Chicken Kabobs a la Blaha

Grilling food is one of my all time favorite methods of cooking. It's fun, it's easy and it's really a great way to enjoy summer (although I do know of some Bostonians who like to grill during snow season!). Last night Matthew grilled some exquisite chicken kabobs. The meat was juicy and not dry and the veggies were cooked just right. The trick to grilling chicken kabobs--as Matthew told me--is to use the indirect grilling method. This is the best technique for grilling foods such as beef roasts, pork roasts, whole turkeys, and whole or thicker cuts of chicken. Any main course that is greater than 2 inches thick should be grilled using the Indirect grilling method. Matthew placed the kabobs on the second level grill grates. He grilled the chicken for about 40 minutes, so make sure you have a cocktail with you when you're doing this.

CHICKEN KABOBS (serves 4)

• 2 packages of chicken tenders
• 1 bottle of Lawry's Teriaky Marinade (or any marinade you prefer)
• 1 large onion, cut into 1" bite size pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" bite size pieces
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1" bit size pieces
• 1 package mushrooms, cleaned
• 1 package of grape tomatoes
• Metal skewers or bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes

1. Place chicken tenders and marinade in a large zip-lock bag. Let it marinade for 30 minutes or more.
2. 15 Minutes before grilling, turn on the grill (gas or charcoal) and let it get to about 350 degrees.
3. Prepare kabobs: Start by inserting a piece onion, then a peice of chicken tender, folded up in two's or threes, depending on length. Then insert a piece of pepper or mushroom, or tomato, etc. Keep alternating with veggies and chicken. You should get 7 to 8 kabobs.
4. Place kabobs on the top level of the grill grates or, if you don't have a two level grill, on one side of the grill with heat very low while the heat on the other side is set to med-high.
5. Grill for about 30 to 40 minutes. Serve kabobs with Spinach Couscous (see below).

SPINACH COUSCOUS

• 1 can of low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup frozen spinach

• 3/4 Cup + 1 Tblsp. plain couscous
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• Dash cumin
• Dash Allspice
• Dash Cinammon
• 1 tblsp. fresh or bottled lemon juice

1. Heat the chicken broth and spinach in a large pot on high heat until it begins to boil.
2. Immediately add the rest of the ingredients and gently mix.
3. Turn off heat and remove pot from heat. Let the couscous stand for about 5 minutes to absorb all flavors. Before serving, fluff with fork and serve.

Chicken Kabobs with Spinach Couscous