Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs with Garlic and Basil

Ingredients

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 large red onion
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 T fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. Spike seasoning
• 1 T garlic puree
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1 tsp. onion powder

Directions

Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts, and cut each one into crosswise strips slightly over 1 inch wide. Generally this is four strips per breast, unless they are very large.Peel onion and cut into pieces about 2 inches square.Cut ends off red pepper, remove seeds, and cut the pepper into pieces about 2 inches square.Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper, Spike Seasoning, pureed garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, dried sage, and onion powder to make the marinade.Put the chicken in a large Ziploc bag (big enough to hold the vegetables later) and pour marinade over.Marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours (or longer.)Put the chunks of red pepper and red onion in a different container and refrigerate while the chicken is marinating.About 2-4 hours before you want to cook the kabobs, add red pepper and red onion to the plastic bag with the chicken and continue to marinate.When you’re ready to assemble kabobs, drain the chicken and veggies and let ingredients come to room temperature. (Don’t save the marinade to baste with, because the bacteria from the raw chicken may not be killed if you baste too close to the end of the cooking time.) Spray the grill with nonstick spray or brush with a high smoke point oil, and preheat grill to high.Thread ingredients onto kabob skewers, pressing tightly together. Put kabobs on the grill and turn grill down to medium-high. (If you’re using a charcoal that can’t be turned down, cooking time will be slightly shorter.)Turn kabobs when you see grill marks on each side, cooking about 4-5 minutes per side or a total cooking time of about 16-20 minutes. Kabobs are done when chicken feels firm (not hard) to the touch and veggies are lightly browned. Serve hot.