Weekends are tough in many ways. Sometimes, I swear all I do is FOOD.
Make breakfast, feed breakfast, clean-up. Morning snack, clean-up. Make lunch, feed lunch, clean-up. Meal plan, grocery shop, and pack lunches for the week. Afternoon snack, clean-up. Make dinner, feed dinner, clean-up.
I swear, there’s about 5 minutes of the day unaccounted for.
Tonight and this recipe was the straw that broke the camel’s back with regard to dinner time. I have tried DESPERATELY to hold on to dinner time as a family, especially on Sundays. But…I think we’re going to press pause on the concept for now. It’s just…a disaster.
Piper is in this phase of throwing everything off her tray – her sippy cup, her utensils, her food. It’s a constant game of pick-up and toss overboard. Shea is still really young and I sometimes forget that. She needs help eating a taco and even then, most of the taco contents end up outside of the tortilla and she ends up in a fit. By the time Mark and I are actually eating, our food is cold and the girls are on to their next activity which requires our attention.
In short, family dinners are a disaster.
After tonight’s disaster, Mark said, “I think we need to focus on getting the girls dinner and we can do our thing after they go down.” I get it, in theory…but this means that we’ll be eating dinner closer to 9pm and crawling into bed minutes after.
I know it isn’t forever, but this phase is pretty unenjoyable in this regard.
All that to say, this recipe was worth the chaos. It was delicious even after it had gone cold. Mr. Prevention paid this recipe LOTS of compliments and that hasn’t happened in awhile.
We’re soaking up what could be the final weeks of grilling season and used up both the pineapple that was nearing over-ripe in our counter and the last pear from our CSA delivery. The combination of salty, savory, smoky, and sweet is divine! We’ll be fighting over the leftovers!
- ½ cup teriyaki marinade
- 24 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 10 (6-inch) whole wheat tortillas
- ½ ripe pineapple, cut away from the core into planks
- 1 pear, cut away from the core
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
- ½ small red onion
- 1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced
- ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- black pepper, to taste
- 5.3 oz pineapple flavored Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
- juice of ½ lime
- Cut chicken breasts in half width-wise to create two thinner breasts. Using a fork, puncture the chicken in several places on both sides of each thinned breast. Place chicken and teriyaki marinade in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Prepare the grill to 400 degrees F. Grill the pineapple, pear, bell pepper, and onion for 5-6 minutes or until charred; flip and grill an additional 4-5 minutes. Remove from grill and set aside on a cutting board to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, grill the chicken for 7-8 minutes; flip and cook an additional 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest on a cutting board for 4-5 minutes. Slice the chicken against the grain into thin slices.
- To finish the salsa, chop the grilled fruit and vegetables into ¼-inch pieces. Toss with the jalapeno, cilantro, lime, ginger, cumin, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well-combined.
- Prepare the Pineapple-Lime Crema by mixing the yogurt, mayonnaise, and lime juice until well-combined.
- Assemble the tacos by putting ~2.5 ounces chicken in each tortilla with ~1/3 cup salsa, and 1 tablespoon crema.
Weekly Menu: September 17th – 21st
- Sunday: these Teriyaki Chicken Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Pear Salsa ^^^
- Monday: Chicken Summer Vegetable Tostadas (for the 3rd time this summer!)
- Tuesday: grilled salmon and asparagus
- Wednesday: leftovers
- Thursday: Marinaded Skirt Steak with Chimichurri and smashed potatoes
Be well,
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