Kabobs are cubed pieces of marinated beef or chicken that are skewered with vegetables. They are fun and great way to stretch a piece of meat. Ideally you would grill these but pan frying them will render you a beautiful result as well. You can skewer the beef with any vegetable you like. The most common ones are red onion and bell peppers. Other good veggies would include mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes and boiled baby potatoes.

A good technique for these is to cut the beef when it is still a little frozen. That will make things easier for you. This is an old family recipe and it is amazing. We make these with beef or chicken. We do not marinate the meat but, instead, baste it with a spicy tomato sauce. Here is what you need for these:

Serves four

8 skewers – if you are using bamboo ones make sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes
1 pound Flank steak or London broil, trimmed and cubed into 1-inch cubes
2 tomatoes – seeded and cubed
1 large red bell pepper, cubed into large pieces
1 large red onion, cubed into large pieces
Crushed dried oregano
Salt & Pepper

FOR THE BASTING SAUCE:
1 large tomato
1 green chili pepper – seeded
3 mint leaves
1 tsp. olive oil
Salt

Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Taste for salt and adjust as necessary.

Use the sauce for basting the skewers. Any left-over sauce can be served with the finished meal as a salsa.

FOR THE SKEWERS:
Place the cubed beef in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and crushed oregano.

String the meat, alternating with a tomato cube, onion cube and pepper cube on your skewers. Start with and finish with meat cubes.

If using a grill – heat the grill and reduce to medium heat. Clean the grids and oil with olive oil. Place the skewers on the grill. Brush the skewers generously with the tomato sauce. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until meat has a brown crust. Flip and baste the other side. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat this process one more time.

If using a griddle or skillet – heat the pan until hot. Brush it with some olive oil. Place the skewers on the pan and brush generously with the tomato sauce. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until meat has a brown crust. Flip and baste the other side. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat this process one more time.

Serve with the remaining tomato sauce and enjoy!

2 skewers – CALORIES 265.55; FAT 13.72 grs (sat 4.48; mono 7.7; poly 0.96); PROTEIN 26.02 grs ; FIBER 2.36 grs; CARBS 8.74 grs; CHOLESTEROL 52.89 mg; IRON 2.66 mg; SODIUM 951.09 mg; CALCIUM 27.29 mg

Print the Beef Kabobs Recipe Here

These little patties are so amazingly delicious you will want to make a large batch. Make sure you plan ahead as you will have to marinade the meat. These are a fantastically economical way to entertain! Here is what you are going to need for these:

3 pounds ground beef – preferably 80%
3 garlic cloves – minced
4 TBS chopped Italian parsley
2 medium Roma tomatoes – halved
½ a large white onion
Red chili flakes
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
2 tomatoes – peeled and chopped
1 small red onion – finely chopped
Olive oil
½ lemon juiced
Plain yogurt
Pita pockets – cut in half
Salt & Pepper

Place the meat in a large bowl. Using a grating box, grate the tomato halves into the meat. Use the larger grating holes for the tomato. Turn the grating box around and grate the onion on the smaller grating holes. Add the garlic and parsley. Season generously with salt, pepper and red chili flakes.

Knead the meat for a good 20 minutes. Cover it and refrigerate it. Let the kneaded meat rest for a minimum of 4 hours or up to 24. Form small patties, small enough to fit 3 in a half pita pocket. Grill patties in indirect heat on your grill.

While the patties are grilling mix the lettuce, tomato and red onion. Season with lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Set aside.

Place 3 cooked patties in half a pita pocket. Top with lettuce salad, a dab of yogurt and extra red chili flakes. Enjoy!

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Salmon is one of my favorite kinds of fish. I absolutely love it, specially when it is grilled. I love the smoky flavor the grill gives the fish. I also like the fact that the fish cooks so fast and dinner can be on the table in less than 30 minutes – 20 for marinating, 10 for cooking.

Salmon can be expensive so when I find a deal, I jump on it. This week I found a large fillet at Costco and paid $12 for it. Not bad considering it fed 5 of us.

I marinated this fish in:
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 sprigs Rosemary, leaves removed from twig

I whisked the syrup and the soy sauce and then added the garlic and the Rosemary. The fish marinated for a total of 20 minutes, 10 minutes per side, in the refrigerator.

We cooked the salmon on a medium heat grill for 5 minutes per side. Half of it went directly on the grill – we oiled the grids well with a paper towel wad soaked in olive oil. The other half we placed on a log – a simple wood fire log – that Peter placed in his grill. The smoky flavor the log added was intensely delicious! This piece took a few extra minutes to be cooked. We cooked the fish with the grill cover down.

Dinner was great tonight!

This recipe is a perfect fusion of Latin chiles with American BBQ sauce. It delivers a variety of flavors and is absolutely a pleasure to eat! Beef ribs are a lot meatier than pork ones but can also be a lot tougher. You have to cook them very slowly and for a long time. Enjoy!

