This swordfish and veggie kabob recipe makes for a colorful entree with fresh green and yellow zucchini squash, onion, cajun seasonings, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and red and yellow bell pepper. I found the original recipe here from Carlo but am modifying it to my own tastes.

Marinate the everything overnight to incorporate all the wonderful flavors. So you can make everything ahead, then throw the kabobs on the grill when your guests are arriving.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or you can spray a whole lot of non-stick cooking spray to cut out the calories of the oil)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh Italian seasonings ( or pick your favorite one and stick with it)
• 1 teaspoon of your favorite cajun seasoning (red pepper, red pepper flakes, Mrs Dash Spicy, your choice – use to your preference, it’s your kabob!)
• 1 teaspoon of Mrs. dash (or salt if you prefer)
• 2 pounds of swordfish, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 8” wooden skewers (I’ll be using metal skewers with my kabob holder)
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 1 white onion, cut into wedges

Marinating The Swordfish:
In a medium bowl combine the olive oil, and spices.  Add swordfish chunks and stir up really well. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes or overnight if you have time.

When You’re Ready to Grill:

Place the chunks of swordfish, zucchini, squash, peppers and onion onto the skewers, and try to put on a piece of fish, then a piece or two of onion, then a couple of more vegetables.  It works best if you begin and end the skewers with the swordfish. Grill 5 to 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork, brushing occasionally with marinade.  Makes 4 servings.

And then you’ll have a mouthwatering, colorful, flavorful and healthy entree that takes around ten minutes to prepare while the guests are chatting. You’ll get some ooh’s and ahh’s when you serve them, so be prepared for the compliments and ENJOY!

I found a couple of videos on the proper way to choose ground beef. A great tip is to ask at the meat counter if they grind their beef fresh daily.

The first video comes from Chow, on You Tube. He called ground beef  “chow meat”, fyi. Here’s his video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The other video i found is from CookingGuide on YouTube as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I usually thaw out my meat in a bowl with the meat sealed in plastic bags and fill the bowl with water and let the faucet drip slightly, but she recommends changing the water every thirty minutes.

Will it waste less water? Probably. It sounds like the most environmentally conscious way to thaw your meat is in the refrigerator. Anyway, here’s the video!

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Why they’re good for you: They may be 90 percent water and have only 18 calories per cup, but mushrooms are getting serious scientific attention. Laboratory reports and animal studies show that compounds in mushrooms may do everything from bolster immune function to suppress breast and prostate cancers to decrease tumor size. And now, Penn State researchers find that mushrooms, from the humble button to the giant portobello, harbor large amounts of an antioxidant called L-ergothioneine. The scientific buzz is that fungi, for the moment, are the only foods that contain this compound.

While scientists work to figure out how these findings will translate to dietary advice, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy mushrooms. Clare Hasler, Ph.D., a well-known expert in functional foods and executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis, points out that mushrooms offer a healthy helping of the blood pressure– lowering mineral potassium. “Most people might be surprised to learn that while orange juice is touted as one of the highest potassium foods, one medium portobello mushroom actually has more potassium,” she says. “And five white button mushrooms have more potassium than an orange.” Source: CNN.com.

Here’s a great Recipe for Grilled Portobello Mushrooms I found on About.com

Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 12 large portobello mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
• black pepper

Preparation:
Wash mushrooms; remove stems and set mushrooms aside. Melt the butter, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic & pepper together in a small pot or on the grill. Halve largest mushrooms or cut in strips. Brush the mushrooms generously with the melted butter and olive oil mixture. On a covered grill over medium coals, grill the portobello mushrooms stem-side down for about 8 minutes. Turn and grill the tops of the portobello mushrooms for 6 to 8 minutes longer. The grilled portobello mushrooms should be tender and nicely browned.

Corn is one my favorite vegetables! I grew up eating it boiled on the stove or even out of the can, with a little butter and salt.

As I’ve gotten into grilling I heard that you can actually grill it, which I loved hearing. My dad made it for us once on the grill and it’s definitely on my to do list.

I also had it at a friend’s house, at one of his gatherings. He recommended to everyone that you try squeezing lime on it just before eating it. I’m telling you, that really added a zing to the flavor compared to corn in a can!

This will be one I’m looking forward to trying, but in the meantime I found a great video on Youtube I wanted to share with all of you on how to do it. It’s from a guy who called himself ChefTips on YouTube.

Here’s the video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

What I like is that it’s a good recipe for the beginning cook, it doesn’t have alot of ingredients, but sounds like it has a lot of flavor and would work well for one person or a big family!

Here’s the recipe below. I may modify it to suit my own tastes and will make changes I decide on later, but it sounds good just the way it is! I’ll probably grill some mixed vegetables with it (they’ll take longer to cook, so I’ll start them first and will link to the recipe later.

Marinated Grilled Shrimp and Vegetable Kabobs

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 pound shrimp
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• pinch of parsley, finely chopped

Preparation:
2 hours prior to grilling, prepare the marinade. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, parsley, and garlic. Place marinade in large freezer bag. Rinse and dry thawed shrimp. Add to marinade and place bag in refrigerator until read to grill.

Remove shrimp from marinade and discard marinade. If using metal or steel skewers, lightly coat them with oil. Place shrimp on skewers (about 5 per skewer).

Grilling and Serving:
Spray the grill lightly with cooking oil to prevent sticking. Add shrimp kebabs. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until shrimp turns pink. Do not overcook.Serve shrimp kebabs over a bed of rice with fresh lemon wedges.

4 medium sized red potatoes (5 or 6 if they’re real small)
1 tsp. chicken bullion granules
1/2 tsp. Olive Oil

Preheat your grill. Clean the potatoes, peel if desired (I did) and cut into quarters.  Get a mixing bowl, throw everything in, spray a bunch of the butter spray on top and stir it all up so the potatoes are evenly coated.

Tear off about a foot of aluminum foil and place the potatoes, olive oil, garlic and spices into the middle of the foil down the middle.

Bring the foil together and roll both sides together down to the food and roll the ends like a big foil tootsie roll.

Place on grill with cover closed for 30 minutes. You can peek inside and test the potatoes with a fork and when you can push all the way into them, they’re done!

Enjoy! You can substitute the butter spray with margarine or butter, but this is a great low-fat way to enjoy grilled potatoes

My father taught me how to do it and soon his video will be here, but until then, I wanted to have something here on our blog about how to really cook your steaks. Learning how to grill meat properly has made my grilling experiences so much more pleasant and with a lot less smoke and fire!

I like the video because Enrique is energetic, easy to understand, and gives tips about how to choose your meat when you’re at the store. The quality of the video is great too, and it made me hungry!

Click here to view the embedded video.