Fabulously Frugal Friday---a Few Thoughts, and Pineapple Chicken with five ingredients....

Good morning!

Whew what a week it has been with the weather around here....we are trying to dig out from ANOTHER winter storm that dumped 8 inches of snow (on top of the 14 we had less than a week ago) and closed a lot of main roads and schools due to the blizzard winds that picked up yesterday.

The Handy Hubby had to work last night from 1 to 10pm, and finally came home at 6:30, right before the winds really started to howl and drift everything closed. It took him over an hour to travel 20 miles. But we were all so thankful to see him, as there have been many accidents and incidents the last week, even including semis and school buses. Sure reminds you how precious each moment is with your loved ones.

And there was all the news of the tragedies that happened this week. Made me not want to get on the computer, or turn on any news. It just seemed to keep happening, and with the horrible, unseasonable weather, just really brought me down this week. I have three children with a terrible cold, and by the time the storm began to howl, I found myself on my knees, praying for those impacted with the tragedies, and for the Lord to help me see the silver lining in all the darkness around me.

I am sure you can understand.

I am sure you too have been struck to the heart by the many things that have just kept happening around our country this week.

Yesterday a friend linked this video of the very first game held by the Boston Bruins after the tragedy of the bombing at the marathon, and it made me cry and sing too.

 Have you seen it yet?

And it occured to me that the American spirit is indomitable. We naturally rise to the occasion and confront this kind of thing with patriotism and defiance. That was why the whole world (other than the bad guys) rejoiced when "the Yanks" came into WW2 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They needed us, and the American spirit.

We need to remember those things now, when days seem so dark even when the sun is shining out.

And that's all I have to say about that.

I know I have been offline a lot lately for those of you who try to follow the blog, and just wanted you to know what we have been dealing with around here. Two weeks of terrible storms, bad colds for everyone, including myself, has led me to not posting as much as I would like. Just seems like there is not enough energy in the day to stretch, but now that we are on the mend, hopefully that will change!

Today I would love to share with you this wonderful, simple recipe that I have tweaked and found from a blog I enjoy reading. It is SO EASY to throw together, and makes a fantastic dinner that takes little work for the person making it.

Best of all, the kids love it, and you can make it gluten-free if your kids or family members have an allergy to that. 
Just choose gluten free soy sauce.

Here is the basic recipe link: 

image from link above---doesn't her recipe look amazing?

and here is what I changed:

8 lbs of chicken

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 large cans (about 32 oz each) of pineapple tidbits.

I used about 8 lbs of chicken, because I tell you what, this is one recipe that everyone loves and leftovers are a must. We have five in our family, and on Fridays my mom often eats with us. This will give us enough for dinner, plus lunch tomorrow or later this weekend if we want.

I did NOT drain the pineapple, and added it last after putting the brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and soy sauce over the chicken. That way everything mixes together with little effort, and turns out saucier and juicier. (makes me drool just thinking about it).

I always, ALWAYS cook this meal on low for up to 8 hours, because the meat practically falls off the bone and makes for a wonderful dish, or for leftovers for salad. It gives the pineapple time to really infuse the chicken as well. When the leftovers are refrigerated, the flavors are even more intense, including the spice, so go easy on that unless your family loves hot stuff.

I do not thicken the juice. We serve this meal with a salad, and over brown rice, and the more juice, the better. If you want to thicken the sauce, use cornstarch to keep it gluten-free.

Blessings to you and yours,

Heather

Here is another option for recipes for pineapple chicken, just a little more involved...

The Crockpot I recommend as well as a few ingredients from Amazon: