Since we supposedly live in paradise here in southwest Florida (otherwise known as the land of extremely large and scary insects – seriously!), I wanted to make something tropical for dinner. I’d bought a pineapple and thought teriyaki was the perfect match. And, I had an orange too, so to make it even more tropical, I added fresh orange juice to the sauce, and, yum.
My husband tried to convince Gabriel that it was really teri-yucky sauce and that I’d squeeezed frog juice into the sauce, but he knows me well enough to know that I would NEVER squeeze a frog, so he didn’t fall for it.
Yes, I’m seriously squeamish about gross large things that live outside. Not scared really, but … squeamish. Today I ran inside to get my husband becuase there was a GIANT grasshopper in the yard. It was yellow and black and orange and about six inches long. So, Grayson and I went in to get Daddy. You know what Daddy did? HE PICKED IT UP! And held it so Grayson could look at it. That’s one brave man holding one gigantic grasshopper. Blech. Cool, but Blech.
Enough of that. Back to dinner.
I wanted to make fun skewers, so while the chicken was marinating in the teriyaki, I soaked the wooden skewers in water to prevent them from catching fire on the grill or smoking or whatever it is that prevents. I know it’s important. These skewers alternated pineapple, chicken and orange bell pepper. Full disclosure, while the boys devoured the chicken and pineapple, they’ve both declared they no longer like cooked bell peppers, so we adults ate those and they had raw peppers I’d set aside. Hey, I got to have extra grilled peppers, so it’s really not a loss for me.
We cooked these on a gas grill over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes. We brushed them with marinade for the first four minutes, then stopped so it could cook and kill any nasties from the chicken. I’d set aside some of the fresh sauce for dipping, but there was no need for it, so I’ve stashed that in the fridge for another meal. I served it with rice cooked in chicken bouillion (that’s why it looks yellow) and it was a great quick, light meal. Everyone cleaned their plates.
Orange Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
Sauce
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
2 T sweet wine such as reisling
3 T light brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Mix sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir until the brown sugar dissolves, about two minutes, then remove from heat. Let cool.
Skewers
1 large chicken breast half cut into 1″ pieces
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper cut into 1″ pieces
~ 10 wooden skewers
Cover the chicken with just enough sauce to cover, let marinate for about 15-30 minutes. I used about half of the sauce made above, store the other half in the fridge for another use.
Soak the wooden skewers in water for about the same amount of time, at least 15 minutes.
Thread the pineapple, chicken and bell peppers on the skewers, alternating as desired.
Cook the skewers on a medium-hot grill for about 7-8 minutes, until cooked thoroughly. Brush the skewers with the marinade for the first few minutes of cooking to coat the veggies and fruit, but make sure to stop about halfway through the cooking time to allow the marinade to heat thoroughly.
Serve with rice.
Yield – about 10 small skewers, enough for two adults and two little ones. The recipe is easily scaled up by increasing the amount of chicken and veggies. Yum!
