Marinate your chicken for a Memorial Day feast
May is National Barbeque Month, so serving a grilled meal is a great way to celebrate Memorial Day. Since this also is the beginning of swimsuit season, consider serving chicken. You’ll get a main dish that is significantly lower in calories and saturated fat than red meat.
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For better flavor, start with a good quality salad dressing.
Grilled Chicken and Veggies
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1-1/4 cups Italian-style dressing, regular or fat free
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 zucchini
Place washed chicken breasts in large resealable bag. Add 1 cup dressing and close. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. When ready to grill, drain and discard marinade from chicken. Cut up peppers into big chunks, and zucchini into big slices. Put into another resealable bag. Coat with leftover dressing; let marinate for 5 to 10 minutes. Grill chicken and veggies over medium heat. Makes 4 servings. Per serving, made with reduced-fat dressing: 362 calories, 10 grams fat, 9 grams carbohydrates and 2 grams fiber.
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Don’t let the amount of lemon juice used in this recipe concern you—the end result is a mild lemon flavor.
Lemon Grilled Chicken
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
3 to 4 pounds chicken pieces
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine lemon juice, oil, onion, salt, pepper, thyme and garlic; mix well. Remove 1/4 of mixture for basting and store in refrigerator. Add chicken pieces to the bag; seal and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
When ready to grill, drain and discard marinade from chicken. Grill over medium heat, covered, for 20 minutes. Baste with reserved marinade. Continue grilling until juices run clear, about 20 to 30 minutes, basting and turning several times. Makes 4 servings. Per serving, made with boneless skinless chicken breast: 633 calories, 19 grams fat, 4 grams carbohydrates and trace fiber.
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Teriyaki Grilled Chicken
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Place chicken, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, garlic, and sesame oil in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. When ready to grill, drain and discard marinade from chicken. Grill over medium-high heat until juices run clear, about 6 to 8 minutes each side. Makes 4 servings. Per serving, made with reduced-fat dressing: 84 calories, 2 grams fat, 13 grams carbohydrates and trace fiber.
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Pantry Pointers
For best results when grilling chicken, check for doneness with a meat thermometer. Chicken is done when white meat registers 170 degrees and dark meat registers 180 degrees.
The Practical Pantry ©2005 Tammy P. Olson
http://www.practicalpantry.com
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