Print the Grilled Beef Ribs Recipe Here

I love grilling shrimp because it intensified the flavor and is ready really fast! Shrimp kabobs are very easy to make. This particular recipe calls for shelled, deveined shrimp. You will need to either buy it like that or get a special deveiner tool which slides under the shell and removes the vein.

Place the shrimp into a bowl of ice cold water while you are getting them onto the skewers. This will prevent them from going bad. If you are using wooden skewers go ahead and place them in the same bowl as the shrimp and they will acquire some of the shrimp’s taste. Make sure you always soak wooden skewers in water before putting them on the grill otherwise they will burn.

In this recipes you will prepare a marinade and then brush it onto the shrimp, making sure to fill in the crevice. You are going to need about 3 pounds of extra large shrimp for the following amount of marinade. If you are making less shrimp adjust the amounts accordingly.

In a bowl whisk together 1 cup extra virgin olive oil with 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 3 tablespoons minced parsley, 2 teaspoons coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

You will need a couple bunches scallions which you will trim and cut into 2 inch pieces – cut the whole thing whites, light greens and greens. We will use these on our skewers just for flavor. You can also use large dices of red onion.

So, remove the shrimp from the bowl, one by one, and start skewering them. Skewer shrimp, onion, shrimp, onion and so on and so forth. Go ahead and get creative. If you want to you can add large dices of bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, pineapple or any other thing that makes your creative juices flow.

Place all the skewered shrimp into a large sided dish. Brush the marinade on each shrimp making sure you fill in the crevice. Let the shrimp marinade for 30 minutes.

Turn the grill on and heat it for about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat and place the shrimp on the grill and cook until the shrimp turns pink, flip the skewers and cook the other side. You should be done in about 10 minutes or less. If you are using a charcoal grill pile up the hot coals on one side and place the skewers on the other so they cook with indirect heat.

Remove the shrimp from the grill and remove from the skewer – or not, you can go ahead and serve everyone one or two skewers on their plates.

Other Recipes with Shrimp & Crab:
Seafood Salad Stuffed Avocado
Seafood Salad Sandwiches
Crab Rangoon
Pasta, Shrimp & Alfredo Sauce
Shrimp Ceviche
Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Baked Shrimp w/ Feta Cheese
Shrimp Scampi
Coconut Shrimp
Chicken & Shrimp Kabobs
Crab Cakes
Grilled Shrimp & Sausage Kabobs
Chopped Crab Salad
Chicken & Shrimp Stir-Fry
Turmeric Rice & Shrimp
Corn & Shrimp Chowder
Paella Mixta
Shrimp & Crab Salad
Grilled Pineapple Shrimp Kabobs
Cilantro Marinated Shrimp Kabobs
Bowtie Pasta & Shrimp
Garden Salad w/ Garlic Shrimp
Shrimp & Orzo
Fettuccine, Shrimp, Corn & Spinach
Green Curry Shrimp
Shrimp Linguine

Tostadas are always a fun meal. Simply place all the ingredients on the table and let everyone assemble their own. I like to smear mine with beans, add meat and then all the toppings. However you decide to make yours, you will be pleased with the final result. Here is what you need for these:

8 store bought tostadas or 8 deep fried corn tortillas
11/2 pounds flank steak
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 cup finely sliced iceberg lettuce
1- 12 oz. can refried beans, heated
1 avocado, diced (if you dice them in advance cover them with a little lime juice or leave the seeds in with the avocado to prevent it from turning brown)
1/2 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese (or cheddar or Monterrey)
Sour cream
Finely chopped cilantro for garnish
Lime wedges for garnish
Salsa – optional

Rinse and pat dry the meat. Mix the chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper in a bowl. Rub the meat on all sides.

Heat a large skillet until hot. Add some oil. Place the beef in the pan and cook until a brown crust forms at the bottom – about 4 minutes. Flip the meat and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare beef. Go ahead and cook it longer if you like your meat to be well done. Remove from heat and cut into strips, against the grain.

Place the lettuce, tomatoes, acovados, sour cream, beans, cheese, salsa and beef into separate bowls. Serve everyone 2 tostadas and let them assemble their own. Enjoy!

Print the Steak Tostadas Recipe Here

This recipe is great for entertaining or simply feeding the family! Cornish hens are inexpensive and they are so much fun to eat. Kids love them! Here, I butterflied them, rubbed them and cooked them on the grill. The final result was absolutely delightful! This is what you will need for this:

6 Cornish hens
2 TBS coarse salt
1 TBS black pepper
1 TBS smoked paprika
½ TBS thyme
½ TBS garlic powder

Rinse and pat dry your hens. Butterfly them by running some sharp kitchen shears along the backbone and removing it. Crack the breast bone and flatten them.

