Grilled Island Chicken Kabobs

I've been craving something like this lately with the surprisingly good weather (June in SoCal is usually a real bummer) and even though I'm not a fan of hot pineapple it was too pretty to forego! Plus Dave likes it so he got the skewers with hot pineapple and I got all the pieces that fell off on the way to the grill ;)

One thing to note is that the chicken should be marinated for several hours if not all day.  So please don't do what I did and excitedly return from the grocery store with all of the below ingredients expecting to make these kabobs for dinner an hour later. Also, wooden skewers should be soaked for 15-30 minutes.

Ingredients:
2-4 chicken breasts, cut into large bite-size pieces
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons if want want to use fresh juice)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large red onion and 1 large green pepper, cut into large chunks
1 pineapple, cut into large chunks


Directions:
Combine vegetable oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a large ziploc bag. Place chicken in bag and make sure all pieces are covered. Put chicken in fridge and let marinate for at least 3 hours but as many as 8-12 hours
If using wooden skewers, let your skewers soak in water for at 15-30 minutes to prevent burning. Skewer chicken, onions, peppers, and pineapple on your sticks until you run out of ingredients.
Turn on grill to medium heat. Place skewers on grill and cook for 7-8 minutes per side or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle (if using a meat thermometer, make sure it registers 165 degrees).
Remove from grill and serve!

Go Go Mango Chicken

Weddings, birthday parties and the 4th of July holiday. Not a good time to diet (or even eat healthy!)

After a week of gluttony I am hopping (back) on the Tone It Up slim down wagon. This time with the "Beach Babe" 5 day slim down. The Beach Babe is a Hawaiian inspired version of the regular Tone It Up nutrition plan full of tropical fruit, lean protein and coconut (oil/water/milk.) Much like the traditional 7 day slim down the 5 day encourages members to avoid grains/starches, exercise twice a day and stay hydrated. Easy to do when the recommended food and drink is so delicious. And who wouldn't want to start the day off with a dip in the pool when it's already 70 degrees outside?

I'll admit, the plan does require quite a bit of prep work (thanks to all those fresh ingredients) But here is a Beach Babe inspired recipe that may also be the easy thing you'll ever cook.

Ingredients:

2 Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 12 oz jar Pineapple Salsa (Trader Joe's)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen Mango chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place chicken breasts in baking dish, cover with salsa and top with mango chunks. Lightly drape with aluminum foil

Bake for 30 - 40 mins or until chicken is done and juices run clear. 

If you don't live near a Trader Joe's (or you forget the salsa like I did) you can make your own with other ingredients from the Beach Babe 5 Day:

1 cup finely chooped fresh pineapple
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 Tbs jalapeno pepper
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 tsp cumin