Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Kabobs

This was dinner tonight and I loved the colors! I always tell my kids that the more rainbow colors the more vitamins! (Fruit Loops don't count!) I'm still a novice at grilling. Tonight's lesson in grilling was that if you must change a diaper while grilling at least turn the grill down. Some of the bacon wraps were casualties tonight.

This recipe comes from Natalie at Perry's Plate. ("Hi Natalie!")  She is the nicest blogging stranger that I've met so far and I love her recipes. If you want to jump over to her blog you'll see this recipe in top-notch photos.

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Kabobs
adapted from Taste of Home as featured on Perry's Plate

¾ c. Italian dressing
¼ c. lime juice
2 tsp. Worcestershire
1 lb chicken breasts, cut into roughly 1-inch chunks
About 12 slices of thin-cut bacon, cut in half (turkey bacon or prosciutto works nicely, too)
About 24 slices of fresh basil
Metal or wooden skewers

In a zip top bag, combine dressing, lime juice and Worcestershire. Add chicken. Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Top bacon slice with piece of chicken and a basil leaf (or sprinkle with dried basil). Roll up and thread onto metal or wooden skewer. Grill, covered, over med heat for 5 min on each side or until chicken juices run clear.

Jayne's Notes: 

- My family loves kabobs especially served over rice. Tonight I squeezed a little lime juice over my serving while eating and it brought out some of the marinade flavor. 

- Cut your chicken on the large size of 1 inch rather than the small. I found that the smaller chicken pieces were done sooner than the bacon wrap. It was also hard to skewer the smaller chicken pieces with the kabob stick. The bacon took a long while to cook so next time I might use prosciutto and see if that cooks quicker.

- I strung pineapple pieces between each chicken wrap. It gave a sweet flavor to the meat and grilled pineapple tastes divine!

- Group your meats on their own sticks since they take the longest to cook. Once the meat is almost done you can add your 'longer cooking time' veggies and lastly your cherry tomatoes since they cook the fastest. (Watch those tomatoes! They really do cook fast and all you want to do is warm the tomato until the skin is just starting to break.)

- I've always been scared of using fresh herbs and when I saw this recipe my first reaction was 'a WHOLE basil leaf on each chicken?!?' There's nothing to fear with this recipe. Fresh basil makes a big difference and the flavor is not overpowering.