Grilled Chicken Vegetable Kebabs

Summer has arrived in the form of intense heat waves all across the U.S. and much of the world. Time to fire up the grill and cook outside (in the shade). Here's one of my favorites: grilled marinated chicken kebabs with colorful vegetables, a recipe I adapted from DinnerattheZoo.com. For those who don't own a grill, there are instructions below for broiling. The marinade contains olive oil, soy sauce and honey. It’s really delicious: sweet/salty and savory, similar to teriyaki. For Weight Watchers, I've added 2 WW Points per serving to account for the scant amount of marinade that remains on the kebabs. This marinade works beautifully and is totally worth the small amount of added Points. Marinate your ingredients for one hour or up to 8 hours. The flavors benefit from a longer marinade but don't fret if you're short on time.

Be sure to soak the bamboo skewers in cold water for a few minutes, as they tend to burn on the grill. For easy serving, slide the chicken and veggies off the skewers onto a serving platter. Bonus: if there are two of you, you'll have plenty of leftovers for another dinner. Serve with rice for a complete meal. This is a recipe you'll return to again and again during the summer and maybe even into the fall!

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 red bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces

1 yellow bell peppers cut into 1-inch pieces

2 small zucchini cut into 1-inch pieces

1 red onion cut into 1-inch pieces

1 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

Place olive oil, soy sauce, honey and garlic in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add chicken, bell peppers, zucchini and red onion to the bowl and toss to coat in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.

Soak bamboo skewers in cold water for a few minutes. Thread the chicken and vegetables onto the skewers. Grill for 5-7 minutes on each side or until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Broiler instructions: Place the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler. Coat a sheet pan with cooking spray. Place the skewers in a single layer on the sheet pan and broil for 5 minutes, then flip the skewers and broil on the other side for 5 minutes or until cooked. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

Serves 4

WW Points per serving: 2