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My life is kind of driven by lists, grocery lists, recipe ideas, appointments, blog posts, blah, bah, blah. Sometimes Post-it notes take over my life – I guess you can say I’m a planner. But when it comes to planning meals in advance? Yeah.. not so much. Honestly, I pretty much suck at planning a meal more than a few hours ahead of time, and really have no desire to do it. I am in utter awe of the bloggers that rock the whole meal planning concept out days, weeks, or months at a time, but it’s just not for me.
A typical day of meal planning through text messages:
Brian: “Hey, what’s for dinner?”
Me: “No idea – What are in the mood for?”
Brian: “Not sushi.”
Me: “Okay, are you in the mood for anything?”
Brian: “Meat”
Me: “Okay, well I’ve caught on to that after five years, anything specific?”
Brian: “No”
Me: “Thanks so much for the help!”
Brian: “No problem.”
Seriously this conversation happens at least four days a week. So I’ll usually scope out the fridge and pantry and figure out what I have on hand and what I can whip up to please Brian’s uber descriptive craving.
Earlier this week my fridge was overflowing with produce, so I thought I’d put the onions and peppers to good use and whip up these Asian Chicken Kebabs. Although they were not the juicy steak that Brian had in mind, he loved the sweet and slightly spicy flavor of these kebabs and declared this meal a keeper – which is a pretty good rating from someone who is not so fond of chicken.
I served these Asian Chicken Kebabs alongside steamed rice and grilled asparagus with a little finishing garnish of toasted sesame seeds and green onions. This meal was simple, delicious and perfect for a summer evening.
Looking for more delicious recipes for grilling?
Grilled Peaches with Marscapone Whip from goodLife {eats}
Fajitas from Bluebonnets & Brownies
Grilled Shrimp and Sausage Kabobs from Cookin’ Canuck
Grilled Corn Grits from the Nifty Foodie
How to Grill Pizza from Tidy Mom
Grilled Caesar Salad from Simple Bites
So tell me, are you a meal planner?
Asian Chicken Kebabs
Ingredients:
For the Marinade
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
1-2 teaspoons Sriracha (or other hot sauce)
3 slices fresh ginger root
2 cloves garlic, crushed
For the Kebabs
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
Directions:
1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the soy sauce, oil, honey, Sriracha, ginger root, and garlic. Heat in microwave on medium for 1 minute, then stir. Heat again for 30 seconds, watch closely so it doesn’t boil. Set aside.
2. Thread the chicken, green bell pepper, onion, and red bell pepper pieces onto skewers alternately. Place skewers in a shallow baking dish and cover with marinade. Cover dish and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
3. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill Asian Chicken Kebabs until chicken is just cooked through, turning occasionally, about 9-12 minutes.
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This is a great idea! Yum!
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try them. I’m a planner at heart, I love to meal plan. It took me a while to figure out that it is better to come up with a list of food I want to have this week rather than specifying which days I’m having different foods. Sometimes you just aren’t in the mood for what you have scheduled. The flexibility turned out to be key for me.
I’m a meal planner, but it’s not necessarily specific to certain days of the week. I’ll plan 8-10 meals according to what’s on hand or a recipe I want to try. Then I make them throughout the next week or so according to my mood. Your kebabs look delicious!
Sounds like a convo I’d have! These look amazing!
I am sooo not a meal planner! These kebobs sound fantastic. I haven’t been grilling enough. Thanks for the inspiration!
Ok, so with the meal planning I go in and out of doing a good job of it. Summer I’m usually less organized, but you have to check out this notebook. I love it!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71367191/notebook-menu-planner-grocery-list?ref=pr_shop
I laughed a bit when I saw your tweet and couldn’t wait to see your plan; turns out your plan is my plan. No plan.
I keep a well stocked pantry, lots of meat in the freezer (Costco does make some of these things happen whether you plan it or not!) and get a twice monthly box of organic fruits and veggies delivered to my door. So I plan meals around what I have on hand and seldom make up a grocery list from what a recipe needs.
This dish looks great and is so doable and right up my alley. Grilling R Us. :)
We are kinda sorta meal planners. On the weekend we’ll sit down together and think of meals we might like to have that week. We buy the ingredients, and then just pick and choose throughout the week as to what we’re having for dinner that night based on the ingredients/meals we thought of. We once did this for an entire month in advance, and it was good – and cheaper – but it kind of took the joy out of cooking for me. It wasn’t nearly so much an adventure anymore.
These look so awesome! I am all over kebabs lately because they cook up so fast and don’t need as long to marinade as a big hunk of chicken. Thanks for sharing!
I am not a planner! We have that same conversation every night, which typically leads to a run to the grocery store and dinner at 9 pm. It’s frustrating but we won’t change!
These look really yummy. Maybe I’ll try to “plan” to make these this week!
Aughhh, we have that same conversation too, although sometimes Dan substitutes “pasta” or “nachos” for “meat.” I think he’d consent happily to eating these kebabs, though.