Fun Fridays: Shish-Ka-Bobs

Grilling is one of those things we talk about a lot in the summer, but my favorite time to grill is in the fall. Who wants to stand around a hot grill on a hot summer day? Not me. One of our favorite things off the grill is chicken & veggie shish-ka-bobs. One of the amazing things about this recipe is that almost everyone in my family will eat the zucchini and yellow squash when it's grilled like this. Not bad for a group of squash-haters. And for the kids, it's fun to be able to eat dinner off a stick, right?

One more thing I need to mention before we get started. I chose to make my own light dressing, which comes out to about 25 calories per tablespoon. This is typical of most light Italian-type dressings. If I can find it, my favorite to use with this recipe is the Ken's Light Caesar dressing (not the creamy Caesar!). However, you can also use light Italian, Sun-Dried Tomato or any other vinagrette-type dressing and get similar results and calorie content.

So, on to the recipe!


Chicken & Veggie Shish-ka-bobs
(Makes 4 adult servings, about 220 calories each)

Marinade:
1 recipe Good Seasons Italian dressing, prepared with less oil (instructions on back)
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Dash Worcestershire sauce

Chicken & Veggies
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 zucchini or yellow squash
2 bell peppers
8 oz. fresh, whole mushrooms


Prepare marinade and set aside.

Dice chicken into large chunks. (Tip: Cut your chicken when it's half-frozen - it's so much easier!)





Place chicken in a quart-sized bag. Pour 1/2 cup marinade over top and seal the bag. Then shake gently to make sure marinade is distributed evenly around the chicken.



Assemble your veggies and slice into chunks large enough to go onto a skewer.




























Place all veggies in a gallon-sized bag and pour remaining dressing over the top (about 3/4 cup). Seal bag and shake gently to evenly distribute the marinade around the veggies. Place the bag of chicken and the bag of veggies into the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours. I suggest putting them on a plate or in a bowl in case you have a leaky bag. It's happened to me before, and it's NOT fun to clean up!

Okay, so we're fast-forwarding to dinner time and you're ready to assemble these babies. If using wood skewers, it's a good idea to soak your skewers in water for about 20-30 minutes before assembling the shish-ka-bobs. They won't blacken quite as badly on the grill. Dump your chicken and veggies into a bowl together.


Assemble the shish-ka-bobs by putting the chicken and veggies in alternating order on the skewers. You can do this in any way you'd like, but I highly recommend putting a piece of chicken on each end. Veggies tend to soften and will fall off throughout cooking, but the chicken will shrink a little and keep everything on the skewer where it is supposed to be.

Finally, grill your shish-ka-bobs unto the chicken is no longer pink in the center, turning at least once during cooking. The time will vary based on your grill, but it took me about 15-20 minutes on my gas grill.