Barbecue Breakfast Kabobs

We had a really good Sunday surrounded by family and the warm sunshine.  The hubby's grandparents have been in town from Missouri so we've been trying to spend much of our time with them. In the morning we all joined at the in-law's house for brunch, there was quite the spread, including these grilled kabobs.

Now we had these for brunch, but you could most definitely add some additional veggies and serve them up for lunch or dinner. The sauce is great, it's actually just a combo of barbecue sauce and raspberry jam. My mother-in-law prepped these the night before so all we had to do was heat on the grill. Easy peasy!

Barbecue Breakfast Kabobs

Ingredients:
1 fully cooked ham steak
1 beef sausage ring
1 bell pepper
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine jam and barbecue sauce. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Set aside.

Cut ham steak, sausage and bell pepper into chunks. Thread onto skewers. Brush sauce over kabobs.

When ready to heat, grill for about 15 minutes, rotating the skewers. These will just need to be heated through. You can also heat in oven if you'd rather go that route.

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs

The little ones and I just returned this afternoon from a wonderful weekend along the Mississippi river. My parents have a little getaway place up there and go pretty much every weekend from April through mid October.  The hubby and oldest were in Chicago the last few days, so instead of them getting to have all the fun; we had some of our own.

The girls spent plenty of time fishing with papa. The weather was a little weird yesterday, overcast and sprinkling so we weren't able to make it out on the boat this time.

But they had plenty of fun running through the sprinkler instead, when it did finally warm up and the sun came out.

We also had lots of good food. Friday evening we tried grilling pizza for the first time. They turned out fabulous!

Last night we grilled kabobs for dinner.  We picked up a few veggies at the market Friday night, from the only produce vendor to be exact. That's how small this little town is. They turned out awesome though. I'm pretty lucky to have parents that are great cooks, each specializing in their own thing.

Kabobs are great for summer, you can make tons of variations. And whatever you should choose will work, for the most part. Potatoes are really one of the only  veggies I wouldn't recommend grilling. They take much longer to cook through compared to everything else. Other than that, anything else should be fair game!

We stuck with a simple seasoning mix of Lawry's and black pepper. Feel free to marinate your meat in Italian dressing or your own fave mixture. I really enjoy the flavor of fresh, seasonal veggies and like to let them shine through. They're my favorite addition to the kabob!

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1  medium zucchini
1 medium summer squash
1 bell pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes
fresh, chopped pineapple
Lawry's seasoning and black pepper

Directions:
Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into small cubes. Season with Lawry's and pepper and set aside.

Chop all veggies, besides tomatoes into medium size chunks. You'll want squash to be somewhat thick.

Using metal skewers, thread chicken and veggies/fruit on, making sure to alternate veggies. Season veggies if desired.

Grill for about 17-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove from grill and serve with favorite side dishes, Makes enough for 8 kabobs.


Here are a couple salads we served up with our meal, they're always a favorite in our family:

Mom's asian coleslaw
Broccoli salad

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

In the summer, one of our favorite things to make are kabobs. You can use your choice of meat, whatever veggies or fruit you have on hand and the marinade never has to be the same. They're so easy! And kid-friendly too.

Towards the end of nap time yesterday, I quickly prepared these for our dinner. I got the chicken all ready and let that marinate for a few hours. Cut up the pepper pieces and threw those into a container. Everything was ready for the hubby to assemble and throw on the grill. We had some errands to run after daycare so I left him in charge of getting supper ready for us. I have to say, he did pretty well. He even added his own little touch by sliding some fresh pineapple chunks on the skewers.

Now I know not everyone has the luxury of being able to start meal prep in the afternoon, heck I don't normally have the time either. But how about the night before or in the morning before work, spend an extra 15 minutes putting this all together. Because really, that's all the longer it took me, if that. It's something quick, easy and pretty healthy you can serve to your family. Then be on your way to enjoy the remainder of your evening.

That's exactly what we did. It was a beautiful evening out and the whole family took a walk around the neighborhood together. The girls have been very interested in Earth Day this year and had the idea that we should take a walk and pick up trash. They gathered enough to fill two sacks full. We got in some exercise and they had fun and of course were being silly!



Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
cherry tomatoes
bell pepper pieces
fresh pineapple cubes

Directions:
Cut chicken breasts into cubes and add into a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Dump olive oil and seasonings into the bag with chicken, massage the spices into the chicken pieces well. Let marinate in the fridge during the day if possible, or at least for one hour.

When ready to prepare, preheat your grill. Meanwhile, thread the chicken, pepper pieces, tomatoes and pineapple onto skewers. Feel free to use onion or any other veggie you like too.

Place kabobs on the grill, cover and let cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12-15 minutes. Make sure to turn the kabobs at least once or twice throughout the cooking process. When done, remove from grill and place on a serving platter. Serve with your favorite sides. Makes enough for 6 kabobs.