This year, we chose to do a simple, tasty Thanksgiving dinner. Something that didn’t involve so much cleanup, prep and ingredients. There were just the two of us, so something different was in order. I cannot tell you how tasty this meal was. We thoroughly enjoyed every single bite. Next time…

We will grill the pineapple… I wasn’t sure about doing it outside on the grill and didn’t want to mess up our Thanksgiving, ha ha. So I sautéed it in a wee bit of butter and a pinch of brown sugar. Ideally, I would have sautéed it a bit longer until it started to brown in areas, but everything else was done, and pineapple tastes good no matter what!

MARINADE

• 1 clove garlic, microplaned (or minced finely)
• olive oil (or canola oil)
• lime wedge (to taste)
• rice wine vinegar (a glug)
• squeeze of honey
• pepper
• fresh cilantro, washed, dried and chopped
• boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use “thin chicken breasts”)

Add ingredients to the plastic bag, add the chicken, then squish it around. Let it marinate for an hour or so… (throw away unused marinade).

Fred put the chicken on the grill (gas grill), whatever type grill you have (indoor or electric, charcoal, etc.) will be fine.

Ideally, I would use a grill pan to grill the pineapple, but Fred’s going to give it a whirl next time on his grill. If all else fails, just sauté (I used a non-stick pan).

I served with Jasmine rice, a little butter or olive oil, S&P (next time I will add cilantro to the rice as well). Helpful hint: I use Trader Joe’s Jasmine Rice in the freezer section, it comes three pouches to a box, zap it in the microwave for 3 minutes and you have 2.5 servings. Perfect if you have a little beast 🐾 that likes a small spoonful of rice and a veggie!

Haricot Verts – I also bought some green beans at Trader Joe’s (haricot verts – freezer section) – I thawed a few handfuls, sautéed in olive oil, S&P and added some toasted slivered almonds (also TJ!)

Pineapple – unless you excel at selecting very sweet pineapple, you may want to purchase it cored. So you can see if it’s a light color (tart) or deeper yellow (sweeter). That’s the only way I can ensure a sweet pineapple. I’m usually pretty good at picking, but didn’t want to risk it.

So this was a fairly light meal for Thanksgiving. We had a slice of my grandma’s homemade chocolate pie, ohmygosh! Heaven on earth!

NOTE on amounts… I didn’t measure, but for 5 “thin” chicken breasts I used about 3T olive oil, a good wedge of lime squeeze, and about 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, a squeeze of honey (maybe to the count of 2 seconds), pepper, and as much cilantro as you like. Most falls off, but the flavor is unmistakable. Not any one flavor, just the entire combination!

✍️ Until next time…