Impromptu BBQ

A few weekends ago Kevin and I were planning dinner for the evening and decided it was a perfect night to BBQ. We stopped at the store for a nice piece of flank steak, a few shrimp and some beer and then headed home. I quick put the steak into a marinade, (I like to make my own rather than buy pre-made ones with such high sodium contents).

Next I checked the fridge to see what we had for sides. About 30 minutes later we were grilling shish kabobs with zucchini, mushrooms, onions, green, yellow and red bell peppers and pineapple to go with our flank steak, shrimp and rice!

Try this grilling tip for shish kabobs:
Skewer large pieces of vegetables and shrimp (I like to keep them separate since the shrimp and vegetables cook at rates), then lightly spray with an olive oil spray and sprinkle with garlic salt. The oil helps keep things from sticking to the grill and the veggies turn out like oven roasted but with a smokey BBQ flavor. Delish!

One of my new favorite side dishes is Basmati rice. It cooks faster than regular brown or white rice and is much less heavy. I like to add sliced almonds to it just before it finishes cooking. The almonds add an unexpected crunchy texture to the rice.

Next time you are going to grill beef try making your own marinade. I like to eye ball it and usually add soy or teryaki sauce, olive oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic and onion powder, black pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes. That combination make a delicious sweet and savory steak!

Happy grilling!