Help! I need suggestions for a BBQ...

Eek! My office is talking about haveing yet another grill out (usual once a month Friday custom) and I don't want to eat the same old hamburgers, potato salad, potato chips, and ice cream sandwich fair (can you believe I'm complaining).

What suggestions do you guys have to healthier alternatives? I'm stummped because I usually make all my own food from scratch and have forgotten all the pre-made, inexpensive, and/ or easy to make BBQ foods that "average" people eat.

Fri. May 26, 10:14am

Hubby and I love to make Lime Peanutbutter Chicken. When i first found the recipie i thought "how nasty" and then when I mixed it i thought "this smells nasty" then when hubby cooked it on the grill and we ate it, i thought "oh my this is good!"

2 table spoons freash lime juice
2 table spoons peanutbutter
1 handful of cilantro
bonless skinless chicken breast

combine peanutbutter and lime juice and stir until well mixed. Add in cilantro. Pour mixture into plastic bag, take chicken boneless skinless chicken breast and toss in bag untill well coated. THen grill until done.

Friday, May 26, 2006, 10:28 AM

I usually make chicken 'n veggie skewers and have fresh fruit.

You can also make veggie-only skewers as a side:
zuchinni
yellow squash
mushrooms (whole)
cherry tomatoes
onion
peppers (red, yellow, orange, green)
etc....

You can marinate your veggies for a bit in balsamic vinegar and a bit of olive oil, but generally I just prefer to season mine with sea salt, garlic powder, and a mix of finely ground red pepper flakes and other herbs. I'll make them up to a day in advance and I'll get a package of the bamboo skewers so they are disposable.

Corn-on-the-cob is wonderful on the grill - don't even peel the corn, just soak in water for a bit and throw it straight on for ~20 minutes or so and it will steam inside its husk.

I also just like a small sirloin steak - yum!

The possibilities for marinated grilled chicken breasts are endless, but I love the Jack Daniels marinade (high sugar though).

Those are my BBQ staples, but I have faith in the PT collective to come up with many more :-)

Friday, May 26, 2006, 10:32 AM

Fruit salad and veggie trays can help you fill up on the good stuff. Or, lettuce salad with fat free dressing. Not very exciting, but all I can think of right now!! Good luck!

Friday, May 26, 2006, 10:40 AM

stuffed peppers

cut a red pepper in half the round way (or just cut off the top for a bigger one) and put onions and cheese and a cherry tomato inside. Admittedly, these get kinda messy (don't use too much tomato) but they're good.

and what about grilling a portabello instead of a burger?

Friday, May 26, 2006, 10:46 AM

I knew you guys would be brilliant! I just has a complete mind block, your suggestions have helped open those doors again.

All these suggestions sound wonderful, I think I'm going to have to fire up the grill at home too :)

Thank you all so much!!!

-ps please feel free to continue with more suggestions, the more the better...after all it is Memorial Day weekend

Friday, May 26, 2006, 11:16 AM

Portobello mushrooms are great on the grill. Add chopped red pepper, onion and garlic and pile it on the top with some olive oil and then grill it for 20 minutes on low. You can have it by itself or as a burger. It's Yummmy.

Friday, May 26, 2006, 11:42 AM

grilled shrimp

my husband marinades frozen (prep it first by thawing/de shelling and draining) shrimp in a mixture of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and cooking sherry, parsely basil.. oregano? and skewers them- grill do not take long to cook either... I think he has even taken the marinade and added cornstartch to it later to baste them with... If I get a chance I will ask and report back if it is any different than what I said.

Friday, May 26, 2006, 2:29 PM

wrap baby bella mushrooms in turkey bacon, marinate with fat free Viva Italian dressing and put on the grill.

Friday, May 26, 2006, 3:54 PM

mmmmm i wanna have a BBQ now! haha

Friday, May 26, 2006, 5:38 PM

I used to LOVE peanut butter chicken as a kid! Am now vegetarian, maybe I will use the mix on tofu and grill that!

I always love corn, potatoes or any veggies covered in a marinade of choice and grilled in foil.

Friday, May 26, 2006, 6:09 PM

yeah, veggies on the grill rock!!!! mmmmm . . . .!

also, instead of traditional chips and dip try veggies and hummus or pita chips (you can toast your own from pita bread-cut into triangles/squares and throw into the broiler for just a few seconds-WATCH THEM, they will burn if you don't!) and hummus.

gardenburgers or boca burgers are great too healthy AND vegetarian for those who may not be meat eaters at your cookouts!

Saturday, May 27, 2006, 12:42 AM

I LOVE BBQs, b/c I feel like it's when I can eat what I'd consider "junk," and not gain weight!!

I do it by having 1 burger or 1 hot dog and skipping the bun. That's, max, 300-350 calories. Then I finish off my meal with as much fruilt salad and veggies as I want. And I treat myself to extra pickles!

