Chicken Shish Kabobs with Herbs and Garlic Potato Salad

I love summer time. Great weather, long days and sunshine. What better way to cap off a beautiful Chicago day than by throwing some nosh on the grill? I can't think of one and have been enjoying a variety of grilled delights over the last couple weeks. One of the easiest and tastiest? Shish Kabobs and the ultimate summer side dish - Tater Salad. Yum, yum, and more yum...

Marinated Chicken Shish Kabobs - Serves 4 (dependent on meat/veg quantities)

Have it:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 orange or yellow bell pepper
12 white mushrooms
1 onion
Marinade (of your choice - I used a poultry seasoning I got from an Amish town in Indiana and some olive oil)
Bamboo Skewers

Do it:
1. Submerge 6 skewers in water and let soak at least 30 minutes.

2. Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts. Cut into 2 inch pieces and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle or pour your desired marinade over chicken pieces and let marinate at least 30 minutes. I marinate 3-4 hours if time allows.

3. Cut peppers and onion into 2 inch pieces and set aside. Wipe mushrooms down with a damp towel. Do not wash as they will soak up the water and run the risk of becoming mushy.

4. Skewer peppers, onions, mushrooms and chicken onto the pre-soaked bamboo skewers.

5. Place on a hot grill for approx. 6 minutes, rotating halfway through cooking time.

Herbs and Garlic Potato Salad - Serves 6

Have it:

2 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes

1 teas. fresh garlic (1 lg. clove)

1/4 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 tbl. chopped chives

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 c. mayo (I used Hellmann's Light)

1 tbl. Dijon mustard

1/2 c. chopped celery (1 lg. stalk)

1/2 teas. salt

1/2 teas. freshley ground black pepper

1 teas. dried thyme

Do it:

1. Place the potatoes (whole) in a large pot, add enough water to cover the taters, cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are pierced easily with the tip of a sharp knife, 15-20 min. Drain and let cool until you can handle them but they are still warm. Peel and cut into approc. 1-inch cubes.

2. While the taters are soaking in their hot tub, in a large bowl stir the garlic, parsley, chives, onion, mayo, Dijon mustard, celery, salt and black pepper. Crush the thyme lightly with your fingers and stir in.

3. Add the cut potatoes to the mayo mix and toss until coated. Cover and refrigerate for several hours to overnight.

Source: Potato Salad, 65 Recipes from Classic to Cool (a.k.a. my newest go-to for summer side dishes)

Set out a few candles and pour a nice cold glass of raspberry lemonade and you've got yourself one easy and delicious backyard (or for us city-dwellers, back patio) meal!

Outdoor Seats for Eats

In my quest to create an outdoor space within the confines of the city, I've been on the lookout for a table for outdoor dining. My first idea was to make a picnic table from scratch. Seems simple enough right? Well, finding out how much wood costs (who knew trees were so dang expensive?!) and how much time would have to go into this "easy" project, I decided I would rather spend a little more moola and actually be enjoying the table before August. Enter Target. Not only do I love Target, but Target must love me because I found the perfect table and not only does it look nice and fit our patio but it folds into a bench! To make a good find even better, the table was 35% off when I found it so I ordered it online (find it here) and it was at my door 10 days later.

Upon arrival of the box (and the start of my excessive excitement) I again had the idea to be handy and decided to put together the table myself. Hubs raised an eyebrow with this revelation but I was confident in my carpentry skills after putting together our IKEA dresser with its 8,000 parts.

Sadly, it was not to be. I came upon a problem in step 1 as I did not have a clue how to tighten a nut/bolt/washer combination. Dear hubs stepped in to help and kindly put together the table, saving our future guests the trouble of falling through the table I would have constructed.

And it switches easily from table...

...to garden bench!

With the Chicago summer stretching before us, many delicious grilled meals and outdoor game nights with friends are sure to lay ahead. Care to join?

Survival of the Fittest

Summer is upon us and that means Hubs and I are a-travelin' like nobody's business. Its great fun spending weekends with friends and family enjoying long lazy days at the lake and saoking up the sunshine; It is not great coming home to sad wilted plants. After one weekend of survival of the fittest plants and hoping for rain I decided to take matters into my own hands and become a "faux Mother Nature". Enter The Plant Nanny. A simple and inexpensive way to keep my plants well hydrated without having to pester anyone to water.

On one of my many treks to a local garden center, I came upon The Plant Nanny. I picked up a six pack for my container plants and the HydroSpike watering system for my planter box and my thirsty hydrangea bush. There are other options, glass globes and the like, but they run a bit pricier and work better if you only have a pot or two.

This is just about the easiest thing to use. Just stick the terra cotta stake in the soil near your plant and screw the plastic stake onto the top of a regular water bottle. Fill the water bottle up with H2O and stick in the stake. I keep the stakes in the pots and the spikes on the water bottles and just stick 'em under the faucet on my way out for the weekend and they are good to go!

Not only have I been using these for the past two weekends and keeping my plants happy, but they are thriving and looking better than ever! Now keep in mind, I have a smaller city garden so if yours spans a true backyard, this may not be an ideal solution for you.