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Is there anything better in the summer than firing up the grill and having some friends over? This is the first year we have had a backyard that we were able to entertain in, and we have had many meals centered around the grill, and nights that ended roasting marshmallows over the fire pit.
I have been a vegetarian for 6 years now. That’s right, I haven’t eaten one bite of meat in 6 years. The number 1 question I get asked about my vegetarianism is, “Do you make your husband eat that way?”
If you know how controlling impassioned I am, the answer might surprise you – no! I don’t force him to eat that way, although he does eat 90% vegetarian at home because he actually likes my crazy, meatless concoctions. We have a good system down – one side of the grill is for meat, the other is meatless. But, if you haven’t had 6 years of practice, the thought of a vegetarian coming to your barbecue might strike fear into your heart.
Never fear! Today I am going to share a couple of my favorite barbecue recipes that will satiate your carnivorous and herbivore friends alike.
First of all, you don’t have to buy a lot of exotic ingredients, or make two different meals. There is a Walmart about a block away from our house, and I was easily able to find all of these ingredients there! For this particular menu, I used hamburgers, and for the vegetarian option I used portabella mushrooms. The best part is, you can use the same marinade on both!
Marinade
No one will believe how easy this marinade is after they taste it! I just use equal parts of Kraft Sweet Honey BBQ Sauce, and Kraft Tuscan House Italian dressing. That’s it! I start with 1 cup of marinade and add it to a gallon sized zip closure plastic bag. Add the portabella mushrooms, seal the bag, and make sure the mushrooms are thoroughly coated with marinade. Place the bag in the fridge for an hour (or more). For burgers, place patties on a piece of wax paper in a container, and pour marinade over. Place in the fridge for an hour. Both the portabellas and burgers can go straight from the fridge to the grill.
The Kraft BBQ sauce line has a new formula, and none of the 8 different flavors contain high fructose corn syrup! We like a sweeter barbecue flavor, so we opted for the Sweet Honey flavor, but they have everything from Hickory Smoke to Spicy Honey to Sweet Brown Sugar barbecue sauce, dependning on your taste in flavor.
Lettuce Slaw
Coleslaw is the quintesenntial barbecue side dish, but here’s the rub – I don’t like cabbage. Lettuce slaw allows me to enjoy the crunchy tang, without the offending green. For this dish you need:
1 head finely chopped iceberg lettuce
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 C Kraft Mayo
2 T honey
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 T apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Put lettuce and carrot in a large bowl. Whisk remaining ingredients together, then pour over lettuce and carrot and mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Dessert
You can’t forget the dessert, and even this can be made on the grill. One of my favorite summer time indulgences are grilled peaches. Juicy, sweet, and fresh – what could be a better end to the meal? According to my kids – roasted marshmallows. So combine the two, and you have a darn near perfect summer dessert.
You will want to halve your peaches, and then brush the face with butter or olive oil. Place face-down on the grill for 4 or 5 minutes until it is soft. In the meantime, have your kids roast some Kraft Jet-Puffed marshmallows over the fire pit. Once the peaches AND marshmallows are done, place a marshmallow in the center of each peach. YUM!
Don’t exclude your vegetarian friends from the summer barbecue fun. They might develop a complex. Plus, it’s so easy, and tasty, to come up with a menu that caters to their dietary needs!
What are some of your favorite barbecue recipes? If you are looking for some new ideas check out the free Kraft digital cookbook available here. Come back and tell me which one you want to try!
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