Blackened Chicken with grilled eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, tiny tomatoes and jalapenos with balsamic drizzle

Ingredients:

Cajun Blackening Spice-

5 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions for Cajun blackening spice
1. mix all together in an airtight container. (will keep for quite a while)

Ingredients- chicken-

garlic butter- (2 Tbsp Butter mixed with one pressed garlic clove)
2-6 boneless chicken breasts with skin on. (we simply washed and cut up a whole chicken as we were grilling anyhow. That way there are plenty of leftovers for hiking on the weekend)

Directions-

1. Liberally toss or sprinkle the Cajun spice on the chicken breasts.
2. place on hot grill, skin side down. 5-7 minutes (once they are black) and flip breasts over, rub with garlic butter and cook for 5-7 minutes and flip and rub the other side with garlic butter. Grill until an instant read thermometer says the inside of the breast is- 165 F.


Ingredients for Eggplant and vegetables:

1 large eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1/2 thick rounds
1 zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
2 cups tiny tomatoes, skewered onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers
2 cups mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed, skewered onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers
2 jalapeno peppers, trimmed, cut in half and deseeded
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar for drizzling
salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste


Directions for veggies-

1. Place the eggplant slices in a shallow bowl and drizzle with a couple Tbsp. olive oil. These will take the longest to grill, up to 20 minutes. place them on the grill and turn when there are nice grill marks, grill other side.

2. Place the zucchini slices in a shallow bowl and drizzle with a Tbsp. olive oil. place them on the grill and turn when there are nice grill marks. These take a little less time than the eggplant.

3. Brush the jalapeno slices, skewered mushrooms and skewered tomatoes with olive oil, place on grill and grill until nice grill lines appear, turn and grill other side.

4. When all the vegetables are done, plate them and drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.