Grill Revival!

As most of you know, hubby and I got married in May of 2010 (that day will be in my heart forever and ever in the most beautiful way).  A tornado swept through Richmond in October of 2010 (that day will be in my heart forever and ever, but not in such a beautiful way).  The exterior of our newly purchased house was partially destroyed, our new fence pummeled, our windows shattered, and our biggest and most majestic trees lining the front of our house were GONE.  But, bottom line- we were blessed, and we knew it.  We still had our house and our dogs.  (Our dogs are champions).  We still had each other.  You pick your head up, you pick up the pieces, you use tunnel vision to find all the positivity in the situation, and life goes on. 

In the midst of the funnel of darkness, we also lost our grill.  Now, I must say, we used the grill that was given to us by a set of dear friends a ZILLION times before the tornado - our first summer of being married was filled with grill marks. :-) Insurance was beyond great, and it wasn't too much of an annoying hassle getting everything back in line.  We just bought a new grill last week, and it has been the week of the grill revival!

Among others, we made these meals on the grill this week, but these pictures just scream for blog recognition.  They were "summer on a plate". 

Yes, this is my cheeseburger. :-)

Black Pepper-encrusted Burger,

Cheddar, Onion, Tomato, Spinach. 

Drizzle of mustard and ketchup to top it all off. 

Barbequed Chicken Breast.

Steamed Zucchini and Squash.

Garlic Baguette.

Glass of Cabernet. 

I would like to add how we made the veggies, as they were super simple and filled with zesty, soulful flavor.  Make a foil "tent" with 2 sheets of layered foil (or one sheet heavy-duty foil.  We usually have the cheap kind, ha).  Slice zucchini and squash into 1" slices.  Drizzle with garlic-infused olive oil.  Sprinkle some S & P on top.  Add a few shakes of dried thyme.  Squeeze 1/2 of a lemon over the veggies.  Use your hands to toss them together so that the flavors merge and marry. 

Place the veggie tent directly on the grill and allow the magic to happen, about 10 minutes.  Add a palmful of shredded parmesan (or mozzarella would be oh-so-nice), let cook for another 1-2 minutes, and. . . bon appetit!