What would we ever do if there were no chicken in the world. I suppose someone would come up with something to replace it but it just wouldn't be the same. There are just so many things you can do with chicken, the options are endless. Today we are going to cut it in cubes and put it on a skewer with some veggies. For this you will need about 2 pounds of boneless chicken breast meat. Of course the first thing you need to do is rinse the chicken well with cold water. I guess I better list some ingredients so we can get started.
Boneless, skinless chicken breast 2 pounds
Green bell pepper 1 each
Red bell pepper 1 each
Red onion, medium 1 each
Chives, fresh, chopped 2 Tbs
Garlic powder to taste
Black pepper, fresh ground to taste
Wishbone Italian dressing 8 ounces
Clean the peppers and onion and cut them in about 2 inch chunks.Trim the chicken of all fat and cut it up in chunks about the same size. Thread it all on to skewers starting with a piece of chicken, then red onion, red pepper and green pepper and repeat the process until the skewer is full ending with a piece of chicken. (Leave a little room so stuff doesn't fall off.) I had a little extra onion so I turned it around the other way and put it on the end to help hold it all together. This should fill 4-12 inch skewers easily. Again if you are using wooden or bamboo skewers you will want to soak them in water for about an hour before you put this all together. After you have them all assembled put them in a shallow pan and season them generously with the garlic powder and black pepper, sprinkle with the fresh chives and drizzle about 2 ounces of Italian dressing over each one. Find a spot in the refrigerator and let them marinate for a couple of hours or over night if you like. If overnight be sure to cover them.
While they are marinating lets come up with something to go with it. A nice green salad is a good start and today I think we will have some Rainbow Angel Hair Pasta with a Tomato Basil Sauce. Iceburg lettuce really has no nutritional value but I like it just the same and to get the nutrition I load it up with plenty of fresh veggies such as cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, red onions and tomatoes. Toss it all together and you have a salad that is very pretty and good for you too. Now Tomato Basil Sauce:
Olive oil 1/4 cup
Garlic, fresh minced 6 cloves
Onion, yellow diced small 1/4 large
Black pepper, fresh ground to taste
Tomatoes, petite diced 2- 14.5 ounce cans
Sea salt pinch
Granulated sugar (optional) 1 Tbs
Sweet Basil, fresh chopped about 1/2 cup
Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan with medium heat, add the garlic and onions and saute until slightly browned, add the tomatoes, black pepper and salt and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. In the mean time put on a pot of water to boil for your pasta, keep in mind that angel hair pasta will only take a couple of minutes. While the sauce is simmering lets cook chicken. After you put the water on to boil fire up the grill, if using charcoal start it a little sooner. When the grill is hot go ahead and put the chicken on. Once you get some nice color (about 8-10 minutes) turn the chicken over, cook about another 8-10 minutes and the chicken should be done. You can use your tongs to cut into a piece of the chicken to check if you like. Remember nobody likes medium rare chicken. Now the chicken is done, pull it and bring it in the house, cook the pasta real quick, add the basil and sugar to the sauce, drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce and serve. I think you will find the results of your labor quite pleasing. I've used angel hair pasta today but any pasta you like will work for this dish. I'm anxious for tomatoes from the garden as I am sure that they will make an even better sauce. I'm sure as we get farther in to summer we will have to revisit this dish with some fresh tomatoes. Can hardly wait. Thanks for visiting and enjoy!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment