Pineapple Chicken Quinoa Pilaf

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to Chef John and Anne's blog, The Saturday Evening Pot.  Seeing as how Chef John graduated in culinary arts, you can bet that you're going to find some absolutely delicious recipes throughout their blog.  And their two children get to be the taste testers.  Lucky!

In going through their blog, I immediately knew I had found THE recipe to make when I saw their Hawaiian Chicken and Pineapple Rice Pilaf.  I did make a few changes to it.  I used olive oil instead of the bacon, left out the shallot, used quinoa instead of rice, and added some black pepper and red pepper chili flakes to taste.

The result was one yummy dinner indeed!  Mine didn't absorb all the liquid like it was supposed to, but I'm pretty sure that had a lot to do with the fact that I used quinoa instead of rice.  Nevertheless, it was wonderfully flavorful and I found myself going back for seconds.

Thanks Chef John and Anne for your fantastic creation!

Hawaiian Chicken and Pineapple Pilaf (adapted from The Saturday Evening Pot)

15 oz. can of pineapple chunks, juice reserved and chunks cut in half
1 c. smoked almonds, coarsely chopped (I used sliced almonds)
1 1/2 c. uncooked white quinoa
dash of allspice
1 lb. chicken tenders
3 c. chicken broth
1 c. pineapple juice
black pepper and red pepper chili flakes (to taste)

Form a layer of chicken in a 9x13 pan.  

Put 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in a non-stick skillet and heat over medium-low heat.  Add the pineapple and almonds and cook till warmed through.  Stir in the quinoa to coat completely.  Sprinkle with allspice and stir again.  Pour the pilaf mixture over the chicken, then add the combined mixture of chicken broth and pineapple juice.  

Cover with foil then bake at 350F for 1- 1 1/2 hours till all liquid is absorbed and quinoa is completely cooked.  Before serving, sprinkle with black pepper and red pepper chili flakes to taste. 

  

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