Shishkabobs

Because nothing says summer like standing in 110 degree heat next to a 400 degree grill, we included shishkabobs on our menu this past 4th of July weekend. I guess it's better than heating up the kitchen by turning on the oven.

Last summer I got my hubby a grill for Father's Day. We don't use it a ton, but good enough. And we can justify it as an emergency preparedness purchase, right? If the gas and electricity go out, at least we have our grill to cook on. :) Anyway, shishkabobs are one of our favorite meals for the grill. And they're relatively easy, except for the skewering part which can get tedious if you have a lot of people to cook for.

We did chicken and shrimp kabobs. I threw the meat in a marinade for about half an hour, which was not enough time to soak up the flavor as well as it should, but I was short on time--4+ hours would have been better. For our marinade I just used the Kraft Red Roasted Pepper something-or-other Dressing (I don't exactly remember the name). We like Kraft dressings because Kraft will always spell out gluten ingredients, and not hide them in "natural flavors" or "spices" or anything like that. We've also used some Lawry's marinades, which have all been really tasty (but be sure to check, because not all Lawry's is GF). While the meat was marinating, I cut up an onion and various colors of bell peppers. Some people like cherry tomatoes and pineapple and mushrooms, and probably some other wierd stuff on their kabobs. More power to them. We're plain folk. Not that cherry tomatoes are wierd. We may have had some if we had had some. (Does that sentence even make sense?) Really, I just went with what I could find in the fridge and garden.

Make sure you soak the skewers in water for a good hour or more--it's supposed to keep them from turning into charcoal (but mine always do anyway). We eat the kabobs over rice, sometimes adding some dressing to the rice for a little kick. 

Hope everyone had a fun, safe 4th of July! We got rain!!! So the fireworks didn't burn down the town. :)