May is National Grilling Month!

Just in time to get us ready for summer, some smart person declared the month of May "National Grilling Month". A whole month devoted to the wonderful art of grilling and the tasty food that comes from that grill. I love food devoted anything, so this is super!

My family uses our grill just about every sunny day we get here in the great Pacific Northwest. Right now, however, it is anything but grilling weather. This week we have seen sunshine, rain, sideways rain, hail and a mixture of the all of those. Needless to say, we won't be firing up our grill just yet. Hopefully your weather cooperates more than ours and you can enjoy getting out there and enjoy the beginning of our grilling month.

The foods you can grill are limitless! Beef, pork, chicken, turkey, sea food, fresh water fish, veggies and even fruit can be grilled. The seasonings you can add to the above foods are about as limitless as the food choices themselves. So many tasty options and only so many days in the year!

You can make burgers of any kind and combination of meats, you can even stuff them with zesty cheeses and herbs. Try stuffing your burger patties with a pepper jack cheese and avocado. Another tasty option is a really good cheddar and top that burger with a slice of grilled pineapple. Yum!

Steaks can be seasoned with a tasty rub or a marinade. Grill your steak to medium rare, slice it thin and eat it with tortillas or on a good gluten-free roll with horseradish and some jack cheese. Is your mouth watering? Oh my, mine is!

How about chicken? Cut it up and grill it on a skewer along with some veggies. Take a cut up fryer and rub it down with garlic and onion powder. Better yet, par bake it a bit in your oven and put it on the grill to finish. When it's cooked through, dip each piece in your favorite BBQ sauce and put it back on the grill to set that sauce onto the chicken. So tasty! Add a bit of hot sauce to your BBQ sauce for a bit more zip.

Now the veggies are easy. Brush them with olive oil and season with whatever your taste desires. Zucchini, onions, garlic, eggplant, tomatoes, and mushrooms all come out beautifully on the grill. Get creative, try making foil packets and cooking chopped up potatoes, or combine some different veggies and cook those in a packet.

Grilled peach halves with a scoop of ice cream is a wonderful finish to a great grilled meal! Nectarines also work well this way. So tasty and a bit different than the ordinary dessert. Get creative and enjoy your grilling season. Like I said before there are more grilling options than there are days in the year, so enjoy ever moment of it all.

Happy Grilling!