Chicken Kebabs....Friday night special

FINALLY...it's Friday night!!!  Tonight we traveled to foreign lands via our dinner menu!  I had one more pack of Perdue boneless chicken breasts in the fridge and decided to make grilled chicken kebabs for dinner.  I actually got a jump start on tonight's dinner last night.  I made the marinade and cut the chicken into chunks and marinated the chicken overnight last night so it would be ready to thread on skewers and grill tonight.  I also had red bell pepper and Vidalia onions that would be great grilled on skewers as well.  All of a sudden this evening, it looked like it could pour down rain....so I got everything ready as soon as I walked in the door so hubby could start grilling immediately when he got home.  As I type this, it is bright and sunny out my front door and dark and ominous looking out my back door...it's kind of weird actually....either way, we beat the rain....yeah!

I made some Near East brown rice pilaf to serve with hubby's kebabs.  This was a new marinade recipe I tried....it was called Yogurt Marinade with Aleppo Pepper.  I must say, it turned out so flavorful and we really liked it.  Penzey's Spices describes the taste of Aleppo pepper as: "This Turkish crushed chili has an ancho-like flavor with a little more heat and tartness."  The only item I didn't have for the marinade was the Aleppo pepper, but the substitution for Aleppo pepper is "1 part cayenne and 4 parts sweet Hungarian paprika".  I had the Hungarian paprika and the cayenne so that is what I used.  I snapped a few pictures of our meal for you to see below.  It was an absolutely gorgeous and delicious meal.  I felt like we got to travel around the world for dinner this evening.  I will include the marinade recipe below too.  Enjoy!

Red peppers and Vidalia onions waiting to be grilled

Marinated chicken kebabs waiting to be grilled

Peppers and onions grilling now...we added a skewer of Cherubs tomatoes to the grill too

Chicken kebabs are grilling away...they're almost done!

Voila!

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

Yogurt Marinade with Aleppo Pepper

1-1/2 tablespoons Aleppo pepper (OR 4 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika plus 1 teaspoon cayenne)

1 cup whole milk Greek style yogurt

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 cloves of garlic, peeled and flattened

1 unpeeled lemon, sliced thinly into rounds

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-1/4 inch cubes

Bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes

Place Aleppo pepper (or substitute) in a large bowl and mix in 1-2 tablespoons of warm water, letting stand about 5 minutes until it becomes a thick paste.  Add yogurt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper to spice mixture bowl.  Whisk to blend; stir in garlic and lemon slices; add chicken and mix to coat thoroughly.  Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.  Thread on skewers and grill until done.