Chicken Shish Kabobs

Chicken kabobs are an easy and fun meal to make for family or friends! All the different vegetables give you tons of nutrients such as fiber, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C! A common rule of thumb is the more colors in the fruits and vegetables, the more nutrients!  For the marinade, I like to use lite Italian dressing to keep it easy. That way, most of your time can be spent cutting the veggies and assembling the kabobs. On the grill, I cook the kabobs on high heat with frequent turning for the kabobs. The high heat allows the chicken and vegetables to get slightly charred while maintaining all of the juices! I strongly recommend this cooking method but these can also be prepared in the oven and be just as tasty (see below for details).

Kabobs are one of my favorite meals because it’s a fun way to incorporate your favorite veggies all in one meal! Assembling the kabobs is also fun, putting on different combinations to your liking. These are great for leftovers to take for lunch the following day or have for dinner another night during the week. Sometimes I throw the leftover kabobs onto a salad and it’s delicious! Brown rice goes really well with this meal or some whole wheat couscous and a side salad. Enjoy!

 

Recipe Serves 6; makes about 10 kabobs

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc or Gruner Veltliner

 

Ingredients
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks

2 medium zucchini, sliced into circles

2 bell peppers, cut into medium chunks

4 portobello mushrooms, cut into quarters or eighths

1 large onion, cut into wedges

Canned or fresh pineapple chunks (optional)

3/4 C Lite Italian dressing (l like Wish Bone) – See ** for alternate marinade

Garlic powder

Salt and pepper

10-12 Skewers

Canola oil for greasing grates on grill to prevent sticking

**For an alternate recipe: Replace Italian dressing with either Greek seasoning or Italian seasoning. Once kabobs are assembled drizzle about 1/4 cup olive oil on kabobs and generously sprinkle seasoning on top of kabobs (about 1 T) and extra garlic powder and black pepper (1 tsp each). Then serve tzatziki on the side. DELISH!

 

Directions:

1. If cooking kabobs in oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using grill, light grill and heat on high.

2. Prepare vegetables according to sizes above. If you have trouble, think about cutting the vegetables in a way that will be easy to put onto skewers. Set vegetables aside.

3. On separate cutting board cut chicken into about 1 inch chunks. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder onto chicken.

4. Assemble kabobs to your liking. I like to put about 5 pieces of chicken on per skewer and I like to have a zucchini on each end with a mixture of veggies and chicken in the middle.

5. Put the kabobs onto one plate or baking pan. Baste marinade generously onto kabobs so that all kabobs are covered with marinade.

6. If using grill: Put about 2 tablespoons of oil onto a cloth or paper tower bundle. Grease grates of grill before using to prevent sticking. After greasing, put all kabobs onto grill, cover and heat on high heat for 12 minutes, turning a quarter of the way every 3 minutes (you will turn for a total of 4 times). Skewers should be slightly charred with juices coming out. Make sure chicken is fully cooked through (not pink) before removing from grill.

If using oven: Put skewers onto large baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. 15 minutes through, turn chicken and baste with more marinade if kabobs seem dry. When done, chicken should be brown on edges and vegetables should be tender. Make sure chicken is fully cooked (not pink in middle) before removing from oven.

Serve kabobs on skewers and enjoy!