Italian chicken kebabs with herbed orzo

4
Points®
Total Time
24 min
Prep
14 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
Utilizing some of the summer’s most well-loved vegetables, these kebabs come together quickly under the high heat of the broiler. Make sure you cut the vegetables and the chicken into similarly sized pieces so that they cook evenly. A variety of vegetables would work here in place of the squash and mushrooms—try eggplant cubes, red onion wedges, any color bell pepper that you like, even marinated whole, mild cherry peppers (the canned or jarred variety), drained, rinsed, and dried. Get the water boiling for the orzo before you start the kebabs so that everything will be hot and ready at the same time.

Ingredients

Uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast

1 pound(s), cut into 12 pieces

Uncooked zucchini

1 medium, cut into 12 pieces

Uncooked yellow summer squash

1 medium, cut into 12 pieces

Cremini mushroom

8 medium, whole

Drained sun-dried tomatoes in oil

8 medium, drained and patted dry with paper towels

Olive oil

2 tsp, extra-virgin

Dried oregano

1 tsp

Table salt

½ tsp

Red pepper flakes

¼ tsp

Cooked orzo

2 cup(s), hot

Basil

¼ cup(s), fresh, chopped

Grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp, Freshly Grated

Instructions

  1. Spray a broiler rack with nonstick spray. Preheat the broiler.
  2. Combine the chicken, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of the oil, the oregano, salt, and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Thread 3 pieces each of chicken, zucchini, and yellow squash, 2 mushrooms, and 2 sun-dried tomatoes onto 4 (12-inch) metal skewers, alternating the ingredients. Place the skewers on the broiler pan.
  3. Broil the skewers 4 inches from the heat, turning at least once, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 8–10 minutes.
  4. Combine the orzo with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the basil and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese.
  5. Spoon the orzo onto a platter, then top with the kebabs. Sprinkle the cooked kebabs with the remaining 2 tablespoons basil and the remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Yields 1 kebab with 1⁄2 cup orzo per serving.