What happens when Michigan hits 85 degrees in early April, breaking an 80 year old record? We break out the grill. We grill lunch, we grill dinner, we grill meat, we grill vegetables. And we enjoy every little moment of it. Pop Quiz: When marinating meats and veggies, do you head to the middle aisles of your grocery store for bottles or packets of marinade? If yes, have you read the ingredient label of those marinades lately? Chances are, you’re paying top dollar for a bunch of filler; namely, modified food starch or corn syrup. Here are my Top 3 Reasons for whipping up your own marinades this grilling season:
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What are 3 reasons to create your own marinade?
1) Control Sodium. Bottom line – anything store bought and processed is going to be loaded in sodium. My marinade isn’t salt free but I like the idea of controling my sodium destiny. (For the record, my latest blood pressure reading was 90/50. Pass the salt.)
2) Boost Flavor: I guarantee a homemade marinade with fresh herbs and seasonings will taste more delicious than anything in a bottle.
3) Save Money: My entire marinade probably cost about 65 cents to make. The average store bought marinade runs about $2.99 for a pound of meat.
Your grill is waiting.
Marinated Grilled Chicken Breasts and Veggies
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Breasts
- 2 Red Peppers (Cut into 4 large flat pieces)
- 1 Yellow Squash (Trimmed, cut length wise)
Marinade
- 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbs Soy Sauce
- 2 tsp Dry Mustard
- 3 tbs Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (grated)
- 2 tbs Lemon Juice
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 4 tbs Fresh Parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Wisk together the marinade ingredients – olive oil through parsley and place ⅔ in one zip-loc bag and the remaining ⅓ in another zip-loc bag.
- Add chicken to one bag and veggies to the other.
- Marinade for 30 minutes or longer.
- Pre-heat grill to high and clean off.
- Grill chicken breasts first, about 5-7 minutes pers side turning once.
- Add veggies when you flip the chicken. Red peppers will take the longest to cook, about 3 minutes per side. Squash only 2 minutes per side.
- Serve immediately.