Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Malibu Chicken Sandwiches - A Grilling Favorite!

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc.  its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FireUpTheGrill #CollectiveBias


Our grill is currently getting quite the workout! I took a childhood favorite of mine, Malibu Chicken, and turned it into an amazing grilled chicken sandwich with grilled pineapple and crunchy sweet red baby bell peppers served on a ciabatta bun. Mmm... summer perfection on a plate!

As a child, there were a few go-to meals I would always order when we ate out. Malibu Chicken was one of those. The combination of Swiss cheese, tangy ham and a sweet mustard sauce was my favorite way to dress up a simple chicken breast. Just recently I was thinking about that Malibu Chicken, but I wanted to make it summer friendly by throwing it on a bun with a few more veggies and sweet grilled pineapple.

Did it work?

Yes! I think this twist on my childhood favorite is even better than the original. My secret weapon is marinading the chicken breasts in buttermilk first to keep them tender and juicy.


Honestly, buttermilk just makes it better. Marinating the chicken ahead of grilling keeps the chicken breast really moist and flavorful. No one enjoys dry grilled chicken, right? I just added salt and pepper, a little garlic and paprika to the buttermilk.

My other sandwich addition was to throw on some grilled pineapple. My kids are obsessed with the warm, juicy slices of grilled pineapple right now. Just throw them on the hot grill before cooking the chicken. (I like to add them to a clean grill.) Grill marks are optional, though always fun, as long as the pineapple is warmed through and starts to carmelize, they will be amazing.


And then throw on the chicken! I didn't do anything extra to these boneless, skinless chicken breasts other then the marinade and then a little salt and pepper.


But the real stars of this meal were all the great Kraft brand items I picked up my local Walmart. In fact, I was able to pick up Kool-Aid and a fresh Walmart Marketside Ceasar Salad kit to pull this all together for an easy weeknight meal outside.

With a warm grilled sandwich, side salad, and cold drink, does it get much more "summer" than that?


So once the chicken wsa cooked through, I piled on a few slices of Oscar Mayer Selects Natural Applewood Smoked Ham and topped it with a Kraft Big Slice of Swiss cheese. Just an additional minute or two on the grill and the cheese was sufficiently melted.


Then it was time to create my perfect Malibu Chicken sandwich! I picked up lettuce as well as red baby bell peppers for my sandwich, again all at Walmart. Don't you love it when you can get everything in one stop?



I put a little Kraft Real Mayo down first and then started to layer my ingredients on the fresh ciabatta buns.


And since I am a fan of sweet bell peppers and pineapple together, I thought it would add the perfect 'crunch' to my sandwich. We are loving those cute little baby bell peppers right now. My kids love to snack on them plain, but they also work well to throw into recipes.


Then I served up my Malibu Chicken Sandwich with my side Ceasar salad and a big glass of Kool-Aid. Yum!


Malibu Chicken Sandwich

You will need:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 c. buttermilk
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 tsp. paprika
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 8 pineapple rings (2 per sandwich), drained and patted dry
  • 4 slices Kraft BIG Slice Swiss Cheese
  • 8 slices Oscar Mayer Selects Natural Applewood Smoked Ham
  • 2 red baby bell peppers, sliced
  • lettuce
  • Kraft Real Mayo
  • Sweet Mustard Sauce
Sweet Mustard Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp. Kraft Real Mayo
  • 1 tsp. yellow mustard
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • 1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

Whisk together the buttermilk, garlic, paprika and salt and pepper in a dish. Marinade the chicken in the buttermilk mixture for up to 4 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

Spray the grill with non-stick spray and then grill the pineapple slices for 2-3 minutes per side. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill the chicken for 5 minutes on the first side. Then flip with tongs and grill till the chicken is cooked through. Check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. When done, place two slices of ham on each chicken breast. Top with a slice of Swiss cheese. Cover for a minute or until the cheese just starts to melt. Remove from the grill.

To create the Sweet Mustard Sauce, whisk together the Dijon mustard, Kraft Real Mayo, yellow mustard, honey and Worchestershire sauce. Set aside or chill until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.

To assemble, spread ciabatta buns with Kraft Real Mayo. Place a lettuce leaf on the bottom, top with a chicken breast, then top with 2 pineapple slices and sliced red pepper. Drizzle the Sweet Mustard over the chicken breast and top with the remaining bun.

Enjoy!


And don't forget to grab all the ingredients for this summer meal idea at Walmart. They have have a great selection of Kraft brands as well as Marketside sides and a fresh produce section to help you pull it all together like a pro.




And if you are looking for even more great grilling recipe ideas? Ccheck out the Kraft digital cookbook full of inspiration for your summer meals.

Andrea
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