Grilling

Living in NC, we can grill pretty much year round.  These are some of our favorite recipes for easy, delicious, flavorful and overall healthy meals (save the grilled chicken wings).

Shish-Kabobs: Cut up meat (we usually use Sirloin Fillet steak) and veggies (green pepper, white onion, and mushrooms are regulars on our skewers).  Throw into a ziploc bag and marinate with Italian dressing (we like Wishbone Robusto Italian).  After 30 minutes (or more if you have time), skewer the meat and veggies and grill to perfection.  Boil a bag of rice or egg noodles and dinner is ready.  Talk about easy! 

Tips for great Shish-Kabobs:
  1. Don't squoosh veggies and meat on the skewer.  Overpacked skewers will prevent the meat and veggies from cooking properly.
  2. If you are worried about cooking time and not presentation, you can always do separate veggie and meat skewers and cook accordingly.
  3. Soak wooden skewers for at least 30 minutes to prevent from burning on the grill.
  4. Beware of nonstick skewers.  I had a friend that lost a whole meal to her grill when she picked the skewers up at an angle and the food slide right off into the fire!
Marinated Grilled Shrimp: We found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it is one of our favorites.  It's simple and most of the marinade ingredients can be found in your pantry.  If you don't have any skewers, we have cooked the shrimp in a grill basket without any problem.  Also, by accident on a recent grocery store run, we bought parsley instead of basil.  The recipe turned out just as good, and in my husband's opinion, better! 
Ingredients:
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/3 c of olive oil
  • 1/4 c tomato sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • skewers
Directions:
  • In a large bowl, stiff together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar.  Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper.  Add shrimp to the bowl, and still until evenly coated.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice.
  • Preheat grill for medium heat.  Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the head.  Discard marinade.
  • Lightly oil grill grate.  Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.
 
 
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