Hey, hey!
What a great Monday! Nothing particularly exciting happened (well I did have a mini brownie bite. You know, the ones from Costco that are sogoodyouwanttoheatamillionbutyouknowyoushouldstopat234. Yeah, those!) but work was plentiful which made it go by quickly, and I had not one, but two super sweat sessions!
During lunch I headed down to the gym and did 30 minutes/3 miles on the elliptical while watching the news. Good news too – no snow in the foreseeable future. Whee! After work I completed the 41 minute interval treadmill workout while watching the queen of day-time talk, Ellen! Now I love Oprah, who doesn’t, but I LOVE Ellen. I love her humor, her show, her bits, everything. She rules – oh, and she can make 40 minutes on the treadmill seem like 4. ‘Nuff said.
![ellen[1]](http://iowagirleats.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ellen1.jpg "ellen[1]")
By the time I got home, I was ready to start gnawing on the woodwork, so I got right to work on dinner – Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Sandwiches!
Since my grill is currently under 3 feet of snow, I pulled out my trusty grill pan.
This is a Calphalon non-stick and I just love it.
I used two spice blends in tonight’s dinner – Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning, and Wild ‘n’ Mild Grilling & Marinade Sauce.
I sprinkled the Mrs. Dash over a couple of pineapple slices that were going to top the sandwich.
When I was cutting up my pineapple earlier this weekend, I saved two slices just for these sandwiches. 
I don’t have a corer, so I used a mini tulep cookie cutter to get the hard core out!
I grilled those babies up for about 4-5 minutes a side. Just long enough to soften them up, but not get too soft!
I marinated the chicken breasts in this blend that I ordered from Tina’s site when she was having a $1 special on the bottles. Sweet! It’s really thick – and has a TON of flavor!
I only marinated my chicken breasts for ~15 minutes, and the flavor really stuck around. Looks at those grill marks!
Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.
Assembled on a toasted Deli Thin and served with freshly steamed broccoli and a side of BBQ sauce. What could be better?
You know I adore roasted broccoli, but steamed broccoli takes 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the microwave, and is a hungry girl’s BFF.
Plus it’s just so GOOD, you know? Simple is sometimes best.
Let’s talk about this sandwich. Omg, it was awesome!!
Even though an actual grill wasn’t used, I think your brain tricks itself into tasting the rich, smokey flavors just by seeing the grill marks!
The seasoning on the pineapple and marinade on the chicken were great compliments to the two ingredients. They enhanced, not masked, the natural flavors.
BBQ dippage was necessary and on point. Real good, folks!
Ok, do you realize what tonight is? It’s Monday, but it’s also Bachelor: The Women Tell All! JUICY! 
I can’t wait to see what crazy Michelle has been up to!
Good night!
~~~~~
Team Ellen or Team Oprah?
Related posts:
Team Oprah.
I agree roasted broccoli is amazing but I feel like it’s less fun when you plan that much for food!
Oprah is classic… Ellen is awesome, but Oprah will always be classic.
Those tulips look so cute at the center. Score one for ingenuity.
I waver between Oprah and Ellen. For a good laugh I love Ellen but for something more serious I love Oprah. Kind of like tea and coffee…can’t choose but I love them both.
I guess team Ellen. Only because Oprah has been annoying the crap out of me for the last few years.
I was seriously thinking of making these this week. No lie!
Oh, I just love how excited you get over your food. You’re so adorable!
Ugh, I totally thought tonight was the finale but its just the girls tell all and surprisingly, my hubby is more into this now than I am. LoL, he’s glued to the TV right now. Maybe it’s all the hot women?
Enjoy darling!
OH how lovely! You know what else is great with pineapple?? Sharp cheddar…droool
Yum that food looks oh so good!! By the way, I do not like Oprah
But I LOVE Ellen!!! Oprah just seems like she is too good/has too much money for her own good. But that is my opinion. I love ellen because she acts normal and goofy and isn’t afraid to look dumb. She’s more fun!
