Island Bird: Pineapple-Rum Chicken

Hi there!

One think you will learn about me is I LOVE PINEAPPLE! Remind me to share a great pineapple casserole with you later! Once again, I am going into the recipe file on my Mac and sharing with you all a recipe that was new to us about a month ago! Fun, huh?

Island Bird: Pineapple-Rum Chicken

• 1 ½ cups jasmine rice
• 1 whole pineapple, cored and peeled (or a can of pineapple tidbits)
  
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced (again, I prefer red onion)
  
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Coarse Salt
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup spiced rum (I just used light rum)
  
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 4 6-oz boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• Coarse black pepper
• ¼ fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Let's make it!!!

Cook the rice according to package directions. We have a rice cooker, which when we finally got one, I wondered what took me so long to get one!

Cut the pineapple into bite size chunks. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the pineapple chunks and the juice from the container, no more than ½ cup, and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat and add the rum. Return the pan to the heat, keeping a little distance in case the pot flames up. Let the alcohol cook away, about a minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, then cook until it is reduced by half and has thickened slightly. (I actually ended up spooning out some of the extra liquid as it didn't really reduce for me.)

While the sauce is simmering, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 6 minutes on each side.

Time to serve! I forgot the parsley and cilantro. Whoops! Still tasted good.

I also paired this meal with a Mediterranean Chopped Salad. Read down and you will see the recipe on how to make it.

Thanks for reading and get out there and try something new!