Lemon Garlic Kebabs

After a day of baking, I was craving something light and easy for dinner.  After a few minutes of thumbing through cookbooks, I decided that a middle eastern meal would compliment the warm weather well.  I had been craving pasta and kebabs for a while, so my mom and I decided on chicken-vegetable kebabs and a couscous salad.  In an effort to keep the flavors light and fresh we used lots of herbs from our garden and grilled the kebabs outside.  The lemon garlic marinade provided a tart kiss, which complimented the cherry tomatoes and bell peppers well. The couscous' salty olives contrasted with its sweet caramelized onions and sour lemon dressing perfectly.  I don't like feta, but my parents said that the creaminess of the cheese worked really well with the chewy pasta.  Next time we make this dish I think we're going to look into replacing the couscous with whole wheat pasta or even lentils.  Also, next time we're going to let the kebabs marinade longer, because they weren't quite as flavorful as we would have liked.  Overall, these were great dishes for an outdoor summer dinner.  Delicious, healthy, and refreshing!  

Chicken-Vegetable Kebabs

2 boneless skinless chicken breast (the small ones)

1 green bell pepper

1 eggplant

1 zucchini

10 cherry tomatoes

Marinade

1 tablespoon oregano

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves (crushed)

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Couscous

2 cups couscous (uncooked)

10 chopped kalamata olives 

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 caramelized vidalia onion (saute with 1 tbsp of olive oil on a low heat with salt and pepper until they darken in color and become soft)

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley 

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

1/4 cup feta cheese

1. Prepare the kebab marinade by combining ingredients and set aside in a large bowl.
2. Cut the chicken  2'' chunks and add to the marinade.  Slice the zucchini and eggplant into 3/4 inch thick slices and cut the pepper into 2'' squares.  Add the cut-up vegetables and tomatoes to the marinade and stir.  Cover the bowl and set aside for 30-45 minutes.  
3. In a separate bowl combine the lemon juice, olive-oil, chopped kalamata olives, feta, garlic, parsley, and coarsely chopped caramelized caramelized onion (that's a mouthful!).
4. Add the 2 cups of couscous to 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  As soon as it boils, cover the pot and remove from the heat.  Let the water absorb for 10 minutes.  
5. Add the couscous to the dressing and stir to combine.
6. Skewer the chicken and vegetables, alternating between them, with about 3 pieces of chicken per kebab.  
7. Grill the kebabs until the chicken springs back to the touch.  About 15-20 minutes.  Rotate the kebabs throughout cooking.  

Enjoy!