Teriyaki Chicken & Pineapple Bowls

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for more chicken recipes.  And when we don’t want to go out to a Japanese or Chinese Restaurant but still want some teriyaki chicken, I make this delicious teriyaki chicken & pineapple bowl.  But if you think I just throw some chicken and pineapple in a pan and pour on some teriyaki sauce, you’d be terribly mistaken.  I make this teriyaki sauce with chicken stock, honey, sesame oil, and finally, the ingredient that is this recipe’s namesake….teriyaki sauce!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup white rice (or brown if it suits your fancy)

1 cup chicken stock (choose low sodium stock if you’d like a healthier option)

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp sesame oil

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

Can of pineapple chunks, drained


Start by pouring the chicken stock into a small sauce pan.

This is the stock I use.  It’s unsalted, cuz who needs more sodium?  Pretty sure Americans get way more sodium than is healthy, and plus, salt makes you retain water and feel bloated, and lets face it…..bloated is not a good look for me.  (Was that a run on sentence?)

Bring stock to a boil.

Then add the honey.  I’ve found that it pours alot easier if you take the cap off.  Thick honey and that tiny little pouring hole do not go well together.

Next you’re going to add the sesame oil.  You can find this on the international foods aisle at your local grocery store.  Don’t skip it, cuz it add a really nice flavor to the sauce.

I poured it in without measuring, but if you’re not a good eyeballer make sure you measure the sesame oil because a little goes a loooooooong way!  It’s a very strong flavor and if you add too much it could overpower the sauce.  Since you probably will only use sesame oil for a couple recipes you might want to keep it in the fridge.  It’ll keep longer that way.  But don’t worry, it lasts for a pretty long time.

Now add the teriyaki.  Normally I don’t use this particular teriyaki sauce.  I like to use a thicker sauce that has the consistency of ranch dressing or something like that.  Sorry, that was probably a bad comparison because teriyaki sauce and ranch dressing taste nothing alike, but just keep the thickness and consistency in mind when you are looking for a teriyaki sauce.

Let that simmer for a little bit while you prepare the chicken.

Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.

Add a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to a pan and heat to medium high.

Add your chicken and some salt and pepper.

Once your chicken is fully cooked, add drained pineapple and toss into pan with the chicken.  Pour enough of the teriyaki sauce mixture onto the chicken and pineapple to coat the bottom of the pan and surround the chicken.  Bring it to a bubble.

Cook for about 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  You want the chicken and pineapple to fully absorb the flavor of the sauce.

Put some white (or brown) rice in a bowl and spoon the chicken and pineapple on top.  If you want ALOT of flavor, pour some of the left over sauce on top of the chicken and let it soak into the rice.  Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top, and you’ve got yourself a nice Asian dinner without the restaurant prices!  Now who doesn’t like that?

Wedding Mania

Yesterday marked the 4 month countdown of our wedding.  I can’t believe how fast the time is going by!  (I apologize to all the English teachers of the world for the preposition at the end of the sentence).  Yesterday, Steve and I met with our wedding venue Historic Cedarwood in Nashville to finalize all the details of the ceremony and reception.  We chose flowers, food, decorations, table linens, invitations, and music (I use the term “we” here very loosely.  Steve was basically there for moral support.  Although he did pick out our table cloths, some of the food, and the monogram for our napkins.  Great job, love!)  It’s so great to have a venue that takes care of everything except the photographer and minister!  Makes my life so much easier not to have to run around town to several different places to get everything I need done.

We’re getting married at a beautiful antebellum house on several acres that was built in 1835.  Luckily they have several rain options in the small chance that it rains on our wedding day.

Here is the front of the house.  The reception will be under the covered patio on the left.

The ceremony site is right behind the patio.

I don’t think I could have pictured a more beautiful setting.  Planning everything yesterday just made it all so real!  I can’t believe I’m going to marry my best friend in 4 months!

We also booked our honeymoon cruise yesterday!!!  We almost didn’t get the cruise we wanted.  Princess cruise lines has a limited number of cruises to the Caribbean during the summer, and the only one that happened to be close to our wedding was July 28 leaving from New York.  That was perfectly fine by me since I had never been to New York!  Steve and I would drive up a few days early and stop along the way to see the sights.

Yesterday, when I went to book the cruise, much to my dismay it said “No cabins available” for our July 28th cruise!  Oh no!!!  The next Caribbean cruise wasn’t until Sept 29th, and I didn’t want to wait over 2 months after our wedding to finally go on our honeymoon.

Luckily, both Steve’s brother and sister in law work for Princess.  They were able to open up a reservation just for us on the ship we wanted.  Phew!  What a close call!  I was so grateful!

Now we just have to wait 4 more months until we are man and wife!  It can’t come fast enough…..well,  as long as I can lose these last 10 pounds, that is. 🙂

Just Ridiculous

This evening, Steve and I were hanging out on the couch doing what we do best, watching TV.  The Biggest Loser and V to be exact.  Oh how we love those shows!  Nothing like a good alien lizard to get your blood pumping.  (“Anna” on V that is, not Jillian Michaels.  I actually happen to like Jillian, except all her product endorsements.  Those can get kinda annoying).  They ended this V episode with such a cliffhanger!  Augh!  Hate when they do that…but I love it at the same time!  Keeps me interested, which I assume is their goal.  Pretty sure the goal of any TV network is to keep people interested.

Anyway we look over in the midst of our TV watching experience, and what do we see?  Well lets just see if you can figure it out.

Do you see anything peculiar?

How about now?

Here, I’ll make it easy for you.  LOOK AT THAT PAW!!!!  That is not a front paw as you may think.  Oh no!  That, my friends, is his back paw.  Please tell me how in the world that is comfortable?  I swear, this cat can sit in any position and be perfectly content.

Just ridiculous.  The more I look at it, the more it freaks me out.  Does anyone else share this feeling or is it just me?