I love anything I can skewer and put on the grill. one of my favorite herbs to use during the summer is dill. I also love making new sauces or marinades for chicken. To be honest I am not a “lover” of chicken so when I can transform it, I get excited! This chicken was so tender and flavorful with he fresh herbs I could easily be convinced to eat this every night. The mix of this marinade and the fresh veggies took this shish-kabob over the top!

You will need:

Fresh Veggies!! Below is what I chose but by all means if you want to try to add, take away or replace something here, feel free.

• 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into about 2inch by 2inch pieces. This does not have to be perfect.
• 2 zucchini *block cut
• 2 yellow squash *block cut
• 1 large Vidalia onion *block cut
• 1 16oz pack of large button mushrooms (remove stems only)
• 3 Peppers, red, green and yellow, use your favorite combo
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• 4 nice large sprigs of Dill
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 large garlic clove or 2 small chopped
• 1 cup cup of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup of your favorite Italian dressing (a creamy blend works best for this)
• Kabob skewers, bamboo skewers work great too.

In a large bowl, make your marinade first, then divide into two bowls; one large bowl for the veggies and one for the cut chicken.

In the first bowl add your olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic chopped and Italian dressing. Now add the dill, parsley and basil all roughly chopped. I love using fresh herbs, something about it makes me feel so healthy.

Now, separate the marinade. The smaller bowl will obviously get enough to nicely coat the chicken. Take your chicken out and cut into the wedges removing any loose skin or rough parts and put the nicely cut chicken into the smaller bowl with the marinade, cover with saran wrap and pop right into the fridge.  This will marinade at least for a 1/2 hour. Longer is always better but 1/2 hour will give you a good flavor if you are in a hurry.

Next, chop your vegetables. Below I have shown you the block chops I did on my veggies for easy skewering. If you are using bamboo skewers soak them in water while you cut the veggies this will keep them from burning up on the grill.

Peppers and onions. See how they are just the right size for skewering? If you go too small, they will break or snap when you try and poke them through.

Cut your zucchinis and squash lengthwise first, then across. Wash the mushrooms( I know this is controversial with some but something in me just has to wash them off). Carefully pull the stem out and they are ready! Don’t cut them out they will pop out very easily.

Rinse the tomatoes and leave as is. They just don’t need to marinade, they are perfect the way they are.

Take your fresh cut veggies and place into that large reserved bowl with the waiting marinade and toss together. Just look at those herbs and how everything is coated. Don’t eat them now!, OK, maybe just one piece.

When I am ready to start skewering I put on my favorite apron because no matter what I do, I always end up throwing at least one piece at myself! Start with a firm veggie at the bottom of the skewer layering on veggies and chicken, then end with another stronger vegetable such as a pepper or squash

As you can see, I laid everything on a large baking sheet. This makes it easy to carry to the grill. I know it looks like enough for a football team, right? Well remember, I am making enough for 5 people all the time right now.  In saying that, I will tell you when we were done we only had enough for 1 person left over. When you have all your skewers done, take the left over marinade and pour the remainder right over the shish-kabobs. Time to take them to the grill!

Your grill should be on medium to medium-low. Lay each skewer so that they are butted up right against each other but easy to turn, you will need a pot holder and a good pair of tongs to help you balance the kabob when you turn them. Grill each side for about 15 mintues, then turn. You will be able to see the nice light char when you flip the first side over.  After another 10-15 min, see if they are ready to turn again.

While the first side is cooking, bring the baking sheet back in and wash throughly to get it ready! Get it ready? Yes!! Everyone always asks me, “How do your kabobs stay so flavorful?”.  This is the secret. Take the baking sheet, add a schmearing (is that a word?)(Editor Note: No, it is not but will let it remain for future inclusion to Merriam-Webster.) of olive oil, a sprinkling of kosher salt and a 1/4 cup of creamy Italian dressing. When the kabobs are ready, place them on this pan and kind of shimmy them around so they get nice and coated. Keep the pan as it is perfect for serving. I served mine with some nice yellow rice, using Vigo as I love the seasoning in it; very simple and light. I also squeezed a touch of lemon in. The chicken, fresh dill and lemon really shine through on this dish. This is a huge hit at backyard dinner parties and is so easy and elegant. Enjoy!