the spoonful… make a double batch of this sauce. Trust me. No chicken necessary. 🙂

Pineapple-Apricot Teriyaki Chicken [from Budget Bytes]
click to print

Ingredients:

1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup crushed pineapple, undrained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place chicken thighs on baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk together apricot preserves, pineapple, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, and cornstarch. Reserve about 1/3 cup sauce in a separate bowl. Brush half of the rest of the sauce over the chicken thighs.

Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush on the second half of the sauce [not the 1/3 cup reserved]. Place back in the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve over spinach and rice or Israeli couscous, being sure to spoon the reserved sauce over each piece.

Time: 35 minutes [5 minutes active].

Yield: 4 servings.

shared at Life as Mom

Fruit, Recipes, Sides

Cranberry-Pineapple Sauce

December 19, 2011November 22, 2013 Sarah

So, for a long time, I thought there was only one kind of acceptable cranberry sauce. And let me give you a hint: the stuff in the can is most definitely not it. See, I like it sweet and tart… like a cranberry, ya know, not all gelatinous, uber sweet, and shaped-like-a-can. However, over the past few years, I’ve tried some other varieties besides the traditional cranberry relish… and guess what? Some of them are pretty fabulous. I still like the original, but trying new things is fun.

My latest try combines sweet pineapple and tart cranberries and is nothing short of fabulous. It was on our Thanksgiving table, and I wanted to share it before Christmas so it can be on your table in a mere six days!! It was delicious atop turkey and with the traditional holiday spread, but it was the leftovers that really made this Cranberry-Pineapple Sauce stand out. I enjoyed it stirred into vanilla yogurt and as a dipping sauce for apples, and I hope you’ll try it too!

Cranberry-Pineapple Sauce [from Skinnytaste]
printable version

Ingredients:

12 ounces fresh cranberries
20 ounce can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice
1/3 cup sugar

Directions:

Drain liquid from pineapple into a measuring cup. Add water so that there is a a total of 1 cup of liquid. Pour liquid into a saucepan, stir in sugar, and bring to a boil.

Next, rinse cranberries and place in a food processor and pulse several times until roughly chopped. Stir into sugar mixture, then cook over medium heat until thick, approximately 10 minutes. Then fold in pineapples and cook for another minute. Cool then store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Time: 20 minutes.

Yield: 4 cups.