Dressed to grill

Summer is here and for us that means a lot of grilling and spending time on the deck in our backyard.  We love to be outside for many reasons but at dinnertime it's great because it allows my husband and I to actually have a conversation while my son runs around chasing hula hoops and splashing in his pool.  It's also so much easier to clean up the boy and his dinner mess with the garden hose (yes, we do this).  He's a toddler so even the simple act of eating watermelon means there will be a mess.

Since I've committed to going meatless for at least another week (can I admit I'm dying for a Chick-fil-A combo #1 at this point?) we did not grill our usual chicken or steak.  Rather, we dined on veggie skewers with couscous and a white bean salad and it was AWESOME!  We loved every single bite and neither of us missed the meat.  I took zuchinni, squash, onions, red & green bell peppers and cherry tomatoes marinated them and we grilled them til those beautiful little char marks appeared.  I'm starting to notice how bright and colorful veggies are, they look stunning on the plate.   The juice from the tomatoes and the sweetness from the squash just had us drooling the entire meal for more.

Below is a simple marinade I mixed up to coat the veggies we chose.   Would also love to hear from my friends what veggies you enjoy grilling and any spices or marinades that you use so feel free to pass them along!

Ingredients

•  1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon garlicp owder
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper