This year, Lover and I were hosts for two cookouts - one on Sunday, and the other on Monday. My camera was MIA on Sunday though, so I only got pics of Monday's BBQ. However, I am happy to say that both days included delicious menus and awesome people.
For Sunday's menu, we grilled BBQ chicken (and a veggie chicken cutlet for me). I made a salad with mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, gorgonzola, glazed walnuts, craisins, and an organic raspberry vinaigrette that was delightfully tangy and sweet. Side dishes included cole slaw, chili-lime corn-on-the-cob, and cranberry punch. Homemade chocolate cupcakes were dessert, thanks to Liz.
On Monday, Lover and one of his friends tried out Dr. Pepper BBQ Pulled Pork Empanadas. They had to prepare the pulled pork in the slow cooker the night before. I made a BBQ version with kidney beans, black beans, and corn. They were a hit! I ate the bean version until I was completely stuffed. We made more chili-lime corn-on-the-cob, broke out the salad and punch, and everyone had their fill. Dessert was ice cream sandwiches - a summer favorite in this house!
Check out the pictures and recipes below:
I almost forgot about the snow cones! Our old roommate gave us a snow cone machine for Christmas. We got to try it out this weekend! The snow cones were smack-your-lips-tacular.
Recipes:
BBQ Bean Empanadas
Ingredients:
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1/2 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bottle BBQ sauce of choice
1 tbsp olive oil
empanada shells
Fry up the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Once the onion is tender, add the cans of beans and corn. Stir while it warms up. Add the bottle of BBQ sauce. I let it simmer for about 45 min before the boys put them into the empanada shells, which you can then fry or bake. We fried ours in Canola oil, and they were good. Next time, I'm going to try baking them. I bet either way is delicious. I might try some spices, too, like cumin or chili powder. All depends on how you like them!
Chili-Lime Corn on the Cob
Ingredients:
corn, still on the cob...
chili powder
fresh limes, sliced
cumin
garlic salt
butter or margarine
Butter the cobs up. Squeeze the limes over the cob (depending on how limey you like it...I did quarter a lime per cob but I like it limey!). Then sprinkle on those spices! Lots of chili, a touch of cumin, and some garlic salt is how we did ours. Then put it on the top level of the grill for about twenty minutes. Check to make sure the kernels are tender. Voila! You have done it.
A lot of my cooking isn't exact. But, I like to experiment, and some days I'm feeling some kind of spice more than other days. I can't wait until the herb garden really gets going, and I can try out different, fresh flavors on my food!
Feel free to share your favorite cookout recipe in the comments!
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