Food on Sticks!

I love grilling out! It is by far my favorite way to cook. As soon as the snow has melted off and it is officially springtime, I fire up the grill. Tonight we had grilled chicken and veggie kabobs over cilantro lime rice with tortilla chips and mango salsa. I love using a lot of fresh flavors to cook, and it makes it seem like we are that much closer to summer!

Mango Salsa

1 mango - peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a medium bowl, mix mango, red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and lemon juice. Cover, and allow to sit at least 30 minutes before serving. (Note- if mango isn't very ripe, add 1 Tbs of sugar to the salsa)

Source: Allrecipes.com

Grilled Chicken & Veggie Kabobs

1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons prepared coarse-ground mustard
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 red onion, cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, cut into square pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into square pieces

In a large glass bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate 4 hours or longer.

Before assembling the kabobs, sauté the peppers and onions in a skillet over high heat with oil until they are still crisp, but tender. Salt & Pepper to taste. You can skip this step, but I don’t like to over cook the chicken and want to make sure the veggies are thoroughly cooked.

Assemble the kabobs, and cook over high heat on the grill until the chicken is cooked through.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup cooked white rice
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 tsp salt

Cook rice as directed, I used a boil-in-bag rice packet. Mix in salt, lime juice, vegetable oil, and cilantro.

Source: Qdoba