One thing that I miss the most while living in the NYC area is the lack of grilling I can do in the summer. Although I do have access to a small fire escape outside of my apartment, there really isn’t space to char up my favorite foods and cook outside — a common obstacle of city-living.

On a recent trip back home, the entire family was in town, which is a rare occurrence these days with everyone all over the place. What were our dinner plans for the occasion? Firing up the grill of course.

Buffalo has an incredible summer every year with sunny skies and just the right amount of heat to enjoy cooking outside at dinner time.

Here’s a quick look at our fresh dinner for the night, grilled asparagus, chicken and seasoned yellow zucchini.

To start off, we marinaded some asparagus and sliced yellow zucchini with oil, garlic powder, pepper, a little salt and our favorite Dinosaur Cajun rub. Tossed the veggies around and set them in a mixing bowl for easy grilling access.

The asparagus were added to the grill, along with three pieces of tender chicken breast, ready to get charred up and delicious.

Adding the zucchini, our meal was set, perfectly placed on the grill to heat up a great dinner on a June night in Buffalo.

Is it just me or do all vegetables taste better when grilled? I’d eat them everyday if I could.

The chicken, sprinkled with the same spice and sauce as the veggies was grilled evenly, with the help of some applewood chips (in the can on the right side of the grill) to add a smokey taste.

Plated and sprinkled with some sesame seeds, the asparagus came out better than ever  — grilled up and my favorite way to eat them. This meal is a perfect taste of summer with veggies and chicken, a healthy and happy way to end the night.