Jerk Chicken with Sweet & Sour Quinoa

If you've been reading my posts lately you probably know that I've fallen in love with quinoa! It is a great whole grain loaded with fiber, vitamins and protein and it also tastes good plain and also can be incorporated into a lot of dishes. When I was at the store last week I bought a bag of individually wrapped chicken breasts (great for freezing and pulling out individual portions!) and some Jerk marinade that I thought looked great. Mrs. Dash has a great line of low sodium varieties that taste so good! Check them out :) 

So tonight I wanted something flavorful and easy (as usual!) so I pulled out a couple of chicken breasts from the freezer to thaw while I went to the gym for my workout. By the time I got home they were almost thawed so I covered them in a few tablespoons of marinade and let it sit while I showered and prepped the rest of the meal (about 30-45 minutes).   

I had been thinking about a good side dish to compliment the jerk flavors and kept thinking about pineapple and bell pepper...so I thought, why not try a sweet & sour type side dish. It turned out great!! I loved this meal...full of flavor, easy and very low in fat! Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless
• Jerk Marinade (I used store bought)
• 1/2 Cup Quinoa
• 1/4 Cup Pineapple Juice
• 3/4 Cup Water
• Thick slice of Onion, chopped into large chunks
• 1/2 Large Red Bell Pepper, chopped into chunks
• 1/2 Cup Pineapple chunks
• Splash of soy sauce
• Squeeze of lime juice

Marinate chicken for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, you can prepare all your veggies and pineapple. Mix water and pineapple juice in a small saucepan. Add in your quinoa and bring to a boil. Cover and turn to low heat to simmer for about 15 minutes. While this is cooking and the chicken is marinating, sauté pineapple, onion and pepper in a non-stick pan coated in cooking spray over medium heat until pineapple and onion are slightly caramelized and pepper is still crisp tender (may need to cook the pineapple and onion a few minutes first and then add in bell pepper). Once the produce is cooked and quinoa is done add quinoa to the veggies and sauté with a splash of soy sauce and lime juice for a few minutes over medium heat to allow flavors to combine.

Cook chicken in a sauté pan over medium high heat about 3-5 minutes per side until cooked through. 

I served this with a simple side of sliced garden fresh cucumbers from the market sprinkled with a bit of kosher salt like mom used to! This was always a go-to healthy meal accompaniment in my family and we loved it :)