Grilled Chicken Burgers with Pineapple and Teriyaki

We are headed off to San Diego for a family trip this weekend, so this will be the last post for a few days. This is our first real vacation with Emory, and I am so excited! He gets to go to the beach for the first time which is really exciting for me because me and Toby love the beach, and I hope Emory does too.

For some reason in the summer I crave grilled foods. I think it is all of the memories I have of the beautiful weather in the summer, and the many family dinners we had eating outside and grilling food. In the theme of the beach, I wanted to post this recipe before I left. It is the perfect recipe for a summer evening out by the grill. The beach make me think of hawaii, which makes me think of pineapple, and this recipe is based off of a burger I had while I was vacationing in Hawaii a couple of years ago. This burger is not only healthy, but it bursts with flavor.

A few simple ingredients really make this easy for anyone to make. I used fresh pineapple because to me there is nothing better than fresh fruit, but if you can't find it, or if you prefer you can used the canned pineapple rounds. I like this recipe with grilled chicken, but you could certainly make this using hamburgers instead.

Grilled Chicken Burgers with Pineapple and Teriyaki

Technically there is nothing burger about this besides the fact that it is layered like a burger, but burger sounds so much more appetizing than sandwich...

6 of your favorite hamburger buns

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

6 slices of provolone cheese

2 avocados, seed removed, each half sliced lengthwise

1 fresh pineapple, tough skin removed, cut in rounds, with the center removed (i use a small round shot glass to remove the hard center) you will use 6 rounds (1 for each burger)

1 1/4 cup of your favorite teriyaki sauce, plus more for spreading. (I used KC Masterpiece Honey Teriyaki with Sesame)

Place chicken breasts in a ziplock bag, and pour 1 cup of the teriyaki sauce in the bag. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (I marinate mine  for 2-3 hours). In another ziplock bag, place pineapple with the remaining 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce. Set in fridge to marinate until ready to grill. 

Heat grill to medium high heat. Grill chicken for 7-10 minutes on each side until chicken is fully cooked. When you flip the chicken, place the cheese on the chicken, and place the pineapple on the grill and cook until nice grill marks appear, about 5 minutes on each side. As soon as the pineapple is done, place one round on top of the cheese on each piece of chicken. Put a small amount of teriyaki sauce on the bun, then the chicken, provolone, and pineapple, followed by the fresh avocado. You can add any other topping you like, but for this burger I like to keep it simple.