Grilled Chicken with Rainbow Veggies

I always look forward to grilling season so I have an excuse to do two of my favorite things together: 1) get outside and 2) cook.  I use our propane grill for dinner at least a few times a week once the weather is warm.  Now I know there are some purists who think propane grills aren’t the real deal and swear by charcoal.  For me, charcoal grilling is for weekends and special occasions.  My propane grill works just fine when I have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table!

This recipe is a favorite of mine because it can be made any number of ways simply by changing the seasoning/sauce and or the veggies.  I often use this as a clean out the fridge dinner to use whatever small amounts of various fresh items I have leftover from the week.  My kids like the name and it encourages them to “eat the rainbow” of different items on their plates.

I often try to sneak a little fruit in here too (either pineapple or peaches).  Grilled fruit just feels like summer to me and sneaking some sweet bites into any recipe will always be a winner with kids.  KID TIP:  “Accidentally” only get one piece of fruit in the scoop of veggies and fruit you give your kids.  When they of course eat that first and ask for more, tell them you’ll give them another piece of fruit when they eat one of each of the other colors in the rainbow.  This encourages them to try different things and makes sure they aren’t only eating the sweet bits.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 1 red (purple) onion, cut into large chunks
• 1 cup carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 red pepper, cut into large chunks
• 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into large chunks
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Seasoning mix or sauce of your choice for veggies and meat
• Salt & pepper

Ingredients above are for the night pictured.  I normally would love to have some green in there and zucchini would be my go-to but I didn’t have any on hand for this night.

Other ingredients you can use:

• 1 yellow onion, cut into large chunks
• 1 yellow or green zucchini, cut into large chunks
• 2 broccoli heads, cut into individual florets
• 1 yellow or orange pepper, cut into large chunks
• 2 peaches, peeled and sliced
• Really just about any veggie that you can cut into a big chunk will work!  Just rummage around your fridge and get all the one off fresh ingredients you have.

Seasoning or sauce mix ideas:

• Anything that smells good to you from your local spice shop!
• Blackened seasoning
• Garlic salt
• Barbecue rub
• Barbecue sauce (chicken)
• Italian dressing (chicken or veggies)

Instructions

1. Get the kids outside and tell them they can come in when dinner is ready.

2. Open a cool beverage of your choice.  You’ll need something to enjoy while you’re in front of the grill.

3. Preheat grill to medium high.  Have your grill vegetable tray on there so it can get sizzling hot as well.  The tray I use is similar to this one.

4. Prepare chicken breasts.  My preferred method is to put the chicken breasts, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1-2 tablespoons of seasoning mix in a gallon size ziplock bag then beat the chicken to about 3/4 inch think with the back of a ladle.  (You can watch me and my kids do this here.  Seriously, every time my kids see me with a bag of chicken and a ladle, they go and get theirs to “help.”)  For the night pictured, I used a Cajun Blackened mix for the chicken.

5. Massage the seasoning and oil mix all over the chicken to make sure every little nook and cranny is covered.

6. Prepare the veggies and fruit.  Cut all the veggies and fruit into large chunks and throw them in a bowl.

7. Add a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of seasoning mix.  For the night pictured, I used a simple garlic salt mixture for the veggies and fruit and didn’t add any extra salt.  Since the blackened seasoning was pretty strong, I didn’t want to use it on both the chicken and the veggies.  If you have a favorite mix that is pretty potent, try using that on the chicken and then something simpler/milder on the veggies/fruit.

8. Mix the veggies and fruit.

9. Bring your meat, veggies/fruit, and cool beverage to the now perfectly sizzling grill.

10. Throw the chicken one one side and the veggies/fruit in the tray on the other.

11. Flip the chicken once it easily releases from the grill (usually 5 minutes).  This really varies based on the temperature of your grill.

12. Stir the veggies/fruit when you flip the chicken.  Do not over stir!  You want there to be grill marks.

13. Take the chicken off after the other side easily releases from the grill (again about 5 minutes) and put on a large serving tray.

14. Let the chicken rest while the veggies get to your desired level of doneness (for us, just an additional minute or two).

15. Scoop the veggies and fruit on top and around the chicken.

16. Call the kids in and serve.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 4-5 servings

I hope you enjoy your time outside by your grill, cool beverage in hand!

Happy cooking!