Grilled Rosemary Chicken Kabobs

Grilled Rosemary Chicken Kabobs with vegetables and an easy marinade. Loaded with delicious fresh herb flavor. Grills in minutes!

I’m not sure how the day got away from me, but it did. I had high aspirations when I got up this morning, but before I knew it, it was midafternoon and almost time for my monthly book wine club meeting with some of my favorite women. We’ve been a book club for a dozen or so years now ~ friends longer than that ~ and there was actually a time when we used to read. Times change though and somehow life got even busier (or did the days just get shorter?) so we no longer read an assigned book every month. It works out just fine because it leaves more time for important things, like food. . .and wine. . .and friendship. Wait ~ you’re here for Marinated Rosemary Chicken Kabobs, right? Read on. . .

Kabobs are the kind of food I wish I could have eaten when I was kid. . .that is, if the adults in my life trusted me with a sharp object, such as a skewer. They probably had a good reason not to. What’s not to like about some of your favorite foods all on one convenient stick? These Marinated Rosemary Chicken Kabobs marinated about 4 hours. Overnight is even better, but they should marinate at least a couple of hours. More time = more flavor.

I need to find more adjectives for ‘simple’ or ‘easy’ but that’s the way I like to eat ~ and entertain ~ and live my life. I have plenty of labor-intensive meals too, but they’re reserved for the fall and winter months, like Stuffed Cabbage and Bolognese but everyone’s time seems short these days, yet we all like a good meal and time to spend with family and friends, so here it is ~ easy:

• About one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in about 1 1/4″ cubes.
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2-3 large sprigs of Rosemary
• 2 – tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• Zest and juice from one lemon
• Sea salt and pepper

On the rare occasions I buy pre-made kabobs from the store, the meat or chicken pieces are too large for my liking. Cutting them a bit smaller means you don’t have to overcook the outside of the chicken to make sure the inside is properly done.

The other item of ‘business’ is that when I grill I like to season the outside of the meat or chicken with coarse sea salt. I don’t know the science behind it, I just know it gives it more flavor. 

The Marinade:

Add the olive oil, garlic, Rosemary, balsamic vinegar and the zest and juice from one lemon to a large ziplock bag. Close the bag and squish the outside with your fingers to blend the marinade. Drop in the chicken cubes. Refrigerate several hours or up to overnight for even more flavor. Just before grilling, skewer the kabobs and, if you like, some large chunks of onion or other vegetables. Kabobs are a great way to use up any leftover vegetables. Give them a good seasoning with the coarse sea salt and some fresh-cracked black pepper.

Grilling:

Over medium/medium-high heat, grill the kabobs about 3-4 minutes per side, turning once until they’re a beautiful brown and fully cooked inside.

What you do with the kabobs from here is up to you! I like to also grill some pita bread to eat with it. Sometimes I’ll add a dollop of tzatziki and serve them with rice or Pesto Potatoes. It’s all so, so good.

My garden is planted, including my favorite herbs. I love being able to just walk outside the have all this freshness, especially after a too-long winter of snow and cold. I try to infuse herbs of some sort into whatever I make. It brightens up the flavor in a way that dried herbs just can’t do.

The book wine club meeting was tons of fun and (gasp) we actually may be reading something this month! As my husband likes to say, time will tell. None of these women are childhood friends though I do have another friend that’s not part of this group I’ve known literally since birth. It’s great to have friends that share different stages of your life. Almost all of the women in this group I’ve known since my early days of parenthood. Making friends as you age isn’t as easy. As a child, there were neighborhood friends, school friends, later on work friends and once I married and had kids of my own ~ their parents became my friends. It was almost effortless. Staying in touch with friends can be challenging . . .life gets busy. So even though my friends and I don’t read books like we used to, we still make time to get together, share stories and a lot of laughs and catch up on eachother’s lives. Maybe one day we’ll read again. . .but in the meantime, please enjoy these Marinated Rosemary Chicken Kabobs with your friends and family and let me know what kind of things you like to do with your friends. I’d love to from you. Cheers!

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