Cherry Chicken Kabobs

Kabobs:

Wooden skewers (soak in water for at least 30 minutes)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 lb smoked sausage, sliced (I use Hillshire Farm)

1 cup Cherry Cola BBQ sauce (recipe below)

1 zucchini, cut into half inch slices

1 yellow squash, cut into half inch slices

1 red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 green pepper cut into 1 inch pieces

1 onion, cut into 12 wedges

½ cup pitted cherries

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

Toss together chicken, sausage and bbq sauce.  Let stand for 15 minutes.

Thread chicken, sausage, vegetables and cherries onto skewers: sprinkle with salt and pepper.  

Grill skewers on medium high grill (350-400 degrees) for 5 minutes.  Brush on some sauce.  Turn skewers and grill for 8-10 minutes.  Chicken will need to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.  Remove from the grill and pour on the remaining BBQ sauce.  **Divide sauce so you aren’t cross contaminating raw chicken juice with cooked skewers.  

Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce:

1 tsp olive oil

1 ½ cup pitted cherries

1 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (12 oz) bottle chili sauce (See Note)

½ cup cherry cola (I’ve used Cheerwine and Cherry Coke)

2 TBS. apple cider vinegar

2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

¼ tsp liquid smoke

In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add cherries and onion; cook until tender.  Add garlic and muddle or mash cherries with back of spoon.  Stir in chili sauce, cola, vinegar, Worcestershire, and liquid smoke.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium.  Stir occasionally and cook until thickened, about 15 minutes.  Let cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate up to 1 week.  

Notes:  I have used a variety of chili sauce.  This depends on your “hot factor.”  I normally used Heinz Chili Sauce, but I have used Sriracha to spice things up a bit.  My boys prefer the spicier version!