I love pineapple

I have always loved pineapple and I like to find new ways to incorporate it into to cooking. Yes, you can make the traditional upside down pineapple cake, or grilled pineapple on a Hawaiian burger, but I wanted something with chicken. Rachael Ray always has something interesting up her sleeve, so I turned to her books to look for inspiration. If you like fresh cilantro, you'll love this dish!

Island Chicken

• 1 cup jasmine rice - I use Wegmans brand
• 2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bit size pieces
• 1/2 whole pineapple (look for the smaller packs in the produce section if you don't want to buy a whole one) *save the juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 1/4 red pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Cook the jasmine rice according to package instructions.

While the rice is cooking, cut the pineapple into small, bite-size pieces. In a medium/large sauce pan, over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil, peppers, onions, garlic, salt & pepper, red pepper flakes & cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the pineapple chunks & juice, (no more than 1/3 cup of the juice) and stir, cooking for 3 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and bring the pot to a simmer. Cook until the mixture reduces almost by half.
While that is cooking, in a separate skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil & chicken pieces, cook until no longer pink. (You can also grill the chicken, then chop it up) Once cooked, add the chicken to your pineapple mixture. Add parsley & cilantro, mix well to combine.

To serve, put a layer of rice on a plate and cover with a generous amount of your pineapple chicken mixture.

This is one of my favorite dishes. It's light, tastes like summer, and has cilantro! Enjoy!