Picture this: It’s a summer evening and you and your friends are sitting around a picnic table with damp towels wrapped around you while someone stands at the grill flipping burgers. I bet you can smell the sizzling meat and feel your wrinkled fingers and toes after a long day in the pool or lake! Now, what better way to top it than with a cookout that can transform simple ingredients into lasting memories?
Just add pineapple!
Create new memories this summer with this grilled chicken and pineapple kebab recipe. This sweet and tart tropical fruit even has its own day! June 27 is International Pineapple Day—an annual event honoring the tropical fruit which has become a symbol of hospitality!
This fruit is valued for its nutritional benefits, being rich in vitamin C, manganese and beneficial enzymes.
Prepare for your own celebration of the pineapple with this Healthy Teaching Kitchen video for Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Kebabs with Grilled Veggies.
Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Kebabs with Grilled Veggies
Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Kebabs
Serving Size: 2 skewers
Ingredients
- 6 oz. chicken breast skinless
- ½ cup of fresh or canned (in juice) pineapple rings
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon of dry rosemary
- Salt – to taste
- Black pepper – to taste
- 4 skewers – wood or metal
Instructions
1. Before you cook: If using wood skewers, soak in water for approximately 30 minutes to prevent burning.
2. Thoroughly rinse the fresh red bell pepper, cut top and bottom of red bell pepper, remove center and cut it into approximately 1-inch pieces.
3. Remove outer layer of onion, quarter and cut into approximately 1-inch pieces.
4. If using fresh pineapple, remove outer skin, core and cut into approximately 1-inch cubes (recommend use of pineapple corer if available).
5. Mince garlic.
6. Cut chicken breast into approximately 1-inch cubes.
7. In a mixing bowl prepare marinade by combining canola oil, dry rosemary, garlic, salt and black pepper.
8. Add chicken to bowl, marinade and coat well. For additional flavor, marinade for approximately two hours in refrigerator.
9. Preheat grill while building your kebabs, alternating the ingredients.
10. Place on the preheated grill and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked (Cooking times may vary). To be sure, check for internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Green beans on the grill
Yield: 2
Serving Size: 3 ounces
Ingredients
- 6 ounces green beans
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- Salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (to taste)
- Aluminum foil
- Parchment paper (optional)
Instructions
1. Wash and trim green beans.
2. Make your marinade: Peel and chop garlic and mix with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss green beans in marinade and set aside.
4. Cut two 6-inch x 6-inch squares of aluminum foil (and parchment paper optional).
5. Place green beans on top of the aluminum foil lined with parchment paper. Create pouch and seal.
6. Place green beans on the grill.
Sweet potato on the grill
Yield: 2 Serving
Size: 5 ounces
Ingredients
- Two medium sweet potatoes (approximately 5 ounces each)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
- Aluminum foil if on outdoor grill, parchment paper if on microwave
Instructions
1. Poke holes on the sweet potato with a fork.
2. Place potato inside of parchment paper.
3. Microwave for 6-8 minutes (1,200-watt microwave).
4. Cool potato down and slice at an angle.
5. Brush olive oil on potato. Add salt and pepper to taste and place on the grill.
Calories: 321
Fat: 9.6 grams
Protein: 28 grams
Fat: 20 gm
Author: Jason Davis