Friends create opportunity to try something new

This week has been one of my worst weeks for exercising. I’ve been busy with work and trying to catch up with friends. Although I haven’t had time to work out as much as I would like, I have been eating healthier. Since some friends are visiting this weekend, I’ve been looking for snack recipes. Normally, they would be happy with a bag of chips, but I want to try and incorporate healthy food. I could always pick up carrot and celery sticks, but I would like to show case what I would call my “increasing cooking skills.”

While looking through the different recipes on the Food Network Web site, I came across one that has always seemed tempting to try. I think that now would be as good of a time as any. Chicken kebabs are at the top of my list to cook tomorrow. The recipe calls for grilling the chicken, which will give me the perfect excuse to use my George Foreman grill. It will be my first attempt at making kebabs, not to mention my first time using my grill. Read: This experience could end in disaster or in success.

As a note, I modified the amount of chicken that was to be used. The recipe called for two pounds; one pound for the kebabs and then one pound that could be grilled and unused for meals later in the week.

Here is the recipe that I’m going to try:

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray

Wooden picks

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced into 1/2 inch think slices

8 to 12 scallions

1/4 cup of reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon of honey

2 teaspoons of dark sesame oil

1 teaspoon of grated ginger or ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon of sesame seed for garnish

Directions:

To begin, coat either an outdoor grill or stove-top grill pan with cooking spray. Preheat between medium and high.

Place three chicken strips about half an inch apart. Place a scallion crosswise over the center of the chicken pieces. Wrap the chicken over the scallion one by one and secure each strip with a toothpick. Repeat these steps until all the chicken has been used.

Whisk the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic powder and ginger in a small bowl. Keep half of the bowl as dipping sauce and brush the other half over the chicken-scallion skewers.

Grill the kebabs five to seven minutes and occasionally turn the chicken until its grilled all the way through.

Use the sesame seeds to garnish the dipping sauce to serve with the skewers.

Enjoy!

source: foodnetwork.com