Grilled Pineapple and Coconut Pepper Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Today was the kind of day where I wanted to sit on a beach and sip a strawberry-mango drink as waves lapped over my toes. Yeah, I indulged that fantasy for all of thirty seconds before I was slapped back into reality by the cruel hand of the pile of laundry that sat in front of me, fantasizing about being folded and put away. So I settled for a tropically flavored dinner.

Grilled Pineapple and Coconut Pepper Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Whew, that's a long title. But this is so delicious and nutritious, that I had to include allllllll of the extremely yummified ingredients to tease you and tempt you into making this. The best part is, you will eat seconds and thirds of this and be completely guilt free! This was a meal I whipped up in a few minutes using goodies from my Bountiful Basket this week (see this post for a BB explanation), and boy, am I glad I did! My husband, who is definitely an "all-American man food" sort of guy, expressed satisfaction with this meal. We kept it light and didn't do any sides with this, but some fresh veggies, or a brown rice infused with saffron or other magical spice would do well with this. These wraps are summery, light and island-tropical. They are the perfect get-away when you are unfortunately trapped in your own home and can't just hop a flight to Maui. Get yourself some pineapple and make this as soon as possible. Your mouth, belly and family will thank you. I will recommend some other options in the recipe commentary to spice this little gem of a recipe up.




Start off by getting a beautiful pineapple ready to be sliced up. Here was mine, sitting fragrantly on the counter, waiting to be transformed. Yummmmm. You could use canned pineapple, but the syrup they pack it in is really sugary and calorie-laden. Fresh will be more calorie and flavor friendly.

Slice the top and bottom off the pineapple. Set it so the bottom rests flat against your cutting board. You want a really sharp, large knife for this.

Slice down the pineapple in large strips, essentially peeling the outer layer away. Trim away any brown "eyes" that remain on the pineapple. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you want all of the tough stuff to be gone.

Slice the pineapple in half, lengthwise. Then slice into 1/4-1/2 inch thick pieces. Set the other half aside for use in another recipe, or as a delicious snack. You can cut that up as well if you are feeding a larger group.

Cut the core out of the pieces-just the center, hard piece. Discard.

Place the pineapple in a bowl and drizzle a tablespoon of agave nectar over the pineapple. You could also use honey.

Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the pineapple. You could also add a little brown sugar and some nutmeg, cloves or allspice. I kept it simple and just used agave and cinnamon.

Mix well and combine the agave, cinnamon and pineapple. Make sure things are well coated.

Get your George Foreman grill heated up, or you could do this on an outdoor charcoal or gas grill. We use the George a lot in our house, especially as a panini press!

When the grill is ready, lay your pineapple slices on and close the cover. Cook for 2-3 minutes until a nice caramelized finish has formed and the juices are bubbling.

Remove the slices and set them aside. They will cool slightly while you prepare the rest of dinner. That's okay-they can be just warmed through. Go ahead, sample one-they are heavenly! Fruit candy!

Onto the chicken...get two large chicken breasts (more if you are feeding a lot of people) ready. Then cut them into small, bite-sized pieces (small works really well for this recipe).

Set the chicken aside. Grab 5-6 small sweet peppers, give them a rinse, and chop them up into rings. Set them aside.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat (super important-do not use high heat. You need medium heat), and melt a tablespoon of coconut oil in the pan. Coconut oil has a low smoke point, and you don't want anything to burn. It adds an amazing, light coconut flavor to the dish and is so good. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat (lots of debates over this-definitely is a less offensive saturated fat. I throw it into the nut category when I judge it's merits. So use it once in a while and you'll be fine), but it cooks beautifully and adds great flavor in sautes and baked goods. It also has a ton of other uses that I'll discuss in later posts. Back to the deliciousness...

When the oil has melted, add your chicken.  I also threw in about a 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to add some heat. This slight spice will complement your pineapple and sweet peppers really, really well. You could also add a little reduced sodium soy sauce or liquid amino soy substitute, and even a smidge of brown sugar. I wanted the pineapple to be the star of the show, so I just used the light coconut flavor and the red pepper flakes for seasoning. Stir and cook until the chicken is about 90% done. This takes  a bit longer than usual because the heat is reduced from what you may normally use. Be patient and give it about 5 minutes.

When the chicken is almost done, add the peppers. Finish the chicken over the next 1-2 minutes, and let the peppers release their juices into the chicken. You don't want them to be soft-they should still have some crunch to them. It's okay to drool. I had to stop myself from eating this right out of the pan.

Almost done! I let my chicken and peppers cool for about 10 minutes in a separate dish. I didn't want the filling to be piping hot, just warmed through. When the filling is cool, get out some hearty romaine or dark leaf lettuce, rinse the leaves, and use them as wraps for the filling (P.F. Chang's style). You could also use Butter Lettuce for this, or even iceberg, but the romaine gives you a great nutritional punch. Just place the filling on the leaves, and wrap like a taco and stuff your face full of healthy, delicious goodness. No guilt, just gastronomical delight ;)

Isn't it beautiful? This is such a fabulous, healthy, light dinner. Pair it with a side if you wish, or just eat of the simple goodness of this fruity wrap.

Grilled Pineapple and Coconut Pepper Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

-1/2 fresh pineapple, sliced and cored

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 tablespoon of agave nectar

-Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-6 small, sweet baby peppers

-1 tablespoon of coconut oil

-1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

-Romaine lettuce leaves

1. Slice the top and bottom off the pineapple. With a sharp knife, slice straight down the pineapple, all the way around, until the skin is gone. Trim off any of the brown "eyes" that remain. It does not have to be completely perfect.

2. Slice the pineapple in half, lengthwise. Cut one half into 1/4-1/2 inch slices, and cut out the hard center core.

3. Place the pineapple in a bowl. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of agave nectar over the pineapple, and add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix the ingredients together until the pineapple is well-coated.

4. Heat a George Foreman or outdoor grill. Lay the pineapple slices on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes, until a carmelized coating has formed and the juices are bubbling slightly. Remove, set aside, and cool until just warm.

5. Cut chicken breasts into small, bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

6. Cut small, sweet baby peppers into small rings. Set aside.

7. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat (must be medium heat because coconut oil has a low smoke point), and melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil until it has liquefied.

8. Add the chicken and 1/2 teaspoon of the red pepper flakes to the coconut oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is 90% cooked, about 5 minutes.

9. Add peppers. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Remove from heat and allow to cool in a separate bowl until just warm, about 10 minutes.

10. Wash and place several romaine lettuce leaves on a plate. Spoon filling into the leaves. Wrap the filling like a taco, and eat. Allow your tastebuds to dance and sing.