Steak & Chicken Kebabs

I purchased a propane grill in May and have been grilling nonstop!

The day I bought it I made a mental note of all the things I wanted to grill.

Kebabs have been a favorite of mine since I was a child,

so they were at the top of the list of yummy foods to make!

I like to marinate what I'll be putting on the kebabs

and that includes not only the meats,

but the variety of veggies you'll be using too.

You can use any marinade you like,

even store bought would be fine,

but I like to whip something together myself!

The Goods Part 1:

Chicken Breasts

Sirloin Steak

Zucchini

Yellow Squash

Bell Peppers

Red Onion

Cut up your meat and veggies so that it's the size of about two bites.

Try to get everything similar sized so your kebabs cook evenly. 

The Goods Part 2:

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Fresh Lemon Juice

Course Dijon Mustard

Garlic

Fresh Rosemary

Salt

Pepper

I'm a bad blogger and didn't measure anything out,

so I don't really have instructions for my marinade.

I just dump the goods into a gallon zipper bag, seal and mix up.

Add your chopped meat and veggies to the marinade.

Let sit at least an hour, but up to overnight.

Now the fun begins...time to skewer your kebabs!

I like to do all of the same type of food on one kebab,

because cooking times vary for different foods.

Again, this will help your kebabs cook evenly.

Fill your grill with your kebab skewers and start to cook them.

Keep an eye on them, turning the skewers every few minutes until fully cooked.

MMMmmm my mouth is watering just looking at those kebabs!!!

Remove the food from the skewers and serve with a yummy side like cauliflower rice! 

And make a little extra because kebab leftovers are some of the best!!!

Things I'm Lovin' Tuesday: Patagonia Capilene® Lightweight Crew

This is a non-sponsored review and I purchased my own UPF shirt.

Last year I started a monthly blog series called

THINGS I'M LOVIN' TUESDAY!!!

Past post can be found:

here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here!

And make sure to check back every last Tuesday of the month!

Now onto what I'm lovin' this month...

Being a natural redhead, I also have quite fair skin.

I've been very careful about applying sunscreen my entire life,

but sadly I've still had a few skin cancer scares!

Over the July 4th holiday, I went on a long hike with very little shade.

Before going on that hike though, I hit up Adventure 16

and left the store with a Patagonia UPF long sleeve shirt.

Yes, long sleeves in the heat of Summer sounded terrible,

but it's made from super lightweight material

 and I wanted all the protection I could get!

I wore the shirt the very next day on an 8 mile hike,

and not only did I not get sunburned at all,

but the shirt actually seemed to cool me down too!!!

If you get sunburned easily too, 

I HIGHLY recommend this shirt!

I love it so much I'd totally buy a second one.

Soup and Chili Round Up

I know it's the summer and hot out everywhere,

but I'm a fan of soup and chili at any time of the year.

I have blogged about quite a few of those over time,

and today I'm sharing a round up of some of my favorites!

Baked Potato Soup

Chicken Enchilada Soup*

Corn Cheese Chowder

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Spicy Turkey Chili*

Taco Soup*

*These soups are easy to make in a large batch and freeze for future meals.

I like to freeze mine in pint sized mason jars for easy individual portions.

I didn't include any soups in this group with potato, squash or cream 

as I find those don't freeze and reheat as well.

This post contains affiliate links meaning I may get a paid for certain purchases.

Favorite Things To Do For 4th of July!

Happy Friday you guys!!!

I'm back today for another Friday Link Up!

This week, I'm linking up with THREE different groups.

Make sure to check them all out at the bottom of this post!

It seems my five favorites are all holiday weekend themed recently.
Last month I posted about my Five Favorite Memorial Day recipes.
And since it's now the Friday before the 4th of July, I'm posting about my
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS TO DO FOR 4TH OF JULY!

While watching fireworks seems pretty typical for 4th of July,
I'm shockingly NOT including that in my list today!
I'm still planning to go see them somewhere in Los Angeles
but wanted to talk about other fun things to do this holiday weekend!

ONE

It's been HOT in LA and I've been loving my pool.

It's forecast to be scorching this weekend,

 so you'll probably find me here at least once!

