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Happy Friday, beautiful people! The weather this weekend is going to be cool and a bit cloudy but I am excited to not be sweating my makeup off in 90 degree weather. I feel like summer just hit us in NC like a ton of bricks and we completely bypassed spring. Anyone else feel the same way?
One of my favorite summer activities has always been going to BBQs and cookouts. Holiday? Cookout. Birthday? Cookout. Dog birthday party? cookout. Long Tuesday at the office? cookout. However, as many cookouts/BBQs I attend and as much as I love bringing the baked goods, I realized that I am never the one on the grill. I may bring the meats, veggies, fruit and more but never grill for my friends. Occasionally, when I want to put a spin on my picnics (y’all know I love a good picnic), I grill for myself. I’ll grilled everything from kabobs to pineapples to steak to vegetable medleys. Since I usually only cookout for myself, I have a couple grilling hacks that make grilling easier for me!
1 | Create or a use a nontraditional marinade – I’ll let y’all in on a little secret: my favorite marinade is actually a salad dressing. It is a toasted Asian sesame dressing that I fell in love with when I was in college and making easy meals on a budget. I use this dressing on traditional salads but also as a dip for vegetables and started using it for grilling chicken & veggies last year. Since the flavors aren’t like any traditional BBQ sauce, I can mix up my recipes and adore the tangy flavor, perfect for the summer.
2 | Use only one side of the grill – Y’all, most grills are long enough to cook burgers, hotdogs, vegetables and more for a few people, but I don’t need that. I try to only add charcoal and lighter fluid to one side of the grill (1/4 of the overall grill size) so that I can quickly cook what I need to do and keep the fire under control.
3 | Invest in a long stick lighter – Okay, just as far as safety goes, I always get a little nervous when it comes to lighting the grill. I’m especially uneasy when I’m alone and/or where I’m grilling has very little/no people around. After using lighter fluid, I use a long neck lighter to keep my body and clothing as far away from the fluid coated coal as possible. I also use this lighter to light citronella candles.
4 | Keep wet wipes for cleaning your face – If I’m being honest y’all, when it comes to BBQ, I like to throw down. Since we mainly grill during the warmer months, I like to take full advantage of freshly grilled meals and eat them as much as I can. When it comes to BBQ messes, Kleenex® Wet Wipes Gentle Clean are perfect for adults to keep their hands and face clean! Even with my sensitive skin, I can wipe my mouth clean of mess without destroying my makeup since there are no harsh chemicals in the wipes. Talk about a win/win, right?!
5 | Bring more paper towels than you “need” – Have y’all ever been to a BBQ and ran out of paper towels? I have once and it was literally like watching a horror film in slow motion. If you can imagine a bunch of hungry adults grubbing on ribs, cheeseburgers, kabobs and more just to then run out of paper towels before dessert – #tragic. BBQ messes don’t stand a chance against cloth-like VIVA® towels since the grooves clean every nook and cranny of mess.
What you’ll need: 2 chicken breast, assorted colored vegetables, mushrooms, marinade/glaze of your choice, kabob sticks, favorite seasonings, bowl and press-and-seal.
How-to: Chop chicken breast and vegetables into bite-size pieces and season abundantly. After seasoning (grill seasoning, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, seasoned salt), combine all ingredients into large bowl with room for mixing. Lightly coat ingredients with butter then toss with marinade. Toss the contents of the bowl lightly until all ingredients are graciously coasted with the marinade, seasonings and butter. If you don’t plan to grill immediately, cover the contents of your bowl and refrigerate. Once ready to prep, event distribute chicken and vegetables on kabobs sticks. If needed, add a light layer of marinade to kabobs after set-up. Next, ensure your grill is clean and coat with virgin olive oil. Lastly, place kabobs directly on grill and cook for 6-10 minutes. Gently flip over your kabobs for 6 minutes on that side and repeat accordingly. I turned my kabobs a total of 4 times ensuring the chicken and vegetables were throughly cooked. Finally, distribute and plate accordingly.
I grabbed all my ingredients, including charcoal and lighter fluid from our local Kroger. For more grilling inspiration and to enter the #MakeYourSummer Sweepstakes that starts on 6/11/18, head straight here.
Girl I’m all about the wet wipes, they’re such lifesavers. Now that I’m about to have a kid, I feel like my relationship with wet wipes is going to get even stronger LOL
Me too! Wet wipes are definitely handy when you have little ones
I’m all about using wipes for easy clean up! I tend to just grab the ones from my sons diaper bag but the Kleenex brand wipes are also really good.
xo, Laura
I love to cook but I’ve actually never grilled before!! These are such good tips- and you look adorable here! And what would we do without Kleenex??!
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
Ok, this is slightly unrelated but what is the difference between BBQ and cookouts? I was originally told that cookout was something people said in the Northeast to mean BBQ but then you wrote here that you go to BBQs *and* cookouts so now I’m wondering if there’s a difference?
wait, i totally did not know that kleenex has wipes!! that’s so awesome, i need to get those xD
I love kleenex and viva! Great tips!!
This looks delish – and your tip about bringing MORE paper towels than you need is spot on! I always find this is the case with messy foods from the grill. (So worth it though!) Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Yum! I’ve never actually grilled myself. Definitely a skill I need to learn!
Okay, confession: I’m pretty scared to grill! I’ve never done it before! Seeing you do it on your own is a confidence booster for me. Also, the scenario you mentioned where y’all ran out of paper towels cracked me up!
Wet wipes are SUCH a necessity when having any kind of grilling event! You always need more than you think!
These are great tips, girl! I’m never the one at the grill either haha.
Awesome tips girl! I’m going to need to try that dressing! & these paper towels are a must-have for barbecues!
Kileen
cute & little
Now I’m dreaming of a good BBQ!!
http://www.bonjourchiara.com
Great tips!!! We just got a grill…I definitely need this!!! BBQs can be so messy 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by girl
BBQ is my favourite part of summer!
Same here girl!
I didn’t know they had wipes- cool! And I love cooking out for the summer. Definitely a fav activity of mine.
I love a good summer BBQ! We have an awesome yard for them, so we have quite a few in the summer months. 🙂
That’s a good explanation. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by girl
You’re so dang prepared for those summer BBQs! Makes me wanna join you!
Running out of paper towels sounds awful! Thank goodness you brought enough this time!
A BBQ sounds ideal right now!
I love using wipes to clean up and that chicken BBQ looks amazing
Easy clean up is the way to go!! Those skewers look soo good!
oh la laa, didn’t know they make wipes! I need them!
I’ve heard both of these products are amazing! Now I want to try them for myself.
This is such a great idea for a post! I need to check out these products thanks for sharing!
-Tonya
Thank you!
Looks like you have all the supplies for a good Summer BBQ night!
Wet wipes are definitely a must when dealing with BBQ. They help get rid of the stickiness. I need these from Kleenex!
These are great tips! I have never grilled before, but if I ever do I will use this post as a reference for what to do! I haven’t tried the Kleenex brand of wet wipes before, so that is definitely going on my shopping list!
Thank you love! You’ll definitely love the wet wipes when you try them
Mmmmm looks so yummy!!!
I have never heard of these before but now I want to try it. Thanks for sharing beautiful.
You’ll definitely have to check them out!