Team Ellen 100x over. LOVE her. When I’m feeling especially unproductive, I even go as far as YouTubing clips from her show. And if you want to die laughing- you should definitely look up her convo’s with Gladys. Hilarious. And can’t wait for WTA. I hope Rozlyn makes an appearance too- that’d be super juicy!!!
OMG…that episode aired when I was at the hospital in LABOR with my son 3 years ago!!! Seriously hilarious.
I love love love Ellen. I’ve loved her since her sitcom, no contest!
I love pineapple but I never used to like it on savory foods. BUT, last year I had pineapple on pizza and actually loved it! Also, I’m SO excited about the Bachelor, it’s sad how excited I am… lol.
sad to say i haven’t seen ellen! gasp, i know!! i’ll have to try & catch it sometime soon.
and i’m pretty sure we must have had similar thoughts tonight! I just don’t have one those awesome grill pans…I had to bake my chicken.
I have immense amounts of respect for Oprah…..But I just love Ellen! She’s so funny and can take it down to a serious level when necessary. She seems so sincere and genuine and I LOVE that she is helping to spread a good word about veganism around! Love her.
Team Ellen! She is so funny!
OMG girl, that sandwich sounds amazing!!! Holy cow. Pineapple… I heart pineapple. Yum..
And Costco brownie bites are amazing!!!
Looks yummy… gotta go with team Ellen!! whoop whoop!!
Oooo I have a coupon for some Mrs. Dash and this flavor sounds fantastic, glad I saw it here! Dinner looks so summery & fresh, love it.
That sandwich looks awesome, pineapple with chicken is one of my favorite combos. Also, you got me massively craving steamed broccoli!
Team Ellen all the way! She seriously cracks me up. I’m glad to know that I’m not the only person in the world who is not a fan of Oprah.
That sandwich looks sooooo good. I love fresh pineapple, but I’ve never tried it with chicken.
Oh my, I can’t wait to see the Bachelor tonight!!! Oh, and I left you an award on my blog
Grilled pineapple…yum! Your sandwich looked great!
It looks like you are using the grill pan on a flat top ceramic
stove??? Does this work well for you? I had been told that
I couldn’t use a grill pan on a flat top.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
This post made me think of my uncle. He makes grilled chicken ‘n’ pineapple all the time =]
I’m throwing in a curve ball and giving out some love to the Bonnie Hunt show =).
And I swear, everything is better grilled – fruit, pizza, veggies, I’ve even had grilled cheese… not the sandwich =) hah but Brie.
Gawsh that bbq chicken looks like a WIN – the grill marks make it look way more appealing
No Ellen over here (I feel I’m missing out :’() but I’ve seen Oprah once or twice, so I’ll have to vote for her…
Where are your plates from?!
I love the tablecloth (?) in the background!
I have to say Team Ellen!! She just makes me laugh all the time-such a great personality. I have never been an Oprah at all from the beginning. Oprah is just all about Oprah to me. And your dinner…..yum!!! I know what I’m making tonight:)
Team Ellen all the way! I do love a good Oprah giveaway episode though.
i’ve always been a team Ellen! i just love her! she makes me laugh so much!
That grilled pineapple looks AMAZING! that is my favorite fruit to grill on the grill! OMG i can’t wait till summer now!
Team Ellen ALL.THE.WAY!!!!!!!
grilled pineapple and chicken pair so well together. Love the tulip cut-outs lol!
Gotta say that pineapple and broccoli make a really good combination–I recommend it on salads!
Definitely Team Ellen!
Those sandwiches look really good! I wish I had some chicken in the freezer so I could make them … and some pineapple. I’ll have to keep this in mind for dinner next week!
K
Team Ellen all the way!!!
Awesome chicken & pineapple sandwich!!
[...] was a lovely creation, reminiscent of something Iowa Girl Kristin made the other day: Grilled chicken and pineapple with BBQ sauce and steamed [...]