Groundhog Said Early Spring-Go Grill!

In all honesty, my household considers itself to be an all-year grilling home. If it's not raining or snowing or polar bear cold, we try to grill outside. To offset the times the outside isn't available, we have an indoor grill. There is just something about grilling the food that adds to a dish like a chicken Caesar salad or a pork tenderloin. Frankly, sometimes I just get bummed out at winter and plan for something to get grilled outside!

Grilling is also great for entertaining and not just the typical hamburgers and hot-dogs! I happen to love kebabs for a crowd. Relatively easy to prepare, elegant when done and easy to pair with sides like potato wedges, pasta salad, rice...you name it, kebabs are a great choice!

These kebabs are chicken and steak with onions, green and orange peppers. I have done pork and pineapple, I've added tomatoes (cooked on their own skewer since the cooking time is so short) and I've done shrimp. You can make your own marinade or use on of the many easy bottled kinds. Our house is a big Lawry's fan, especially the sesame ginger flavor that made the chicken so delicious! The steps are simple and the butcher can even do the real hard work for you if you ask him to cut the sirloin for you into large cubes. Our local Harris Teeter sells "kebab" meat even that we use in a pinch but ordering it ahead of time is recommended. Once your desired meat is in large, uniform chunks, marinate it in a large zippered bag, reserving some marinade for grilling. If using a bottled marinade, an hour in the fridge is usually plenty. Homemade marinades may take a little longer.After marinated, skewer the meat and veggies of your choice alternating them on the skewer. For grilling, the trick my husband says is to get a good sear and then low and slow.

So this weekend whether it's for the game or to get you thinking about Spring, put together some kebabs! Share your combinations too!