Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Rice

A noticeable chill has taken over, fall (and almost winter!) has definitely arrived, and I thought it high time we take a mini dinner vacation back to summer. One of the challenges of living in a city apartment is craving grilled food but not being able to cook out as we're accustomed. I'm finding little tricks and flavors that help trick the tastebuds and this was one of those meals. It's not perfect and could definitely use another boost but by the time I'd eaten one of the chicken breasts I had several ideas on how to improve, so look for variations to come throughout the winter! The recipe was created on the fly and therefore no true measurements exist so feel free to play around a little bit and adjust to your personal taste.



Teriyaki Chicken
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
dash of garlic powder
dash of ginger
splash of rice wine vinegar
a couple drops of honey

Mix all ingredients together and let chicken breasts or tenders marinate in shallow baking dish overnight, or at least 6 hours. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until cooked. Once cooked, place under broiler on high for 2-3 minutes to get that nice grilled flavor. If you prefer a thicker sauce you can simmer on the stovetop for a couple minutes to reduce sauce or add a dash of cornstarch.

Pineapple Rice
Rice (I used brown, because I always have it on hand, but white would be fine)
1 can pineapple tidbits (whatever size you want, depending on how much pineapple you want)

Cook rice according to package directions. Since rice is cooked in a 2:1 liquid to rice formula, use 1 cup chicken broth, 2/3 cup water, and 1/3 pineapple juice from can per cup of rice. Again, feel free to play around a bit with this to taste. When rice is almost cooked, add pineapple tidbits and stir in rice to allow flavor to concentrate.

See, it's almost like summer!