Summer Get Together? Heather's Grilled Hawaiian Chicken Does the Trick!

Last weekend my house mates and I decided to make the best of the great summer weather and have company over for dinner. When brainstorming about what to cook I remembered something so quintessentially “summer” that I wouldn’t dare neglect it: THE GRILL. I’m not going to lie and tell you I can set up the grill without help from my patient fiancé but I can say that grilled food is worth the long start up. With that in mind I whipped together a great Hawaiian chicken recipe that is not only easy-peasy but flavorful! Grilled corn and roasted red baby potatoes go great with this dish and it pairs up just as harmoniously with a rice pilaf. By the end of the night all of the chicken was gone and everyone was pleasingly full to the brim. That is what I call success!

Heather's Grilled Hawaiian Chicken

What You'll Need for the EASY Marinade

10 oz. (half a bottle) of your favorite teriyaki sauce

The juice from one can of sliced pineapples (Set those yummy pineapples to the side…we’ll use them later)

¼ cup brown sugar

2 cloves of minced garlic

Everything Else You Need for Heather's Grilled Hawaiian Chicken

5 chicken breasts

5 pieces of provolone OR swiss cheese

5 pieces of brown sugar deli ham (honey ham will also do the trick)

The canned pineapple slices

toothpicks or bamboo skewers

A charcoal grill, like the Lodge Logic Sportman’s Grill (which, just so you know, is totally on my wish list)

Mix together all of the above ingredients for the marinade and pour into a large plastic zip lock bag. Set aside. With a seriously sharp knife I butterfly the chicken breasts but leave one side still attached so that I can open up the chicken like a book. Once all of your knife work is done I use a fork to poke the chicken breasts. These little holes will help the marinade further saturate the chicken. Place the carved up chicken breasts into the marinade zip log bag and seal it up. I let the chickies swim overnight for best results. When the chicken breasts have fully marinated unfold them so that they’re “open”. I take one slice of the brown sugar ham and fold it over a slice of the provolone cheese. Place it on top of one half of the chicken breast. Fold the other half of the chicken back on top of the ham/cheese combination and seal the open edges of your chicken breast with the toothpicks or bamboo skewers. I like to use an up down weaving motion for the bamboo skewers; it seems to really do the job. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken breasts. Now it’s time to put the chicken on your medium-hot grill. Make sure to arrange the chicken around the hottest spot and not directly over it unless you actually enjoy burnt chicken. It should take about 10-15 minutes per side. Once I (CAREFULLY) flip the chicken to its other side I put a slice of pineapple on each chicken and let cook for the remainder of the time. Once the breasts are done cooking you can easily remove the skewers and eat like there is no tomorrow…Enjoy!
-Heather ;)