Tonight I am tired. Knee-creaking, bone-bending, head-aching tired. It was just one of those days where, when the 2:30 school bell rang, the day took off and I held on like a dog-walking maniac who’s English Mastiff has decided to trot through the park at mock speed, pummeling everything in it’s path, with me attached to the leash.
There was a goodbye drive to get my mom to the airport, volleyball game, track practice, Tae Kwon Do class, last-minute shopping, dinner making, kitchen cleaning, child washing, husband texting, phone message checking, laundry folding, to-bed tucking. You get my drift. The evening got all up in my grill, and now my toes are throbbing and I’ve decided I don’t really want to write the four articles staring me in the face. Instead, I want to listen to Jessie J and eat a Tootsie Pop. None of this makes any sense. It just sounds like a lovely way to spend the evening.
But, I’m a grown up. So, I will press on with the responsible plans. The ones that see me putting the final creases into warm t-shirts, setting out backpacks, shining the kitchen table, tucking away shoes. Because it’s so much nicer to wake up to a clean house than it is to one with Tootsie Roll wrappers and the lingering sounds of Paycheck on the air. It really is, right? I need your reassurance here. ‘Cuz a grape Tootsie Roll Pop sounds mighty nice right now.
In the middle of tonights hectic pace, the kids crawled around the kitchen counters and threaded their own chicken skewers. This meal is flavorful, fresh, dang healthy, and totally delicious. 8-year-old Jacob said the chicken made his lips hot, kid-speak for “it was the teesiest bit spicy.” So, I highly recommend reducing the amount of jalapeno in your recipe to just a smidgen if you have sensitive lip people in your home like I do.
We served our chicken with this Black Bean & Pineapple Brown Rice. Do what we did. It’s radical.
Then, by all means, get yourself a grape Tootsie Pop, because you deserve such a fate at the end of every Monday. Grape suckers and groovin’ to sweet tunes. Yup. We could all dig a little more of that.
Sticky Mango Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
For the Sticky Mango marinade:
- 1 very ripe mango peeled and cut from the pit
- 1/2 jalapeno seeds removed
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast sliced very thin
For the Pineapple Brown Rice:
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 can black beans drained
- 1/2 fresh pineapple chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper finely diced
- 1/3 cup scallions finely diced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
For the Sticky Mango marinade:
- In a blender, combine all ingredients until smooth. Spread over the thinly sliced chicken, then cover the chicken and refrigerate for 1-8 hours.
- When ready to cook, thread the chicken onto skewers, then grill or bake in an oven preheated to 500 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve over pineapple rice.
For the Pineapple Brown Rice:
- Stir the rice, black beans, pineapple, and red bell pepper together in a large skillet.
- Heat over medium heat until hot. Remove and stir in scallions and garlic salt.
- Serve with Sticky Mango skewers.
- Enjoy!
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