summer food | Feeding Mr. Rodgers

One of my favorite memories growing up: when my parents led a group for single people in our church that wanted to get together, have fun, grow in God, and serve the community. They would meet at our house often, and there was always lots of fun, lots of people that would pass me around cause I was so cute (hehe!), and LOTS OF FOOD! The best was our shish kabob parties!!! Everyone would gather around, grab a skewer, stab what they want, and dad would grill all day long! I could never wait for our shish kabob parties!!!

So I have decided…to try and give you some inspiration for your own shish kabob party!!! Obviously shish kabobs are the kind of thing that you can make up as you go…the possibilities are literally endless…if it can be stuck on a stick and grilled, then its fair game. But just in case you don’t wanna think too hard…or just want a combo that someone else has tried and enjoyed…then read on! It was real tasty, and one thing I loved about it was how far it stretched…I prepped everything I thought I would need for Jay and I to eat, then we ended up with two of our friends at our house! I was so nervous that we wouldn’t have enough….and then we ended up with too much haha!

So, here’s what you need:

Steak:

1 lb steak, cubed
1/3 C Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Amino Acids (our soy sauce substitute)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Parsley, minced
2 Leaves Basil, minced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
Pepper to taste
A pinch of pepper flakes

Chicken:

1-2 Large Chicken Breasts, Cubed
1/2 C Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Cilantro, minced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tbsp lemon
3 Tbsp honey
1/2-1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano

Additional Goodies:

1 Onion, cut into chunks
1 Red Pepper, cut into chunks
1 Green Pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 Fresh Pineapple, cut into chunks
Bamboo Skewers

Now I know that sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t complicated or scary I promise!! And if you are a foodie, you will probably have most of those things in your kitchen any ways! It’s so worth it!!

So, here’s how you do it!

To get the full affect, start prep somewhere between 3 hours to the night before.
Chop your steak into bite size pieces.
Whisk the rest of the “steak” ingredients together in a bowl.
Pour about 2/3 of the marinade over the meat in a ziploc bag or bowl. Seal and put it into the fridge until ready. Save that remaining marinade!
Chop your chicken into bite size pieces.
Whisk the rest of the “chicken” ingredients together in a bowl.
Pour about 2/3 of the marinade over the meat in a ziploc bag or bowl. I’m sure you can see where this is going . Seal and put it until the fridge until ready. Save that remaining marinade!
About an hour before grilling, soak your skewers in water so they will not burn.
Next, when you are ready to start assembling, prep your veggies. Put your onions in one bowl and your peppers in another. Now it’s time for the remaining marinades!
Take the reserved steak marinade and toss it with the bell peppers.
Take the reserved chicken marinade and toss it with the onions.
Now…gather the family! Place everything out in bowls and let everyone build their own custom skewers! Treasure a fun moment together in the kitchen! A nice break from being alone in the kichen until everyone sits down to eat.
You’re good to go, grill away! I would say medium heat, about 10 minutes…until the chicken is cooked through and there are little bits of char throughout. Feel free to baste with something…barbecue sauce, maybe more marinade if you have more left over…but it works just how it is as well!

Yummm! How fun is that?!

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures yaaaay!

First, the night before (or at least a few hours in advance) prep your meats! Cut both meats into bite sized pieces.

Mix up your steak marinade, toss 2/3 of it with the meat, and put it in the fridge until ready.

Repeat with the chicken marinade…

When ready to get things rolling, get your skewers soaking, then prep your veggies! Toss the bell peppers with the reserved steak marinade…

And your onions with the reserved chicken marinade…

Now put everything out in bowls and gather the people you love most to have a skewer party! He’s so cute. Though I don’t necessarily recommend his method hehe. This is one of his favorite meals ever. 🙂

Make sure to enjoy the moment. Heheheee. Laugh a little. I love that there Mr. Rodgers.

Now take them out to your grill and toss them on, I’m thinking medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Just make sure the chicken is done and you have a little char! 😉

Like so! Yummmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! I boiled some quinoa with ours and it was all we needed!

Pile o’deliciousness. Fantastic. Enjoy!! Be inspired!! What is your favorite shish kabob combo?!

