Week 8 - Lemon Garlic Chicken (and Roasted Red Potatoes)

I have two recipes for you this week - surprise! - and another on the way tomorrow or later tonight. For now, lemon garlic chicken and roasted red potatoes with bacon and parmesan. These two recipes together are the perfect summer barbeque meal. Of course, today was not a very summery day (it SNOWED!!!) but the meal was fantastic nonetheless.

First, the Lemon Garlic Chicken... (this is my modified version, but I will also post the link to the original).

Ingredients:
(for the chicken)
1/6 cup extra-virgin olive oil (eye-balled half of 1/3 cup)
Lemon zest (maybe a tablespoon...?)
1 tsp minced garlic (To be honest, I forgot the garlic and quickly added a little at the last minute)
1 tbsp parsley (I just used the dried stuff I have in my spice rack)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3 M&Ms Boneless chicken breasts (thawed and cut in to kabob-size pieces, 1-inch-ish)

(for the vegetables)
half a red pepper
half a green pepper
grape tomatoes
mushrooms
approx. a 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil (I just drizzled it on until the veggies were nicely coated)

and, of course, kabob sticks soaked in water

1. Mix ingredients for chicken. Toss until well-coated. You are supposed to allow it to marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, but I didn't and it still tasted great. Whatever you have the time for.

2. Cut up vegetables in to approximate 3/4" pieces, toss together with extra-virgin olive oil.

3. Arrange chicken and vegetables on kabobs however you like. Put on grill, close lid and allow to cook for 8 to 12 minutes. I think that this recipe is meant for a barbeque grill, but I just used a countertop grill, like a George Foreman one.

Yummy!!! And healthy, too!

I also made roasted potatoes as a side dish...

Ingredients:
small red potatoes (I honestly couldn't tell you exactly how much, I just made what I thought would feed three people)
bacon bits
extra-virgin olive oil
probably about a teaspoon of minced garlic
salt and ground pepper
my spice rack parsley again
Sargento Italiano blend cheese (recipe calls for freshly grated parmesan, but my grocery store apparently does not sell parmesan, so I had to improvise)

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Quarter potatoes and toss together with extra-virgin olive oil and salt and pepper and parsley. I used a casserole dish to cook mine in because the cooking sheet would have been too big for the small amount I was making. Cook for 20 minutes.

3. Add bacon bits and garlic, toss. Put back in oven for about 5 minutes.

4. Sprinkle with cheese.

So good. My parents loved these recipes, and I was happy this was a recipe I could feel good about eating. So, two thumbs up and I will definitely make it again... maybe for a summer barbeque next time. :)

*Sources:* http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.ca/2011/05/lemon-garlic-chicken-kabobs.html and http://www.savoringthethyme.com/2011/10/side-dish-recipe-roasted-red-potatoes-with-bacon-garlic-parmesan/