Jerk Chicken Kabobs

Lately I have been in desperate need of quick dinners because it's a busy time of the year for both my husband and myself. Although the chicken does sit in the marinade in the fridge for an hour (or so) beforehand, once on the kabobs, it's less than 10 minutes before you get to eat these all up. I'm usually not one to use a marinade either but I can't stand the taste of plain chicken (and I despise using salt and pepper alone). So I tried this recipe and it was absolutely amazing. It wasn't too spicy but it did have some kick to it. It also wasn't too overpowering of a taste .. it was just right! I also experimented with more fruits and veggies and I will tell you that the mango and pineapple went best with the kabobs. I won't be doing the onion again. The red pepper was okay, but to be fair I prefer green pepper.

Jerk Chicken Kabobs

Adapted from: Homemade by Holman

For the marinade:

juice of 1 lime

1/2 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/8 tsp cinnamon

For the kabobs:

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 mango

1/4 whole pineapple

1 red bell pepper

Start the marinade about 1 hour before you plan on heating up the grill. Mix all marinade ingredients in a large tupperware container until uniform. Chop the chicken into 1-inch cubes and place into the tupperware containing the marinade. Toss to coat well (or put the lid on tight and shake vigorously). Place in the fridge and keep in there for at least 45-60 minutes. You can also use a large ziplock freezer bag for this, but I recommend tupperware because it is more eco-friendly and you can always reuse it.

While the chicken is in the refrigerator, chop the mango, pineapple and bell pepper to 1-inch pieces and set aside in separate bowls. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes prior to grilling. I did this by using a 9x13 baking dish, putting a small amount of water in it and placing a small glass dish on top (to keep them from floating).

When the chicken is done in the fridge, place the cubes onto 4 wooden skewers leaving a slight gap in between each piece. Then, place the vegetables and fruit on four SEPARATE SKEWERS.

Begin by setting the grill on medium heat and placing the chicken on the bottom rack. Cook until they look almost done on the bottom side (about 3-5 minutes) and flip over. Then, add the fruit/vegetable kabobs to the top rack (if you have one) and leave there until chicken is done cooking and is no longer pink (about 3-5 minutes). Serves: 3-4.

TIP: You never want to make kabobs where the meat and the vegetables are on the same skewer because you will overcook the veggies and undercook the meat. They cook at different lengths of time (just as different meats do). Therefore, place all different kinds of meat on separate skewers from each other AND the veggies.