TWO

I prefer to cool off in the pool over going to the beach,

but I'll deal with the sand to see a sunset like the one above.

If you throw in a beach bonfire, I'll be there even faster!

THREE

Summer holiday long weekends and grilling just go hand in hand to me.

I have absolutely no clue what I'll be making on it just yet,

but you better believe at least one meal I make will be grilled this weekend!

FOUR

And you can't forget a festive dessert to round out your grilled meal!

I made this Fruit Pizza for my aunt's birthday AND 4th of July last year.

It's really that good and can easily be made ahead of time.

FIVE

Lastly, make a batch of seasonal cocktails like my Blackberry Whiskey Punch!

Depending on the number of people you'll be celebrating with,

the above recipe can easily be doubled or halved.

Hope you all have an amazing and safe 4th of July weekend!!!

Now for more Friday Link Up Fun, check out the blogs below!

Andrea and Erika's blogs from Friday Favorites.

April and Christina's blogs from 5 on Friday.

Karli and Amy's blogs from oh hey friday!

Whiskey Wednesday: Blackberry Whiskey Punch

Happy Hump Day guys!!!

In 2015, I started a fun new blog series - 

Whiskey Wednesday!!!

If you missed them, here are past posts:
Irish Mule
 Mint Julep
Bourbon & Sparkling Lemonade
Irish Redhead
Old Fashion
Jameson Coke Floats
Bourbon Cherry Coke
Bourbon Spiked Apple Cider
Hot Toddy
Whiskey Sour
Sage Brown Derby

Strawberry Whiskey Smash
Gold Rush

A few months ago I ran across this recipe* shared by a friend on Facebook.
While it sounded amazing, I'm really not a fan of tequila.
But I quickly realized I could replace the tequila with whiskey,
and that's how I came up with this month's Whiskey Wednesday drink.

The Goods:

Bourbon

Blackberries

Limes

Fresh Mint

Club Soda

Ginger Beer

Slice three limes pretty thin.

Wash your blackberries and add to a medium bowl.

Using a fork, mash up all the blackberries creating lots of juice.

Measure out 1 cup of bourbon...

And then add it to the mashed up blackberries.

Now add the sliced limes...

And the leaves from three sprigs of mint...

Stir it all up to combine.

Let sit at least 30 minutes, but preferably a few hours!

Right before serving, add in one can of club soda...

Followed by one bottle of ginger beer.

 Stir to combine.

Get your glasses and garnished prepped.

And serve up the drinks for you and your friends!

Last thing to do is cheers, take a sip and enjoy!!!

After making these, I realized you could not only make these with whiskey or tequila,
and can pretty much substitute any type of liquor that you're a fan of.
In fact, I've already tried it out with vodka too and they were just as tasty!
I'm sure using a different type of berry would be pretty delicious as well.

*The linked recipe above makes a total of 8 drinks, 
but can easily be halved or even multiplied for big parties!
My pictures and instructions include enough for 4 drinks. 

Lemonade Popsicles!

With Spring officially here and the temperature warming up,

I'm guessing many of us will be eating popsicles quite often.

Personally, I like to make them myself to control the ingredients.

And one of my favorite kinds is to use simple lemonade!

You can use whatever lemonade you'd like,

be it homemade or store bought - both kinds will work.

I tend to make my own using this recipe

then simply use molds to make my popsicles!

The Goods:

Lemons

Sugar

Water

Popsicle Molds

Popsicle Sticks

Lemon Juicer

Cut your lemons in half and start juicing...

Squeeze the juice out of ALL your lemons. 

I did a total of a dozen.

Measure out the amount of lemon juice you need.

And toss all the discarded lemons.

Of if you have a compost throw them in there!

Measure out your sugar and make your simple syrup.

Get your lemon juice, simple syrup and water ready to combine.

Then mix it all up in a big pitcher.

Fill your popsicle molds almost all the way full.

If you're using the tops that came with them, add them now.

If you're using popsicle sticks, freeze for about an hour 

and then insert the sticks so they stay upright.

Freeze overnight to make sure they're completely solid.

Package them up and give to family and friends.

And of course enjoy one yourself!