Summertime grillin!

Well, this past weekend summer made its presence finally known and it was a HOT one! Because of this, I didn't want to cook over a hot stove and decided to head out to the grill. We've had a lot of hamburgers and hot dogs lately, and while there is nothing wrong with the BBQ classics, I was in the mood for something different. With the idea of summer-fresh and light in mind, shish kabobs came to mind. As long as there is meat involved, my hubby is game - how can you go wrong with meat on a stick?! So I decided teriyaki chicken and lemon herb shrimp shish kabobs paired with an assortment of grilled veggies sounded like a sure hit and boy, was I right! Make this the next time you are in the mood to try something different on the grill and your family will be sure to love it!

What's cooking in my kitchen this week:
Grilled shish kabobs with grilled veggies

What you'll need:
1 1/2 -  2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 lb raw colossal shrimp
1 lemon
fresh rosemary
fresh thyme
teriyaki sauce
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 ears corn
1 zucchini
4-5 mushrooms
1 onion
1 tomato
salt
ground black pepper
old bay seasoning
oil
skewers
grill basket for veggies

*Note: for any of the veggies, you can substitute for whatever is in season and looks good to you. 

How to make it:
First, you will need to prep the meats. If the shrimp you got are not de-shelled, do that first (most will be de-veined as well, if not make sure to do this as well) and place in glass dish.  Next, if you are land-locked like me really fresh sea food doesn't exist, so to get that "fishy" taste out of any seafood you cook, first soak in bath of milk.

While the shrimp is soaking, cut the chicken thighs into strips that will go on the skewers and place in dish can marinade chicken in.

Season all sides of the chicken with salt and ground black pepper and put a little teriyaki sauce in to marinade the chicken. Finely chop the fresh rosemary and fresh thyme and place in small bowl. Prep rest of veggies by cutting into small bite-size pieces - for the corn, cut cobs into thirds. Place all the veggies, except the tomatoes, in a baking dish or bowl. Drizzle with 2-3 Tbsp oil and season with salt, ground black pepper, and about 1/4 of the fresh rosemary and thyme. Place tomatoes in small bowl and season with salt and ground black pepper.

By now, the shrimp is ready to season. Drain all the milk and season shrimp with salt, ground black pepper, rest of fresh rosemary and thyme, and some lemon zest. Cut lemon in half, and set to the side.

The meats are now ready to put on the skewers - the ones I have are metal, so I spray them down with a little Pam before so the meat doesn't stick. Take the strips of chicken and weave them in and out of the skewers. For the shrimp, poke the skewer through the tail and then through the head. Before doing this, go fire up the grill, so it is ready- keep the heat around medium.

Now it's time to head to the grill. Take grill basket for veggies and spray with Pam and place on grill. Put corn cobs on first and grill for about 10-15 minutes.

Put rest of veggies, except tomatoes in grill basket and grill for another 15-20 minutes, until veggies start to get fork tender - you don't want them all the way down yet but you do want them near as the meats won't take long to grill.

Once veggies are almost done, put chicken kabobs on the grill. Coat top side with teriyaki sauce and grill 3-4 minutes, flip and coat other side with more teriyaki sauce. Repeat until sauce is gone and chicken is cooked completely, about 15 minutes. While chicken is grilling, make sure to stir around veggies every so often so the ones on the bottom do not burn.

When chicken is almost done, put the shrimp kabobs on grill. Take cut lemon and squeeze juice over shrimp. Grill 3-4 minutes and flip, squeeze more lemon juice on other side of shrimp and grill another 3-4 minutes, until shrimp turns pink. You don't want to over cook the shrimp as it will get rubbery and tough.

Once you put the shrimp on the grill, add tomatoes to the veggies and grill until shrimp is done.

Serve with meats still on the kabobs. Enjoy!

Did you know? 
On this day in 1789, Mrs. Alexander Hamilton served a new dessert treat for General George Washington. The highlight of the dinner party was ice cream! And all this time you thought Dolly Madison was responsible.