Mix all of the spices in a bowl. Rub the hens well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Light your grill. If using a gas grill, turn half of it off. If using a charcoal grill, scoop the hot coals to one side. Place the hens on the unlit – or side with no coals – belly side down. Sear them for about 10 minutes and flip them. Finish cooking them for another 10 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

Note: If you want to make less hens go ahead and adjust the seasoning. Or make it all and keep it in a sealed bag in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months. Calculate 1 hen for 2 people.

Print the Grilled Cornish Hens Recipe Here

Grilled fish tacos are healthy, delicious and not hard to make. You can use any mild white fish for this recipe. You can also cook these in a skillet if you prefer. Here is what you are going to need for this wonderful, fresh meal:

32 corn tortillas
8 Tilapia fillets
3 large limes
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
¾ cup mayonnaise
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ cup +1 TBS chopped cilantro
2 cups shredded cabbage
4 ripe tomatoes
Salt & Oil
Optional – Spicy Tomato Chipotle Salsa

MARINATE THE FISH:
Place the fish in a glass or ceramic bowl. Grate about ½ a lime of zest on to the fish. Squeeze 2 limes on it, salt and drizzle with some oil to prevent fish from sticking to grill. Coat all fillets with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

MAKE THE SAUCE:
Place yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic powder, cumin and cilantro in a bowl. Add 1 TBS lime juice. Season with salt to taste. Mix well and set aside.

MAKE THE SLAW:
Mix the cabbage, tomatoes and cilantro in a bowl. Squeeze the remaining lime. Salt to taste. Mix and set aside.
Heat the grill on high. Once it is hot, reduce the heat to medium. Soak a paper towel wad in olive oil and clean your grill grid so the fish will not stick. Place the fish on the grill. Cook for about 6 to 7 minutes and flip. Cook for an extra 6 to 7 minutes. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your fish.
Once you flip the fish, place the tortillas on the side of your grill and heat them. Place 2 tortillas on a plate. Smear with yogurt sauce. Add fish and salsa if desired. Top with slaw. Enjoy!

Print the Grilled Fish Tacos Recipe Here

Print the Spicy Tomato Chipotle Salsa Recipe Here

Tacos are another great way to stretch meats. You use such a little amount of meat in a taco yet they are so satisfying. These soft tacos are pretty authentic served with chopped onion, cilantro and salsa. The meat is marinated overnight and can be cooked on a grill or a skillet. I like marinating meats. I think the marinade not only makes them tenderer, it adds a lot to their flavor. However, a lot of people prefer to make these simply by seasoning the beef with salt and pepper. If you can grill these you will get optimum flavor. You really need thinly sliced beef for this so ask your butcher to cut it for you if you do not have sharp knives at home.

Notice that the nutritional labeling includes 4 tacos. Eat 2 – be super satisfied – and you are eating only 234 calories. Not bad at all!

Serves four

1 pound of thin flank steaks
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup olive oil
1 large jalapeño
¼ bunch cilantro
4 large garlic cloves
2 TBS white vinegar
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
32 small corn tortillas
1 cup finely chopped white onion
1 cup chopped cilantro
Salsa of choice – I use my spicy tomato chipotle salsa in these

Rinse and pat dry the meat. Place it in a non-reactive container and add all of the ingredients. Use your
hands to coat the entire pieces well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove the meat from the marinade and grill or cook in a large, hot skillet with a little bit of oil. This meat is so thin it will cook very quickly. Remove it from the heat and place it on a cutting board. Cut the meat into small pieces.

Heat your tortillas either by wrapping 16 of them in foil – you will have two packets – and placing in an oven; or by heating them directly on the open flame of a gas grill. If you opt for this, use some tongs to constantly turn them. Heat them for about 30 seconds.

Place 2 tortillas on top of each other on a plate and add some cut up beef. Top with salsa, onions and cilantro. Serve 4 tacos per plate. Enjoy!

Suggested sides – Mexican Rice

4 tacos w/o salsa- CALORIES 469.26; FAT 12.38 grs (sat 1.0; mono 8.6; poly 3.8); PROTEIN 31.63 grs ; FIBER 4.89 grs; CARBS 56.48 grs; CHOLESTEROL 52.88 mg; IRON 5.42 mg; SODIUM 671.77 mg; CALCIUM 121.28 mg

Print the Carne Asada Tacos Recipe Here

Grilled corn is absolutely fantastic! In this recipe we added some spiced up butter for an even better result! This is easy to make and I promise you will love it. Here is what you need for this:

8 ears of corn in their husks
¼ to ½ cup butter
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili Powder
Salt & Black Pepper

Melt the butter. Add all of the spices. Mix well and pour into a bowl. Place in the freezer and wait for butter to harden.

Soak the corn in some cold water. Pull away some of the husk and brush the corn with the spiced butter.
Heat your grill to high until hot. Reduce the heat to medium and place the corn unbuttered side up. Flip after about 9 minutes. Grill for about 9 more minutes. If your corn is older it might take a little longer to cook.

Remove from grill and carefully pull away the husks to enjoy!

Print the Grilled Corn with Spiced Butter Recipe Here