Pineapple Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

Here's a new favorite!  Quick and easy - especially when hubby will cook the chicken on the grill, and you make the rice in an electric steamer.

Pineapple Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

2-4 lbs BSCB (boneless, skinless chicken breast)

1 16 oz bottle BBQ sauce
1 22 oz can crushed pineapple, gently drained
1 16 oz can black beans (good additional source of protein)
1/2 t madras curry
2 t cinnamon (I may have been a little more generous with the cinnamon, but 2 t is close enough)
2 t dry ground mustard, or 1 T dijon mustard (like Trader Joe's)

3 c rice, cooked according to directions

Cook chicken and steam rice according to directions.  I used my favorite Calrose with a dash of wild rice blend.

While chicken and rice are cooking, combine all other ingredients in a medium pot. Simmer over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes. Let the flavors mingle. This has a fairly high sugar content, so you'll want to stir often enough you don't scorch the bottom.

Serve by making a bed of rice, with chicken on top, and pour a generous scoop of sauce over both.  We enjoyed a green salad on the side to round the whole thing out.  Yay for protein!

Tangy Cranberry Meatballs

I love this recipe!  Serve over baked potatoes with your veggie of choice and it makes enough for 2 meals + some leftovers! I've made some modifications from the original recipe, here's my (better) version.  Lovely spooned over baked or mashed potatoes.

Tangy Cranberry Meatballs
400 degrees - 16 minutes

2lbs lean ground beef (or turkey, or a combination)
1 pkg stove top stuffing mix (I like the whole wheat)
1 cup water
2 large eggs

1 bottle (16 oz) barbecue sauce
2 cans whole berry cranberry sauce

In a large bowl, combine meat, stuffing mix, eggs and water.  Roll into 1-1/2" balls and place on foil-lined, greased (spray olive oil) cookie sheet.  You should have about 60 meatballs.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 16 minutes.

While meatballs are baking:
Combine in large pot or saucepan the cranberry sauce and bbq sauce over medium heat, stirring well to melt the cranberry jelly.  When meatballs are cooked, remove from oven and stir into sauce in pot.  Serve hot.

Saving a batch for later: (possibly my favorite part of this recipe)
Reserve half of the sauce and half of the meatballs before combining in sauce.  Put sauce in a quart freezer bag, lay flat.  Place cooled meatballs in gallon freezer bag with sauce bag on top.  To serve: Thaw sauce and meatballs then combine in pot.  Cook over low-medium heat until warm.  Serve.