Last night I tried two new recipes.
Lemon Garlic Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¾-inch pieces
Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
Prepare a medium fire in a grill. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 20 minutes before use.
Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and discard the excess marinade. Lightly oil the grill grates. Place the kabobs on the grill, cover, and cook until the chicken is opaque throughout, about 8-12 minutes, turning once or twice during cooking. Transfer to a warmed platter and serve immediately.
Recipe found on Annie’s Eats Food Blog.
* The chicken pieces were in the marinade for almost four hours and turned out wonderful. The lemon and garlic flavors really came through and the chicken was tender and flavorful.
Tomato Mozzarella Pasta
This pasta side was prepared while Husband did the grilling.
Ingredients:
Coarse salt
3/4 lb. rigatoni, or other short tubular pasta
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 lb. plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp red onion finely chopped
1/4 tsp. red-pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, dice
Directions:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; add sun-dried tomatoes with about 5 minutes left in the pasta time. drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; set aside.
3. In a small skillet, heat oil over low heat. Add garlic and onion; cook, stirring often, until tender and just beginning to take on color, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in red-pepper flakes.
4. Stir garlic mixture into reserved tomato mixture. Add parsley, oregano, mozzarella, and pasta; toss.
*Loosely based on this Martha Stewart recipe. I did add the sun-dried tomatoes and red onions. I made about half of this recipe and it was a great side for the grilled chicken. I really like the distinctive balsamic vinegar flavor along with the Italian. I also loved the fresh mozzarella and using pearls made it really easy.
As I side dipping sauce for the chicken I served the leftover pita sauce from a couple nights ago.