Mar. 17 - Honey Chicken Skewers

The nearly-70 degree grilling weather trumped any plan to do something green or Irish in nature for the St. Patty's holiday. I've been wanting to do the skewers, but hate waiting until Scott gets home from work (usually around 6:30 p.m.) to get dinner STARTED. I like to eat as soon as he walks through the door - not wait for him to make it?! He was off today for Lindsay's dance class (it was parent observation day), so we took advantage of both the weather and the fact that he was home to make the honey chicken skewers and some roasted veggies.

Before I delve into the specifics, I'm super excited - I learned how to turn on our grill! For the past ten years, Scott is in charge of "outdoor cooking," while I've been in charge of anything indoors. I've always wanted to learn how to grill, but never challenged the unwritten rules. But 2010 is bringing in some changes in the way I cook (remember my ribs?!?), so I asked him to teach me how to turn on the grill and some of his basic "grilling principles." You might all laugh at me - but I'm so naive when it comes to this!

So, anyways, back to the meal! I made the honey chicken skewers and then roasted some corn and broccoli to accompany the chicken. The corn was just frozen kernels and then I bought some fresh broccoli from Wegmans today. I drizzled them with a little olive oil, some balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper, then roasted them in the oven for about 25 minutes on 450. They turned out really well - crisp and flavorful...although the corn was a tad overdone (the broccoli, however, was perfect!). The honey chicken skewers were super easy - here's the recipe:


Honey Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt and pepper
bamboo skewers

Directions

1. Place twenty 8-inch wooden skewers in water to soak. Heat grill to medium-high. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, honey, and Worcestershire sauce; set aside.
2. Slice the chicken lengthwise into twenty 1/2-inch-thick strips. Thread each strip onto a wooden skewer. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Lightly oil the grill. Cook the chicken, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes, basting with the ketchup mixture during the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Lindsay LOVED the fact that she could eat these chicken pieces right off of the bamboo stick - finger food is always a hit in our house! The boy thought the chicken was good - very light with it being cut up that small - and suggested it accompany corn on the cob in the summer. He was still starving after dinner (I only made 10 skewers - 4 for each of us and 2 for Linds), but if he had two or three cobs to eat with the skewers, then he'd fill up quickly. I'd suggest making the full 20 skewers for a family of 3 or 4.

We also agreed that while the ketchup sauce was good, you could also get the same tastiness from some good ol' Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce. It might not have been the recipe that kicked ass, rather the skewers and smaller portions (i.e. how it was cooked). All in all, it was a fantastic dinner (finished off well with some Girl Scout cookies, courtesy of our niece, Caroline, and a few Coronas and lime)...but a few small changes could have made it perfect!