BBQ Chicken Skewers with Zucchini + Pineapple

Oh my god so good.  The best sauce ever.  Putting it on everything.

I made wayyyyy too much - enough stuff to pack onto 10 skewers.  So I'm halving this ingredients below - which will still make enough for leftovers.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Hot Water
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
2 tbsp. Honey Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 Chicken Breasts, chopped
2 Bell Peppers, chopped
2 small Zucchinis, chopped
20 oz can Pineapple Chunks
1/2 Red or Yellow Onion, chopped

1. Chop chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces.

2. In a small bowl, combine hot water, soy sauce, peanut butter, barbecue sauce and honey dijon mustard.  Add chicken to bowl and thoroughly cover in sauce.  Set aside to marinate.

3. Chop bell peppers, zucchini, and onion into 1-inch pieces.

4. Alternating ingredients, including the pineapple, create skewers.  Spoon remaining sauce on.  If broiling, place on broiling pan.

I found out that you can not only line the bottom of the broiling pan with tinfoil, but also the top if you cut slits into it for proper draining.  Saves so much scrubbing later.

5. Broil or grill, 6 minutes on each side.

Flip carefully! Tongs worked best, because I crammed way too much on each skewer.  Leave an inch on each side for easier handling.

I ate these with some good ol' corn on the cob, the extras of which will be used in a later recipe.  And I pulled the goodies off the skewer for easier eating.

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Original Recipe:

The Menu Mom

Coconut Ginger Pineapple Chicken + Vegetables

Found this recipe from SimpleBites and had to try.  I've been searching for a go-to curry recipe, and hadn't quite found the one yet.  My versions were never as flavorful as the real deal.  BUT this is the best one I've made yet, by far.  I'd say 9/10 - and with future improvements (see below), it could be a perfect score.

The original recipe is for a slow cooker, but I never think to start making dinner in time to use mine.  So I've adapted it to just cook in a large pot.

Ingredients:

4 Garlic Cloves, peeled
3-inch Ginger Root, peeled + roughly chopped
1 Yellow Onion, quartered
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Coriander
1 tsp Black Pepper
1-1/2 tbsp Turmeric
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Coconut Oil (or Olive)
2 tbsp Butter
2.5 lbs Chicken, chopped
2 cans Coconut Milk, not shaken
2 tbsp Cornstarch
1 can Baby Corn
1 can Pineapple
1 cup Snap Peas
1 cup Green Beans, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped

Coconut oil is my new favorite - I was just introduced to it last summer, and it makes everything taste so good.  Not like coconut, in the same way that olive oil doesn't make everything taste like olives, but in a rich, nutty, vanilla-ish way.

I also added in potatoes, to give it more substance - had to adjust cooking time for that too.  I'm not including it in the recipe because I wasn't a big fan.  And though I didn't include them, I want to add in canned pineapple, red bell pepper and green beans next time. Make it a full Yellow Curry.

1. Put onion, ginger, and garlic into a small food processor and pulse until a paste forms.

2. Heat coconut oil and butter in a large pot and add paste, cooking for 2-3 minutes.  Add in turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt and black pepper and stir, cooking for another 2-3 minutes and stirring constantly.

I use WAY more spices than recipes ever call for.  I've just found that the recipes are too bland otherwise.

3. Add chicken + red bell pepper, coating them with mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes.

4. Open cans of coconut milk and remove cream from top, placing in small bowl.  Pour coconut milk over chicken (will just cover)

5. Drain canned baby corn and add to pot.  Add green beans, snap peas and pineapple.

6. Whisk cornstarch with coconut cream and add to pot.  Stir well.

The cornstarch thickens the sauce perfectly.  Got to remember that trick when I make soups in the future...

7. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer until chicken and potatoes are done, approximately 20 minutes. Add black pepper and salt to taste.

Made this with brown rice, cooked with a little coconut oil added in as well.  Had to wait a while for it to cool down, and added quite a bit of salt and pepper to my bowl.  But I think I've found it! The curry I've been searching for! Huzzah.

Time: 45 minutes total

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Original Recipe:

SimpleBites