Every year, I close up my classroom for summer and within a week we take a trip up to the Sierras to stay at our family’s cabin. It’s such a perfect way to kick off summer vacation and unwind after another crazy year in the classroom. This is no fancy mountain chalet, it’s a cabin that was built in the 30’s for the workers constructing the I-395, and while it now has electricity and indoor plumbing, not much else has changed. Its simplicity is one of the reasons why we love it so much. It sits on a creek and is surrounded by aspen and pine trees. There’s no wifi or cable so our days are spent outside by the creek or hiking in the mountains. At night we play cards or games, rock out to 80’s music or old school country, sip some wine and cocktails, and just enjoy the company we are with.

The cabin has a really cool gas and wood burning stove/oven which makes it fun to cook and play in the kitchen. On the other hand, the cabin gets it water from a pump you put in the creek which makes doing the dishes you dirtied up while playing in the kitchen a pain in the ass! So, while we love cooking up there and experimenting in the altitude we do so by using the least amount of dishes possible. In fact, we’ve turned it into a competition and whoever can cook with the fewest dishes wins. The loser has to take a dunk in the creek, which is run-off from the melting ice and snow on the mountains. This dish was a winner! If you do it on the grill, clean up is a breeze!

You can use any BBQ sauce you’d like but be sure to check the labels. Companies hide a ton of extra sugar and chemicals in BBQ sauce. We like the Primal Kitchen BBQ sauce for its clean ingredients but it’s flavor profile skews a little on the tomato sauce side which is why we jazz it up a bit for this recipe. If you like it as is feel free to skip the marinade mix and simply douse your chicken in 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce. Your kitchen, your rules.

Just curious, how did you grow up summering? Did you stay home and relax while your parents were at work? Did you take family vacations? My parents both worked so my sister and I spent weekdays at home with our Grandparents but most weekends we went camping at Lake Powell. Gabe and his family went to the mountain cabin but they also spent most weekends on a horse ranch camping and trail riding. Fun fact, his horse was named QT Rocket.

Happy Cooking!

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Grilled BBQ Chicken and Pineapple Lettuce Wrap

The grilled pineapple and smokey bbq sauce on this wrap blend together into a perfect mix of sweet and tang.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword bbq, grilling, paleo, quick and easy, weeknight meal

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 253kcal

Ingredients

• 2 LBS boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/2" thick rounds

BBQ Marinade

• 1 cup BBQ sauce we prefer Primal Kitchen
• 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp crushed red chilis

For Serving

• 1 tomato, sliced into rounds
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 head butter or red/green leaf lettuce, leaves washed and separated

Instructions

• Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat and spray with cooking oil
• Add the BBQ sauce and marinade spices to a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside 1/4 cup-1/2 cup of the marinade and pour the rest over the chicken. Rub the marinade so that it completely covers the chicken. You can cook the chicken right away or you can put in a resealable bag and let it sit in the marinade for up to 8 hours
• Add the chicken to the grill and cook until it has reached an internal temperature of 165, about 7-8 minutes per side
• Remove chicken from the grill and turn heat down to medium. Add the pineapple and grill for 2-3 minutes per side, or until you see dark grill marks.
• To serve, layer the chicken, pineapple, tomato, and onion on a lettuce leaf. Drizzle with reserved marinade and then top with an additional lettuce leaf.

Nutrition

Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 12g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g