So. Wow. These were another gem, folks. Truly a thing of beauty. I was trying so hard to come up with a new, fun name for them to mix it up since I changed a few things. But no. To take away any of the words in this title would be a travesty. (That’s the Rodgers family word of the week. I dunno why.) I mean. Come on. What is Cheddar without Jalapeno? What is Chicken without Cheddar? What is summer without burgers?! AAAAH!!!! So here it is. My new friend. Wonderful, wonderful friend. I love finding new burger friends.

Not too long ago, I had never really thought of any way to make a burger other than beef, bbq, and cheese. Then I found a blogger favorite, turkey feta burgers. My life was forever altered. And THEN I was blogging one day, and put on Food Network in the background. Well Paula Dean came on, and it was a burger special where she was featuring the winner of a burger competition, Brigitte Nguyen. The winning burger was an Asian Chicken Burger!!! What?! Who knew. And get this. She won 50 THOUSAND DOLLARS!! WHAAAAT?! After I heard that, I decided to start experimenting with burgers more. I wanna make 50 thousand dollars from a burger recipe, haha!! THEN a couple of days ago I purchased my first magazine ever. Don’t laugh at me. Growing up I made a silent protest of sorts against them. Just because I saw so many of my friends flip through them, even seemingly harmless ones, then go look in the mirror and cry or harm themselves. So me, being my extreme self, avoided all magazines at all costs because they hurt people. However, the last time I went grocery shopping I was eyeing the cover of a food magazine and my husband caught me…and bought it for me! 🙂 Good news, it made me happy and inspired, no hurt. 😀 ANYWAYS. Back to burgers. All that to tell you that in said magazine, I found a list of the 25 most popular burgers! Cue Disney music: “A WHOLE NEW WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD!!” Burgers with all different kinds of meats, countless fillers, crazy toppings with buns, without buns, all different kind of buns, oh my gosh! YOU CAN DO SO MANY THINGS WITH BURGERS!!! AAAAAAAAAH! AND THIS ONE WAS REALLY GOOD!!! Did I mention that it is smothered in fresh guacamole?!

Wanna try? Yeah? Yeah? Yeaaaaah? Dooooo it!

Adapted from http://cookbook-recipes.org.

So, here’s what you need for the burgers:

2 lbs Ground Chicken
2/3 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2/3 C Red Onion, Finely Chopped
1 Jalapeno, Minced
6 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 C Cilantro, Finely Chopped
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Paprika

Guacamole (For topping. Yummy!)

3 Avocados
Hot Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Mrs. Dash
Fresh Lime Juice (1 lime)
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder

Other toppings of choice!! We don’t do buns often any more, but we used lettuce and tomatoes along with the guacamole. That’s really all it needed because of all the stuffins inside, but you can use whatever you want! I’m sure there’s lots of things that would be yummy!

And here’s how you do it:

Prep all your veggies.
Make your guacamole. Cut your avocados in half lengthwise, twist the halves apart, and remove the pits (reserve one.) Using a knife, cut the flesh of the avocado halves into cubes without cutting through the skin. Use a large spoon to scoop between the flesh and skin and drop the cubes into a bowl. Sprinkle with a generous coating of all the seasonings, the juice of one lime, and a dash of hot sauce. Mash lightly with a fork, or until it becomes the consistency you desire. Taste and adjust until you get it just right! Place reserved pit back in the middle of the bowl (it helps it stay green) and put it in the fridge to chill until your burgers are done.
Heat up your grill or grill pan, medium heat.
Mix all the burger ingredients together until just combined. Form into patties, making a divet in the middle so they won’t shrivel up. 🙂
Place on your grill and cook until done, about 5-7 minutes.
Remove, top, and serve! Yummyyyyy!!!!

Let’s get to pictures! Yum!

Prepare your veggies and cheese. Things go so much smoother when it’s all ready before hand. 🙂

Make your guacamole! Really, you can do it any way you want, but these are the seasonings that I recommend 🙂

Cut your avocados in half longways. Twist the halves apart and remove the pits (reserving one.) Take a knife and gently cut the flesh into cubes, not cutting through the skin. Take a large spoon and scoop between the skin and flesh and drop the cubes into a bowl.

Sprinkle a generous layer of the seasonings over the avocado, along with a dash of hot sauce and the juice of a lime. You can do this to your own tastes, I never measure…just taste and go. 😉 Mash it together lightly so it’s creamy, but still chunky! Yumm! Place one of the pits back in the guacamole to help it stay green, and plop it in the fridge till your burgers are ready.