Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki

There is one thing that I always like to keep in the fridge - cooked chicken.  It's super in a pinch!  If it's precooked, you only have to wait for it to heat.  It's much healthier (and tastier) to prepare your own instead of using the canned chicken.  It's excellent in almost any chicken recipe and it's actually quite simple to prepare:

1. Purchase frozen, skinless, boneless chicken breasts or tenders.
2. Thaw and chop into 1-2 inch squares.
3. Boil for about 10-15 minutes.  If you're boiling the entire breasts in whole pieces, cooking time will be longer (around 30 minutes).
4. Drain, cool, and store.

If you store this in an airtight container in the fridge, it will stay good for about 3-4 days.  In the freezer, it will keep for about 2-3 months.

For this recipe, I'm using the chopped chicken instead of the whole breasts.  The half-shot of whiskey can be omitted if you're serving to children or are wary about alcohol.  Low sodium soy sauce can be used in lieu of regular soy sauce as well.


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup & 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons pineapple juice (reserved from can of pineapple rings)
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/16 cup (0.5 oz.) whiskey (optional)
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 cup cooked chicken, thawed if frozen
• 1 can pineapple rings
• sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Pan Insert to Use:  Full Round Pan or Base Unit

Servings:  1-2

Directions:
1.  Whisk the brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, ginger, whiskey, and corn starch in a medium bowl until mixed well; chill the teriyaki mixture in the fridge for at least 1 hour.  Stir before using:

2.  Spray grill with non-stick spray and preheat.
3.  Chop 2-3 pineapple rings into 8 sections.  Store unused pineapple rings in an airtight container in the fridge.

4.  Place chopped pineapple rings and 1 cup chopped chicken into a medium bowl; cover with 1/4 cup of teriyaki mixture and stir to coat.  Store leftover teriyaki mixture in an airtight container in the fridge.

5.  Place in grill, close lid, and cook for 10 minutes.
6.  Using a wooden spoon, stir chicken to recoat with sauce and cook an additional 5 minutes (or until heated through).

7.  Scoop onto a plate and let cool before eating.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.