3-13-15 Chipotle Chicken Skewers

Last summer a niece shared this recipe with us; although I wasn’t familiar with some of the ingredients, we gave it a try because Alissa said it was so good. She was so right. It has become one of our favorite summer meals (I don’t grill in the winter), and since Ben requested it for his birthday dinner, I snapped a few pictures to post with it. Give it a try! It’s very easy and is delicious!

Chipotle Chicken Skewers

Makes about 6-8 servings. We double this for our family with few if any leftover.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced  (scrape out the seeds before mincing to reduce spiciness)

2 teaspoons adobo sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 bamboo or metal skewers

Creamy Dipping Sauce:

3/4 cup lowfat sour cream

1/4 cup lowfat mayonnaise or Greek yogurt

1/4 cup lime juice, from 2-3 limes

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, minced

2 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Slice the chicken breasts into long, thin strips, about 1/2-inch thick. You should have right around 30 strips. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cilantro, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Toss the chicken with the brown sugar mixture, coating all the pieces evenly. Cover the chicken (or place in a ziploc bag) and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

For the dipping sauce, in a bowl, stir all the ingredients together. Cover the mixture and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes until the flavors combine. Alternately, you can make the dipping sauce in advance and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Be sure to season the dipping sauce with additional lime juice, salt and pepper to taste before serving.

30 minutes before grilling, cover the bamboo skewers with water and soak. Skip this step if using metal skewers.

Preheat an oven broiler or gas/charcoal grill. Weave two strips of chicken onto each skewer. Broil or grill the chicken for 5-8 minutes until cooked through, using nonstick cooking spray on a foil-lined pan if you are broiling. Serve immediately (if you broil, you may need to cook in batches) with the dipping sauce.