Love been light and healthy at dinner, here are two light warm recipes.

Simple Lemony Chicken & Spring Veggie Soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 leek, quartered, white part sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced small (if you can find multi-colored carrots, those are beautiful)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
• 4 cups chicken stock, hot
• 1 cup fresh English peas (or frozen peas)
• 1 cup baby zucchini, small dice
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cubed (you can use rotisserie chicken for convenience)
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cups cooked quinoa
• ¼ cup chopped, fresh basil leaves
• 4 lemon wedges, garnish

Preparation:

-Place a medium-large soup pot over medium heat; add in the butter and olive oil, and once melted, add in the sliced leek and diced carrots, and sweat for about 3-5 minutes, or until slightly tender and the leeks are becoming translucent.

-Add in the garlic, and once that becomes aromatic, add in a pinch or two of salt and pepper, and the herbs de Provence; stir to combine.

-Next, add in the hot chicken stock, and bring to a gentle simmer; cover partially with a lid, and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

-Turn the heat off; add in the English peas (or frozen peas), the diced baby zucchini, the shredded or cubed chicken breast, and the lemon zest and juice; stir to combine, and allow the peas/zucchini to become crisp-tender and bright green in the hot stock, about 3-4 minutes; check to see if additional salt or pepper is needed.

-To serve, add about ½ cup of the cooked quinoa to a bowl, and ladle some of the soup with the veggies and chicken over top; sprinkle over some of the fresh basil, and squeeze in some additional lemon juice from the lemon wedge garnish, if desired.

Greek Chicken Kebabs

Ingredients

1 3/4 - 2 lbs bonless skinless chicken breasts , diced into 1 1/4-inch cubes

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil , divided, plus more for grill

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp vinegar

3 cloves garlic , minced

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large red bell peppers , diced into 1 1/4-inch pieces

3 small zucchini (nearly 1 lb), sliced into rounds slightly under 1/2-inch thick

1 large red onion , diced into 1 1/4-inch wedges

Instructions

In a bowl whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, coriander and season with salt and pepper to taste (I used 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper). Place chicken in a gallon size resealable bag, pour olive oil mixture over chicken and press chicken into marinade. Seal bag and refrigerate 45 minutes to 2 hours (no longer than 2 hours or the chicken will start to get mealy because of the acidic ingredients). If using wooden skewers soak them in water for 30 minutes.
Drizzle and toss veggies with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil (I just left them on the cutting board and tossed them) and season lightly with salt.
Preheat a grill over medium-high heat. Thread a red bell pepper, red onion, zucchini, 2 chicken pieces on to skewer and repeat twice. Brush grill lightly with olive oil, place skewers on grill and grill until chicken registers 165 degrees in center, about 7 - 9 minutes, rotating once halfway through cooking. Garnish with parsley, serve warm.