Pineapple Chicken Skewers

 

The temperature here on the East Coast has been averaging about 95 degrees for the past week.  So as you can imagine I am not too keen on the idea of turning on my oven.  Thank goodness for gas grills! I would much rather sweat my butt off in front of the grill and then escape back into the nice cool air conditioning than heat up my house with the hot oven.

So not only do I associate hot summer nights with grilling but also with fruit.  I have been adding fruit to everything lately.  The sweet pineapple in this dish makes it surprisingly light and really, who doesn't like to eat something on a stick?

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Original Recipe came out of Christine Ha, Recipes from My Home Kitchen and I made a few changes to it.

Ingredients:

·         1 T olive oil

·         3 cloves garlic (no need to chop, just give them a good whack and peel them)

·         ¼ tsp dried ginger

·         ½ C soy sauce

·         ¼ C apple cider vinegar

·         ½ C brown sugar

·         ¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

·         1 T cornstarch

·         1 T water

·         1 ½ lb boneless chicken tenders (or boneless chicken breasts) cubed

·         Kosher salt

·         1 can pineapple chunks, drained, 2 T liquid

·         1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

1.  Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes to prevent catching fire while grilling.

2. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium/low heat.  Add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes, stirring often, cook just until fragrant (about 2 min).  Add soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and reserved pineapple juice.

3. In a small container combine cornstarch and water.  Add to sauce mixture and cook just until bubbling and mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

4. Marinate chicken in cooled mixture for at least one hour in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.

5. Divide chicken and pineapple among the skewers, threading them, alternating the chicken and pineapple.  When all are complete, lightly salt each skewer.

6.  Heat grill to medium heat.  Place each skewer on heated grill and cook about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, flipping each skewer over once during cook time.
Serving suggestion:  Serve over rice pilaf with a side of green beans or snap peas.