BBQ in January!

One of my absolute favorite dinners is shish kabobs!  Kabobs are the perfect dinner because they’re quick, they’re easy and they’re delicious.  They’re a great kind of dinner to get the kids involved with (learning opportunity!).  And it’s just so invigorating to have BBQ when it’s cold and blustery out!

Kabobs are one of those foods where you don’t really need a recipe—just imagination!

I’m a big fan of Teriyaki Kabobs.  I’ll use a lean cut of beef (like filet mignon or top round), zucchini, mushrooms, and green peppers.  Lightly brush some teriyaki sauce over top and you’re good to grill.  If you have calories left for some extra carbs, you can even have a little brown rice on the side.

There are also the classic BBQ Kabobs.  I like BBQ chicken best, but I like to mix it up with snow peas, mushrooms, and asparagus.  I have friends who love to add some pineapple to their BBQ kabobs.

Here in Seattle, you can pretty much grill all year round.  But my parents, buried in snow in Pennsylvania right now, also do a lot of winter grilling.  If you don’t have a grill, your broiler is actually a great way to fake it.  No broiler?  A ridged skillet and some olive oil are all you need.  You’re going to want a very hot heat on the stove.  You don’t want to cook them, you want to sear them.

And it’s a perfect dinner to involve the whole family!  Get the kids to cut veggies (with supervision, of course) or and have them skewer the kabobs.  It’ll be the perfect time to explain why veggies and protein are so important for them.  And I guarantee that kids are far more interested in eating their veggies when they get to see where they came from and how they’re made.

What do you think?  Do you have favorites for your own kabobs?  Or does the sound of winter grilling just make you shiver?