Since so many of us enjoy a dinner from the grill, here’s an easy and tasty marinade recipe to love.
I see two big advantages to having a go-to marinade recipe. The first is that marinating chicken or steak or fish or shrimp forces us to have a plan for dinner hours ahead of time – when marinating ideally begins. The second is that having a trusted recipe on hand erases the worry of how the final flavor will turn out — it’s always a big success. Here is a marinade that fits just about everything that’s a protein food. For veggies, it works as a delicious brush-on-when-grilling sauce so try that, too.
Grilling veggies can be done easily and I explained how to do it in an earlier blog here.
Balsamic-Garlic Marinade
Makes about 1/3 cup, enough to marinate a grill dinner for 4-6 people. This recipe may be doubled.
- 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
- 3-4 cloves Garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Brown sugar
To make: Combine all marinade ingredients and stir. Thaw the protein food you wish to use. Then, pour marinade over your grill meal of chicken, lean steak or seafood in a glass pan or gallon zip-top plastic bag about 4-6 hours before dinner time. Cover and store in the fridge. Every hour or so, turn protein foods in the marinade. Grill to proper doneness temperature.
Grilling your entire dinner is fun and I’m sharing an easy-to-follow plan from an earlier blog here.
Grilling is a Nutritious Way to Cook
The grill is a hero of summer cooking because it’s adventurous and it’s outdoors which keeps the kitchen cooler. The good news is that grilling’s also a healthy way to cook, as long as you make an effort not to char the food. Using the grill to cook protein foods and veggies is smart, time saving, and money saving. The flavors are awesome, too. Get a fresh start with healthier cooking by grabbing my Mediterranean Menus and Recipes. They’re free and they will get you going with eating quality nutrition.
How will you design your all-grill dinner and who will do the grilling?