Orange-Teriyaki Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Kabobs

My husband is the marinade guy. I think he has come up with 90% of the marinades we have tried over the past 10+ years. He is really creative, tries anything, and has made us some amazing meals. I keep telling him he needs to write a marinade cookbook! Last night I took over and tried something new (but yes, I did ask his advice as I was mixing and creating!).

I planned on grilled chicken kabobs, and after creating and smelling the marinade, it was an easy decision that I'd be including pineapple and red onions on those skewers. There are so many flavors in this - bright citrus from the orange juice, sweet and salty flavors from the teriyaki, and so many other layers from the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.

My favorite thing about this marinade, besides the flavor it gave to the chicken, is how it caramelized when grilled. Look how beautiful these are with all of those colors and caramelization -

You can use any veggies you want, but I highly recommend including pineapple and red onion. Everything else is up to you, but in my opinion, the more colors the better! I just love pretty food.

This is easily a weeknight meal. The chicken marinates all day or overnight, you can chop all your veggies ahead of time, and then it's the 5 minute task of assembling the skewers while your grill heats followed by 15 minutes of grilling. I think brown rice would go nicely with this, but we had plenty just with the chicken and all of the veggies.

Before we get to the recipe, I have to share these 2 pics. I took advantage of the filtered sunlight in my backyard to snap some pics before bringing the food in the house. First, my wiry little puppy got in a shot, so of course my daughter had to get in one as well!

My 2 sweet girls :)

Orange-Teriyaki Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Kabobs
Original Recipe by Mary Ellen of Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Ingredients (for 4 large skewers)

• 1/4 c teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 c orange juice
• 1/8 c olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp ginger (I buy the jarred ginger, but fresh would be great as well!)
• Optional: 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, for heat
• Dash of black pepper
• 2 chicken breasts cut into cubes
• Veggies, chopped into cubes of similar sizes; I used several pieces of pineapple, 1/2 of a red onion, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1/3 each green and red pepper
• Salt and pepper
• 4 long skewers (I use metal skewers; if you use wood, soak them in water for 30 minutes first to avoid burning/scorching)

Directions

• In a bowl, mix the teriyaki, orange juice, oil, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and salt. 
• Pour over the chicken in a ziploc bag. Marinate in the fridge for at least 8 hours (overnight ok). 
• Heat your grill to high.
• Assemble the skewers using 4-5 pieces of chicken per skewer and alternating veggies. You want to pack them tightly so they don't spin when you turn them on the grill. Season lightly with salt and pepper. 
• Grill until cooked, approximately 15 minutes, turning every few minutes.
• Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

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