​Pineapple Ginger Chicken

Finally found a non-Instant Pot chicken meal that was simple and easy for meal prep. I've made similar recipes before, but this one is definitely the easiest and turned out so flavorful and delicious. While you cook the chicken, put all the pineapple ginger sauce ingredients in your blender, and that is really all the work you need to do. Big note on those medjool dates is to make sure you get them pitted! I did not and totally forgot to take the pits out before blending, and that ruined my first batch of sauce. Since I had to start over I was also left without any extra pineapple for topping, which was a bummer too. Other then that mishap, everything was smooth sailing with this recipe. I heated up some frozen plain cauliflower rice to pair with it since there was plenty of delicious sauce to top with at the end. I also opted for baking the chicken breast in the oven since I quadrupled everything below to get enough meals for the week. I thought that option worked out just as great if you'd rather do the same. I tend to shy away from a lot of "sauce" recipes because they usually involve so many ingredients, but this one literally has 5 ingredients! Even if you don't make the chicken part, I definitely recommend saving the sauce recipe for some grilling recipes this summer.

Pineapple Ginger Chicken
Ingredients:
Chicken

• 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• salt & pepper

Pineapple Ginger Sauce

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 1 cup fresh pineapple, diced
• 5 medjool dates, pitted
• 1 to 1 1/4 inch knob of ginger

To Finish

• 1 cup fresh pineapple, diced
• fresh parsley for topping, chopped

Directions:
Chicken

1. Add olive oil to saute pan or cast iron skillet. Heat pan to medium high heat.
2. Add chicken to hot pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and dried parsley on top of each breast. Cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip. Cook other side until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken over so your herbed side is facing up. Turn off heat.

Pineapple Ginger Sauce

1. Peel your ginger knob. (You don't need to dice it as it will blend just fine once peeled.) It should be between 1 and 1 1/4 inches in length.
2. Add all sauce ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth.

To Finish

1. Pour blended sauce into the pan with your chicken. Add cup of chopped pineapple around chicken. Reduce heat to medium low or low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Sauce will reduce a bit.
2. Top with fresh chopped parsley and serve!

Notes:
Why medjool dates versus other kinds of dates? Medjool dates are picked early which means they tend to be very soft. This makes them awesome for blending and creating sauces. Yes, it does matter what kind of date you use!

Original recipe found here