Juicy jamaican jerk spiced chicken with a quick sweet and sour pineapple sauce – this Bahama Mama Chicken is a healthy 30-minute family favorite!
Did I tell you what my husband and I did for Christmas? I think I did. I probably did. Well anyway, instead of giving each other gifts to open on Christmas morning, we went on a cruise a week before Christmas. If you ever get the notion to go on a cruise with your loved ones to celebrate the holidays – do not hesitate. Just do it. I’m about to get 110% cheesy here but we honestly made some of our greatest memories together on this trip – it. was. AWESOME.
If you have done the cruise thing before, you know how ridiculously fun and relaxing they can be. If you haven’t been on a cruise, well, put it on your bucket list and next time you need to recharge (like, now) book yourself a discounted cruise and go. Money well spent I tell ya.
This was my second cruise (it was my husband’s umpteenth. just joshin’- like maybe his 8th). This time we went to the Bahamas and the weather was gorgeous, we got our re-lax-ation on big time, and ate a boatload of food (literally, since we were on a boat) and okay now I am really craving a cruise and am tempted to book another one.
Will power.
I have to say though, after the shore-exploring, beach-sitting, deck-lounging, late-night-ice-creaming, pins-colada-sipping, and altogether lazy-afternooning… my favorite part of this trip, hands down, was our trip to Blue Lagoon Island. And I know this is a little different here on CDLC because I usually try not to bore you with a bazillion pictures of my life but today, I’m sharing. Forgive me.
We took a ferry over from Nassau to Blue Lagoon Island and it was… breathtaking.
Since I was teeny tiny (I’m pretty short so I can’t say little – I have to specify that it was in the past you see) I’ve always wanted to swim with dolphins. It’s been on my bucket list since I knew how to write one. When the opportunity to visit Blue Lagoon Island came up in our plans for the cruise, I couldn’t pass it up.
I think my face here pretty sums up how I feel about the experience…
Can you tell I’m more than a little excited to be HUGGING A DOLPHIN. Our visit to Blue Lagoon Island was by far our favorite part of the whole trip and if we ever make it back to the Bahamas, you better believe we’re going for dolphin-swim-round-2.
In honor of our trip, I re-created one of my favorite dishes. I can’t for the life of me remember what the name of the original dish was but I’ve decided to call this Bahama Mama Chicken. Appropriate, don’t ya think? A little Jamaican jerk seasoning and a sweet and sour pineapple sauce (with a kick!) is right up my alley. Oh and the whole thing, ready in 30 minutes.
I just love that.
Bahama Mama Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - pounded to ½ inch thickness
- 1 tablespoon jamaican jerk seasoning
- red pepper flakes, cilantro
Sauce
- 1 cup canned crushed pineapple
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar - (may sub white vinegar)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Add crushed pineapple, garlic, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and 2/3 cup water to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. In a small bowl whisk together corn starch and cold water until dissolved. Add to boiling sauce and stir. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer while you prepare the chicken.
- Sprinkle jamaican jerk seasoning over both sides of each chicken breast and use your fingers to rub the seasoning into the chicken. Drizzle a large pan or skillet with oil over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and cook 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through. Serve over rice with the pineapple sauce and chopped cilantro. For a spicy kick, sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes.
Bahama Mama? Yes please! Recipe will be added to my bookmarks. The sauce is so tasty.