I am trying to get everything together this week so that we can go away on vacation on Saturday, and Michelle is working late most of the week, so that means trying to make, quick, easy meals with whatever we happen to have around the house. Last night, the quick meal was a fast chicken teriyaki recipe that I found in Cook’s Country. The original recipe serves it with pineapple rings, but since I didn’t have any pineapple around, they got left out of this one.

Grilled Chicken Teriyaki with Pineapple

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed

1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings

Whisk the soy sauce, sugar, mirin, ginger and cornstarch together in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until it is thickened, about 2 minutes.

Grill the chicken skin side up over a medium-hot fire, covered, until the underside is browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Flip the chicken and grill, covered, until the skin is well browned and the meat registers 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about another 6 to 8 minutes. Brush the chicken all over with half of the sauce and continue to grill, uncovered and flipping often, until the sauce begins to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil.

Brush the pineapple rings with half of the remaining sauce and grill, uncovered, until lightly charred on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. transfer to the same platter as the chicken. Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken and pineapple and serve.

I served this with a simple white rice and some broccoli. I also had made a quick recipe for a no-mayo coleslaw, which I like better this time of year for barbecues and parties because you don’t have to worry about it sitting out in the sun or anything. This one just uses a few ingredients and can be made in minutes if you choose to use a bag of coleslaw mix instead of shredding cabbage and carrots yourself. I always keep a bag of coleslaw mix around as it makes a great quick side dish that you can throw together fast.

No-Mayo Coleslaw

1/4 small red cabbage

1/2 small green cabbage

1/2 carrot, peeled and shredded

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Remove any of the tough outer leaves from both of the heads of cabbage. Trim the core and any tough stems from the cabbage and thinly slice to shred it. Add the cabbage to a bowl with the shredded carrot, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and black pepper. Toss well to combine.

Serve right away for more of a salad dish or store in the refrigerator overnight for a coleslaw that is more pickled.

As I said, I skipped the first couple of steps and used coleslaw mix and I think it turned out great. The coleslaw picture is actually one I took from lunch with a chicken salad sandwich. I loved the lemony flavor of the dish and the honey gives it just a hint of sweetness. it went really well with the chicken as well, and the glaze on the  chicken was quick and easy to make and tasted great. This is a great recipe for a weeknight when you need something done fast and I think you could do it just as well in the oven any time of year by putting the chicken in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes or so before you start to glaze it.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again to see what else comes up this week. I am not quite sure what I will be making; it really depends on what I pull out of the freezer. I did take some ribs out for tonight and found a recipe for that, so you can check back tomorrow for that one. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!