Smoky Beef & Chicken Ka-Bobs

Lately adoring hubby and I are experiencing the pre-empty nester syndrome.  With Miss T in her senior year of high school and being employed by the ever popular Starbucks, we don’t see much of her, especially at dinner time.  Dinnertime has always been a family affair at our house.  Everyone sitting down at the same time sharing a meal, laughter and conversation about the days activities.  Some of the most memorable dialogs arise around our family table.  We carry on this tradition on the nights Miss T is home for dinner and even on nights when she’s “out” my man Dan and I have dinner together. When it’s just “us” we eat at the bar or if the weather allows, we dine al fresco.  All of this to say, “when she was home for dinner one night this week I grilled shish-kabobs”.  She is my little carnivore and I knew beef and chicken on the same plate would please her. We’ve been trying to incorporate more veggies into her diet and grilled veggies seemed like a good place to start.

The meal was a success as she gulped down not only the sirloin and chicken, but the tomatoes and the zucchini.  Eating the zucchini was a first for my picky girl.  She declared it ,”not too bad”!  Happy mama, me.  My man Dan and I soaked up the time we had with her and sighed happily, as she headed back to her drawing table to work on her latest piece, a very cool painting of a mushroom!

Some of you reading this have most likely experienced the pre-empty nester syndrome as well as the empty nester syndrome.  Others may be at the beginning of parenthood, changing diapers and oohing and aahing over every twitch of the nose or wiggle of the toes. Every stage of parenthood should be filled with joy and wonder at these little people who are born of us and who are our responsibility, challenging and rewarding all at the same time.  I’m told that no matter the age of our kids, “they will always be our babies”.  I relish that concept as it eases the sting of watching them grow up and away.  (Tear rolls down cheek)

Now, you need to know about the kabobs.  I made a rub that would be tasty on both chicken and beef.  Using chipotle chile powder gave a nice smoky flavor to the meats.  I tossed the veggies in a little olive oil with a touch of salt and pepper, threaded them on skewers and fired up the grill.  I’ll be making a jar of this rub to keep on hand as it was the perfect mix of smoke, spice and sweet.

Enjoy!

Very cool mushroom

Smoky Chicken and Steak Kabobs 

Ingredients:
Smoky Rub
1 lb. skinned, boneless chicken breast
1 lb. top sirloin
1/2 large onion, cut into fourths and separated
1 pt. cherry tomatoes
1 large zucchini, halved and sliced
Skewers
 Cut chicken and steak into 1″cubes.  Place chicken and beef in separate bowls, sprinkle half of rub over the chicken, sprinkle remaining half over beef, toss meats with rub.   Thread chicken and veggies on half of the skewers thread remaining veggies and beef on the other half, leaving a little room between pieces.  Grill kabobs covered over medium high heat until cooked through, turning skewers occasionally.

Smoky Rub
Stir together:
2 tbsp. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chipotle chile powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground oregano