Beef and Summer Market Vegetable Kabobs

Jul 22

Jul 22 Beef and Summer Market Vegetable Kabobs

Part of the Surf and Turf meal for my birthday included these tender beef summer veggie kabobs. We have a fantastic Saturday farmers' market near my house and I am always trying to work more fresh veggies into my meals. My family has made similar kabobs for years using lemon pepper seasoning from the grocery to flavor the kabobs. I wanted to try and capture similar flavors with fresh lemon and ground pepper rather than the store bought seasoning. Success!!

To Make Beef and Summer Market Vegetable Kabobs

To Prepare Beef (you will want to marinade for at least 2 hours)

2 1/2 to 3 pounds beef - top sirloin - cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes and butterflied
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest (1 lemon)

To Prepare Vegetables

3-4 large bell peppers (yellow, orange, and/or red)
2 cups baby bella mushrooms
3 medium squash (yellow and/or green)
2 medium red onions

To Make Lemon and Olive Oil Seasoning

1 teaspoon lemon zest (1 lemon)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

To Serve (Optional)

Basmati Rice* - we like ours cooked with chicken broth rather than water - if making rice - be sure to start the rice prior to placing skewers on the grill.
Feta Cheese
Salt and Pepper
Lemon wedges

Beef - we used top sirloin and once marinated and grilled it was super tender. Cut the Beef into 1 1/2 inch cubes and then butterfly the meat (cutting into each cube a little less than an inch. Place the meat in a large bowl and add lemon juice, lemon zest, and olive oil. Let marinate at room temperature for 2 hours - great to do while cutting and dicing other veggies.

Veggies - cut the veggies into pieces about 1 1/2 inches.

Bell Pepper - cut the peppers into 4 or 5 strips and half making sure to remove any seeds or core
Baby Bella Mushrooms - rinse and/or brush off any excess dirt and remove the stem. This definitely needs an additional photo later, but we were having difficulty skewering without splitting the mushrooms and my creative father grabbed his drill and after washing the drill bit - carefully drilled small holes in the center of each mushroom - it worked perfectly - no more split mushrooms falling of of skewers :) watching this process - I hadn't laughed so much in a long time!!
Summer Squash - rinse and cut into disks - about 1/2 inch wide. If too large, cut them in half moons as well
Red Onions - peel and quarter, remove smallest inside parts that are too narrow to skewer. Place in a bowl and add about 1/2 inch water - microwave for 1-2 minutes to slightly soften the onion - this really does make a difference when grilling so the onions are cooked to perfection.

Skewer veggies and meat - ideally adding onion to at least one side of the beef when skewering.

Make the Lemon and Olive Oil Seasoning - in a small bowl combine lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. Brush the Lemon and Olive Oil seasoning over the skewered meat and veggies, and sprinkle each skewer with a little salt and pepper.

*If serving with rice, follow the package directions, substituting chicken broth for water, and be sure to start the rice before grilling the kabobs

Grill until the veggies are cooked and the meat is cooked through (about 145 degrees ) - turning skewers halfway through grilling - usually a total of about 6-8 minutes.

Pull the meat and veggies off of the skewers and into a serving bowl. Toss with feta cheese. Enjoy!!