Chicken and Summer Vegetable Cacciatore with Polenta

I absolutely love this dish.  The recipe that I followed to make this suggested you pan sear the chicken and saute the vegetables, which I'm sure would taste fantastic.  I, however, had the Weber fired up for some reason or another (when you cook with charcoal, you tend to cook three meals at once to take advantage of the grill being lit), and decided that I was going to grill the chicken and the vegetables.  I cannot stress enough, how happy I am that I decided to take this approach instead of sauteing.  The flavor that you get out of the vegetables is amazing, and I don't think you can go wrong with any grilled protein.

This was another recipe from The Best of Clean Eating, a book I would highly recommend.  Regardless of how frustrating I find the layout of the actual book, the recipes are always amazing.  

I pre-marinade my 1 lb. of thinly sliced chicken in a large plastic zip-lock bag with salt, pepper, chopped fresh oregano, and chopped fresh basil, 2 tbsp. of olive oil, and tbsp. of water. Mush it around in the bag to ensure even coverage, and put in the fridge for at least 30 min.  Slice into 1/2 in. slices: 1small zucchini, 1small yellow squash, 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange bell pepper, and two tomatoes which have been cored. Grill the vegetables on medium heat until soft and slightly charred.  Grill your chicken until cooked through.  

Polenta, or boiled cornmeal, can be served many different ways including grilled, soft or baked.  I bring 1 c. of low-sodium chicken broth to a boil, add 1/2 c. of polenta, mix until it's absorbed, and then remove it from heat, add salt and pepper, and sometimes, I add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  If served directly from the pan, the polenta will be nice a smooth and creamy texture, almost like a cream of wheat.  You'll notice in my picture, however, that the polenta is firm and holds shape.  This will occur when you put polenta in a pan, and cool it down in your refrigerator.  I usually cook the meal, put it directly into tupperware and then cut it when I'm taking a portion for a meal.  Either way, I enjoy both textures, and you can decide yourself how you would prefer the dish.    

I can't wait for summer, and all the farm stands to open so that I can pick up all my veggies farm-fresh and grill this dish up!