Greek Chicken Kabobs with Lemon Rice

I am excited to say that I have found a yummy, easy, and healthy recipe! I have felt like I have done the same dinners the past month-stir fry, pasta, breaded chicken breasts. I needed something new, and something amazing. These chicken kabobs definitely fit the description. They are so flavorful while tasting so light. I paired these kabobs with a Greek salad and Greek lemon rice. Rarely do I ever make a meal, sit down to eat it, and rave about my own work-but last night I couldn't stop saying how delicious the whole meal was! The rice was wonderful, the salad fresh, the kabobs so flavorful. I am so excited to make this meal again. It's definitely going to become a staple meal in our home. The rice recipe calls for white rice, but you can substitute brown if you want. I rarely ever cook with white rice, in fact, before last night I couldn't remember the last time I had used it. I was lucky we even had it. Since it's such a rare occasion when I use white rice I didn't feel the least bit guilty using it for the rice dish. I will probably try the recipe out next time with brown, but the white rice was so good in it! A quick tip, if you don't have a grill or don't want to take the time to fire it up, I grilled my kabobs on my panini maker and they turned out great.

Marinated Greek Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) container fat-free plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese with basil and sun-dried tomatoes (I used plain feta)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large red onion, cut into wedges
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

Directions

1. In a large shallow baking dish, mix the yogurt, feta cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place the chicken in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate 3 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
3. Thread the chicken, onion wedges, and green bell pepper pieces alternately onto skewers. Discard remaining yogurt mixture.
4. Grill skewers on the prepared grill until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Pilafi (Greek lemon rice)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• juice and zest of one lemon

Directions

1. heat olive oil and butter in saucepan over medium heat.

2. cook onion, garlic and rice for 3-5 minutes until onion is soft and rice is completely coated in butter/oil.

3. stir in black pepper, lemon zest and chicken broth.

4. bring to a boil.

5. turn down heat and let simmer for 15 minutes covered.

6. when rice is fully cooked take off heat and add lemon juice.

7. serve as is or add a touch more butter and pepper.