Chicken Lime Kabobs (or not)

Ava, Gracie (age 15-1/2 months), and Mrs. Cowling, May 2011

When I was a student at Hyles-Anderson College, I took a cooking class taught by Mrs. Frieda Cowling.  She is a wonderful teacher!  I also took How to Rear Children under her and Understanding Your Husband under her husband, Dr. Pete Cowling.

Mrs. Cowling had her cooking students pair up and cook new recipes every week.  This recipe is probably my favorite one that we did.  I remember that it was the first time I'd ever had anything to do with jalapeno peppers.  Shooo-wheee!  They were hot, but SO GOOD!  It's a shame I had to wait until I was 32 years old to find out I liked hot stuff!

For nearly 30 years, the Cowlings have traveled with the Songs of Praise summer tour group.  I've been blessed to have seen them last week as well as last year.  They usually do not go to the same church two years in a row, so it was a wonderful surprise for them to come both years.

Chicken Lime Kabobs

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1 large can of frozen orange juice (thawed)
1-1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup honey (or to taste) -- did not use
4-5 jalapeno peppers, chopped
10 garlic cloves, minced*
3 T ground cumin
2 T grated lime peel (did not use)
1 t salt

*I used about 1/2 tsp chopped garlic and about 2-3 T of garlic powder.  I can't really remember how much garlic powder I used, but that seems about right.  I didn't know I was almost out of garlic, so I had to improvise.

2 pounds boneless chicken cut into 1-1/4" cubes
4 medium peppers, mixture of red and green, cut into 1" pieces
1 large red onion, cut into 1" pieces
3 small zucchini, cut into 3/4" pieces (did not use)
3 medium limes, cut into wedges

Directions for Kabobs:

1.  Mix marinade and separate into two ziplock bags, one for chicken and one for veggies.

2.  Marinate 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

3.  Drain meat and veggies.  Reserve veggie marinade for basting.  Discard chicken marinade.  Thread chicken and veggies onto skewers.  If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at 1/2 hour.

4.  Grill uncovered over medium heat 4-5 minutes on each side.  Continue turning and basting 10-12 minutes.

Directions for "or not":

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Dump veggies and marinade into a 9 x 13" baking dish.  Use a slotted spoon to get chicken and place on top of the veggies.  Discard chicken marinade.

Cook in oven for ~45 minutes.


I had planned on making this last Tuesday but was not feeling my best all week.  It was Friday before I prepped the dish.  Then, it was Sunday afternoon before I cooked it.  It turned out really good!  Robert said it was great the way it was, then said that he would like to try it with the addition of sweet and sour sauce.