I love to marinate chicken and grill it. I usually have all the ingredients on hand, so it's a real easy way to throw together an easy meal. Here are two of my favorite marinades:
1/4 C canola oil
1/2 C white wine
juice from 4 lemons/limes
1 Tbsp zest/rind from the lemons/limes
3 garlic cloves, peeled, minced
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cracked pepper
1 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbsp fresh oregano
1 tsp dried sage or 1 Tbsp fresh sage
Mix all the ingredients in a ziploc bag with a pound or so of washed and forked (stab the meat with a fork) boneless chicken (breasts or thighs). Marinate 1-4 hrs. Drink the rest of the wine while you grill the meat.
1/4 C soy sauce
1/2 C Mirin (rice wine) or other white wine
1 Tbsp
Tuong ot Toi (Vietnamese chili garlic sauce) or other hot sauce
1 Tbsp peeled, minced ginger
2 tsp hot Chinese mustard
3 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
Same directions as above. You can also use this to marinate sliced meat and then stir fry with your favorite veggies. Store any unused ginger in a ziploc bag and freeze for up to several months.
ETA: Oh as a side dish for the chicken, how about grilled potatoes?
4 yukon gold potatoes, with skin on!, sliced into 1/4 inch discs
1 Tbsp butter
1 onion, cut into rings
1 bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
salt and pepper to taste
Take a sheet of aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray. Drop the potato slices on it (not flat, they should overlap). Arrange onion and bell peppers over potatoes. Place a few pats of butter on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Seal the aluminum foil. It's usually best to wrap it a second time. You probably want to make 2-3 packets so they are manageable to handle.
Heat your grill to medium-hot. Place foil packets on grill. Cook 20-30 minutes, turning and flipping occasionally. I usually put the potatoes on the grill 10 minutes before I put chicken on and 15 minutes before beef.