Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Tzatziki

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 Yesterday I spoke about being grateful for our wonderful home and land. And it reminded me of the 3 days of gratefulness that was flying about on Facebook a couple of months ago. Did you get nominated? Did you participate? I did and here are my three days of three.

3 days of gratitude. Day 1
Here goes with my first three. Pretty predictable but that doesn’t affect their importance. 
I am grateful for my two noisy children. Two wonderfully loving boys who have filled my life with dirt and my heart with joy. So wonderfully unique that they deserve a spot each. 
1) I am grateful for Mr 7. My intelligent, serious, caring little boy who, remembers such minute detail, never forgets anything, is passionate about everything and who reminds me daily to be patient and calm.
2) I am grateful for Mr 4. My mischievous, cheeky little boy, who has such a vivid imagination, both in play and his once upon a time stories, loves his stuffed toys fiercely, sings playschool songs all day and reminds me daily that little everyday things can hold such joy and how to laugh when sometimes I just want to scream Arrrrgh.
3) I am grateful for Stew. My best friend and someone I could never live without. He provides for our family, loves us all, makes me tea when I feel under the weather and makes me laugh each and everyday. 

3 days of gratitude. Day 2

1) I am grateful for our Rickety Cottage. A wonderful, quirky, love filled home. 
2) I am grateful for the food we have. A full fridge, a well stocked freezer, a crammed pantry and the ability to provide food and meals for my family. 
3) I am grateful to Nigel Slater. Who’s amazing writing and wonderful recipes started my love affair with food, cookbooks, cook shows and cooking. 

3 days of gratitude. Day 3
1) I am grateful for my health and well-being. That I am living (and growing older) in a country that has accessible healthcare and hospitals. 
2) I am grateful for my sight. I get to see my children’s faces every morning (dirt and all) I can see the smiles at Christmas and the joy they get from life. 
3) I am grateful for my family and friends both near and far. Those people that when you need them are there either with help or a word or a hug or just a general “here here I agree” and sometimes “you’re being an idiot about this”.

I know it is 3 days of 3. But hey. This is my Facebook status so….
4) I am grateful for my life and the twists and turns that have brought me to this point. It hasn’t always been easy but I am currently blessed with a wonderful life.

“For every stoplight I didn’t make
Every chance I did or I didn’t take
All the nights I went too far
All the girls that broke my heart
All the doors that I had to close
All the things I knew but I didn’t know
Thank God for all I missed
Cause it led me here to this”

Today has been a glorious day, taking everything I am so grateful for rolling it up into a wonderful Thursday. Mr 4 and I made a start on the chaos room spare room, this didn’t last that long as there was Lego to play, toy tractors to ride, mulberry leaves to pick (for a friends silk worms) and picnic blankets to set up. This involved him lining up at least 8 stuffed toys and telling me what they would all like for lunch. Funnily enough most of them wanted marshmallows! Apart from Panda who obviously wanted bamboo sandwiches. And Yoyo, who is a small stuffed dog, and she wanted carrots. I tell you, the mind of Mr 4 is a very crazy place! I left all the animals disappointed as I served Rosemary Chicken Skewers 😉

I ate my skewers with tzatziki, which is one of my all time favourite dips. Mr 4 thinks ‘cucumber yoghurt’ is hilarious, but he still says yuck if I put it on his plate.

I have a slightly unusual way of making rosemary chicken, but I think it gives amazing results. I poach the chicken first, which gives the chicken an excellent flavour and also ensures you don’t have to worry about the chicken being raw in the middle. Which is great if they are going onto a barbie.

A lot of people, Stew included, are put off by the idea of poaching, but I love the juicy succulent meat you get when you cook it in liquid. The beauty of these skewers is you finish them on the grill or barbie, so the outside crisps and chars but the inside remains juicy and tender. Win Win.

I am blessed with an enormous rosemary bush, so I have easy access to long rosemary stems and I use those as the skewer. If you don’t have long rosemary stems, wooden or metal kebab sticks will work just as well. If this is the case you will need about 8 tbsps of rosemary to add to the poaching liquid.

These can be poached in advance and refrigerated until required. The tzatziki can go runny if the cucumber is added too early, I get around this by mixing up all the other ingredients and just adding the cucumber at the last moment.

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Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Tzatziki

Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Tzatziki. Easy to prepare in advance, this recipe gives you tender chicken with a crisp edge. Perfect for grilling outdoors.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Servings: 8 Skewers

Author: Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts

For more great recipes follow me on PinterestFollow @sprinklessprout

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Ingredients

Rosemary Chicken Skewers

• 8 Long stems of rosemary about 25-30cm
• 10 chicken thighs
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Tzatziki

• 2 cups natural Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 grated garlic clove
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Lebanese cucumber

Instructions

For the Rosemary Chicken Skewers

• Take the rosemary stems and wash them well.
• Pull most of the leaves off the stems, leaving about 5 cm at the top of each stem.
• Place the stems back into the sink of water.
• Chop the removed rosemary leaves. Reserve 1 tbsp of chopped leaves and place the rest in a large saucepan. One that will hold all your chicken.
• Add 500ml of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.
• Add the chicken thighs sprinkle over the salt and pepper.
• Top up with boiling water until it just covers the thighs.
• Bring the water back to a boil and then turn down to the lowest simmer.
• Put the lid on and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.
• Whilst the chicken is cooking, place the olive oil in a small pan and add the reserved rosemary.
• Heat the oil until the rosemary begins to sizzle. Turn off the heat and leave the rosemary to infuse.
• Once the chicken is cooked remove it from the liquid and allow to drain.
• Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and thread onto the rosemary stems.
• Brush with the rosemary infused oil and grill, griddle or barbecue until the chicken is golden and some edges are starting to char.

For the Tzatziki

• Mix together the yoghurt, garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt.
• Cover and refrigerate until needed.
• Finely chop the cucumber.
• Add the chopped cucumber to the yoghurt just before you serve it.

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