Anything's great on the grill though. Grilled shrimp skewers, with chunks of peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc. Pineapple is AWESOME on the grill! I do chicken skewers a lot too. Also, we bought some cedar planks at the grocery store, and we'll grill our own cedar planked salmon - the directions are right on the packaging of the cedar planks! Just be sure to soak them in water before grilling, otherwise they catch fire!! But it tastes like a gourmet restaurant!!!

Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 3:29 PM

I just went to a BBQ this weekend and enjoyed butternut squash that was grilled while wrapped in aluminum foil.

They used salt and butter BUT I thought a dash of curry powder or cinnamon and nutmeg would have been even tastier. Perhaps pairing that with the Lime Peanutbutter Chicken suggsted earlier would be delish!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007, 11:40 AM

My husband just picked up a pack of hot dogs at the store, but he accidentally picked up 97% fat free ones - he never buys "diet" food on purpose! Well, they're 100% beef hot dogs, but, they're only 50 calories each, and 1.5 grams of fat! They're Hebrew National brand, in case anyone's interested. I can't believe they're so low cal! Of course, I haven't tried them yet; they could be low taste too!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007, 5:50 PM

pineapple with some honey barbecues is awesome. just brush veggies with a lil olive oil sat and pepper zuchini mushroomspotatoes tomatoes onions. the ideas are endless.

make your own barbeque sauce less sugar and less fattening ketchup some brown sugar worshire sauce and a lil mustard for kick add some salt and a lil garlic. if you want can add chopped onions for a chunky bar b que sauce.

can put that on ribs chickens burgers top with a lil lofat cheese and yum

Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 9:17 AM

Bring some chicken breasts and McCormick's grill mates seasoning and have a chicken breast instead of a burger. Fruit salad would be a good item or a veggie tray. Also I have this receipe for a semi cole slaw where you take a 16 oz bag of cole slaw mix and just add 3/4 cup of Light Done Right Italian Dressing, kind of a cole slaw salad but good.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 10:35 AM

We used to have BBQs every friday at my office. There was one girl who always ate boca burgers. They are some kind of veggie burgers. She took a lot of flack...we were in Texas and the rest of us were having burgers, steak and brauts.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 1:44 PM

Some ideas for Grilled Veggies...

Lightly coat the veggies with a little olive oil (so that it doesn't stick to the grill.)

Lightly Sprinkle with some sea salt or kosher salt or any type of fine rock salt (and any of the following mix of spices (not all together, but separately per each line (or just sprinkle with your favorite spices... endless combinations... :-) Don't use regular fine grain salt, or it may get too salty.

1) Herbs de Provence
2) chili powder and garlic powder (add some cayenne pepper if you like it hot)
3) black pepper & garlic powder (this is simple but extremely yummy)
4) Italian spices (oregano, basil, garlic, etc.)
5) Cumin, garlic powder, cilantro

Zucchinis or yellow summer squash (sliced lengthwise about 1/4 to 1/2 inches thick - get the young ones that are not too seedy)
Asparagus (snap off the woody ends)
Egg Plant (slice in rounds or lengthwise - about 1/2 inch thick)
Portabella mushrooms (remove the stems--you can do it whole that way, or if you prefer, slice it in 1/2 inch thick slices (don't take off the stems).
Carrots - (big ones - slized length-wise
Onions - slice in 1/2 inch slices
Potatoes - slice a bit thinner (about 1/4 inch)

Special technique for sweet grilled corn on the cob:
Do not remove husks.
Soak ears in water until fully saturate (about 5-10 minutes) and trim the "silk" end of the year flush to the top of the ear.) Cook on the grill until the corn husks blacken on all sides.
Every now and then take a "peek" under the husks to see if the corn has changed color from a pale yellow to a bright yellow.
Once it's "done" then remove from the grill, peel back the husks...
If desired, you can sprinkle with a little olive oil and chili powder and put it over the grill to caramelize a little more.

Special technique for peppers:
Bell peppers (red, green, yellow, orange, purple, etc. Other peppers can be done this way as well.)
Do not slice.
Rub a whole pepper with olive oil.. put on the grill, grill until the skin turns BLACK on all sides and blisters.
Once it's all blackened, take it off of the grill and put inside a brown paper bag.
Let it sit in the bag until it's cool enough to handle.
Remove from bag, and rub the pepper until the skin falls off (easier to do under running water.)
The pepper should be soft and slightly mushy, but the flavor will be extremely sweet due to the caramelization of the sugars. :-)
If you are using hot (spicy) peppers, you should do this last part with rubber gloves on and be extremely careful to remove all seeds (where the heat of the pepper is.)

Grilled peppers are awesome on sandwiches and burgers. :-)

************************
Summer grilling, here we come! ;-)

--Irissvb

Thursday, April 12, 2007, 1:34 PM

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