Recipe for Chicken and Veggie Kabobs with Garlic and Basil

I really love the idea behind Alysha's Virtual Recipe Club, and I've always felt bad when the deadline gets past me and I haven't managed to participate, so this month when guest host Erika from Tummy Treasure announced Food On a Stick as the theme, I wanted to be sure not to miss it. I finally managed to make something on a stick over the weekend, when a friend came for dinner.

For years I catered houseboat trips on Lake Powell in Southern Utah, and chicken kabobs with zucchini, red pepper, and red onions were something I made over and over. The recipe I came up with for this version has a bit more zing to the marinade. I didn't have any zucchini, but you could certainly add it if you have some on hand. For kabobs, one important thing is cutting the food in same-size pieces so they cook evenly. The other thing is putting the ingredients on the skewers tightly enough that food doesn't "spin" around when you turn it. If you're lucky enough to have double skewers like I do, that eliminates the problem of spinning.

I generally use fresh herbs, but in a marinade like this dried herbs are actually quite good. When I catered the houseboat trips, I would make all the marinades at home, sometimes for a week long trip, and take them to the lake in plastic bottles. Fresh herbs wouldn't have worked there. If you want to substitute fresh herbs here you can, but increase the amount a little and be sure they are chopped very finely.

Chicken Kabobs with Garlic and Basil
(2 generous servings)

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper
1 medium red onion
Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp. Spike seasoning
1 T garlic puree (sold in small jars, could substitute
finely minced garlic)
2 tsp. dried basil1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. onion powder

Instructions:

Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts, and cut each one into crosswise strips slightly over 1 inch wide. Generally this is four strips per breast, unless they are very large.

Peel onion and cut into pieces about 2 inches square.

Cut ends off red pepper, and cut into pieces about 2 inches square.

Mix marinade ingredients. Put chicken in large ziploc bag and pour marinade over. Marinate in refrigerator 4 hours. (Put red pepper and red onion in a different container and refrigerate.) After 4 hours, add red pepper and red onion to ziploc with marinating chicken and marinate 2-4 hours more.

When ready to assemble kabobs, let ingredients come to room temperature. Preheat grill to high. Thread ingredients onto kabob skewers, pressing tightly together.

When kabobs are ready to grill, turn grill to medium. Place kabobs on grill and cook 20-30 minutes, turning about every 5 minutes. Kabobs are done when chicken feels firm (not hard) to the touch and veggies are lightly browned. Serve hot.

Printer Friendly Recipe

South Beach Suggestions:

This is a perfect dish for any phase of the South Beach Diet. Kabobs would taste great with Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan or Roasted Broccoli with Garlic for phase one. For phase two or three, add something like Brown and Wild Rice with Pine Nuts and Thyme.