For years my husband thought he hated pineapple until one day he tried fresh pineapple (thank you Katie!) then he realized suddenly that he loved it. Once this epiphany happened I started creating recipes to use it and this is one that came from that.

Ingredients:

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 medium onion

1 ½ cups pineapple juice

several chunks of FRESH pineapple (you can really decide how many you want)

3 tablespoons of vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tsp. chili flakes

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon corn starch

olive oil

course black pepper

Sazon tropical seasoning by Badia (I know I promised from the beginning that my recipes would use common spices that you would most likely already have, but this is one I ran across at Meijer and if my Meijer has it there is a very good chance your grocery store will have it in the ‘Mexican’ food aisle)…if you don’t have it and can’t find it don’t worry you can still make this without no problem!

First get your chicken breast, I cut them in half then to thin them out I cut those chunks in half. This way your flavor will go all the way through. If you are using thin chicken breasts or the cut tenderloins you can just skip that step.

Next, take your black pepper and your tropical seasoning and coat both sides of your chicken. If you don’t have access to the tropical seasoning that is no big deal, if you just put the black pepper on the sauce you are cooking your chicken in will flavor it really nicely. Preheat your skillet make sure it is really hot then add about 3 tablespoons worth of olive oil, you want the skillet so hot that the oil starts to smoke. Once it is to heat carefully add your chicken, I say carefully because it will splatter. Remember to not crowd the skillet because it will cool it down too much. Once you have a good sear on both sides of your chicken remove from the skillet.

Slice up your peppers and onions and add them to your slow cooker on top of them add your chunks of pineapple. If you are out of the season you probably won’t be able to find a whole pineapple, in that case, most stores will have fresh pineapple either already cut into chunks or cut and cored then you can cut it into chunks yourself. If you store has this it will be in the produce section around veggie trays. If you can’t find any of the above you will have to use canned, it will get you by in a pinch but you won’t get the really great pineapple flavor this recipe offers. Add your pineapple onto of the peppers then put your chili flakes on top of that. Next, add the chicken on top. Finally add your juice, soy sauce, honey, and vinegar. Put your lid on and cook on low for 6 hours.

When I made this I didn’t allow for enough time so at the end of my cooking time that I had my peppers weren’t cooked all the way.  To fix that I removed the peppers and quickly cooked them on the stove in a skillet then added them back to my slow cooker. I actually really liked the flavor it added so if your peppers are still a little too hard that is a really good and quick fix!

Lastly, spoon out a few cups worth of sauce into a small pot and bring to a boil on your stove, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to a small bowl with enough water to dissolve it all the way (about a ¼ cup) then pour it into the pot, boil your sauce until it thickens. Serve your chicken and peppers over rice then ladle some sauce over the top.

ENJOY!!

REMEMBER TO TASTE AS YOU MAKE!