Grilled Pineapple Chicken

This month, my assignment for Secret Recipe Club was:

Close to Home.

Maria has lots of great-sounding recipes, but it's summer and it's hot and I wanted to cook something on the grill.  So I made my choice:  her Grilled Pineapple Chicken Kabob Foil Packets.  While the name is a mouthful, the recipe is pretty darn good.  Easy to put together, I had just about everything in my kitchen to whip these up.  We make Campfire Potatoes a lot, but I don't remember doing any packets with meat in them, not sure why.

I packaged mine up ahead of time, then tossed them on the grill just before dinner. 

My husband didn't make it home for dinner, so I had two younger taste-testers.  My oldest boy liked it and ate his whole dinner.  I should have made rice to go with these!  My youngest said he didn't like the chicken, but he did eat a couple bites.

These would be very good with rice, and I think next time I'll cook them just a bit less.  I used my own peach jam from last summer, and I decided to coat the chicken with the preserve mixture first, instead of piling it on with the vegetables.  It worked great.

Before grilling, 1 serving

Grilled Pineapple Chicken Foil Packs
Adapted from Close to Home 
Makes 4 servings
 
1/3 cup pineapple, peach or apricot preserves (I used my own peach jam)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I used a pinch)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch cubes (1 lb)
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (I used 2 yellow peppers I had)
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 red onion, cut in 1 inch cubes (I only used 1/2 an onion)
salt, to taste

Heat grill on medium heat.  In small bowl, stir together pineapple preserves, brown sugar, soy sauce and crushed red pepper.  Add chicken breast chunks and toss until coated.

Cut 8 (12×12-inch) sheets of heavy-duty foil. Divide coated chicken, bell peppers, pineapple chunks and onion evenly among foil sheets. Sprinkle each lightly with salt. Seal edges tightly, folding and rolling in toward the center three or four times.  Seal opposite sides, then fold edges in on last two sides and roll in a similar fashion, taking care not to package the food too snugly but sealing edges carefully so juices don't leak out when flipped.

Reduce grill to low.  Place packets on grill over low heat. Cover grill; cook 6 minutes. Using tongs, carefully turn packets over, taking care not to puncture foil. Cook 10 to 12 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink in center and vegetables are crisp-tender.

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