Compensation was provided by Hebrew National via Mode Media.
Does your heart race a little when you get invited to a BBQ? Mine totally does. Barbecue parties are the ultimate in afternoon hang outs. You need three things for a good BBQ: good food, rad friends and (hopefully) warm weather. And while being invited to one is awesome, I love to host them even more! Today I’ve partnered with Hebrew National to share my favorite BBQ party ideas. There’s nothing I love more than a grilled hot dog and a stress-free menu that will let you enjoy your own party.
Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches with King’s Hawaiian Buns
*This is a sponsored post by King’s Hawaiian. All opinions are mine. I love this company. 
Ah, summer. I’m so glad it has finally started for us!! School got out late this year so it didn’t really feel like we could really DO summer until a week ago. Now our days are filled with swim lessons and keeping cool. And it finally feels right to barbecue everything. I’m not a huge fan of steak though, and I eat a ton of chicken so I wanted to switch it up a little. Grilled veggies are one of my favorite things to eat so I thought, Hey! Why not make them in to a sandwich?!
A quick trip to the store yielded all the ingredients for the grilled sandwich of my dreams!! But you could easily sub out whatever makes your heart happy. Do not switch out these King’s Hawaiian buns though. I’ve never loved hamburger buns but THESE I could eat on their own. Same great taste as their rolls. And super light and airy. While this is a sponsored post, I totally don’t have to make lifestyle changes based on the writing of a post for one company. But I plan to only use these buns for my burgers from now on. Gross regular hamburger buns, consider yourselves replaced!
I really like to play around with different flavors for my grilled veggies. I love how caramely they can get with a good balsamic vinegar and how flavorful they can be with a drizzle of evoo and some fresh minced garlic. But when I came across this recipe for a mustard and herb grilled veggie sandwiches. I knew I had to try them out! I also knew the sweet touch of the King’s Hawaiian buns would be the perfect balance to the tang of the mustard. If you are not a fan of mustard (which I am usually not) then you can still make this grilled vegetables sandwich by using an easy vinaigrette (mix about 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar, 1/8 tsp salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste, 1 clove garlic minced, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil).
I made the mustard herb sauce and tossed all my veggies in it. They don’t need to really marinade in the sauce, just need to be coated. I also didn’t baste them throughout the cooking process. I’m a lazy cook… Well, my husband usually does the grilling, but I guess I was too lazy to tell HIM to baste them…
Here’s the kicker you guys. So I love In N Out (a pure California treat! So sorry if you have never experienced it. Put it on your bucket list). On their animal style burgers they do something called “fried mustard” where they grill mustard on to the bun. It’s so great! So I decided to try that out on the grill. All you need to do is spread a light layer of yellow mustard on each side of the bun before placing them directly on the heat.
Then you send your husband outside with a whole lotta veggies to grill. And then give him instructions like, “Look pensive. Now really sell it. You ARE summer grilling!” while taking photos of him making your dinner. We just got one of those bbq grill pans, btw and it is awesome!! My husband no longer gives me the stink eye when I give him tiny little pieces of veggie to try to balance on the grill.
Once the veggies are done you are ready to assemble the sandwich. How yum do those crusty mustard buns look?!
Stack the veggies in any order you want. Leave off what you don’t want and put on what you do. The buns will have a nice little crisp edge to them but I felt like I wanted to have a little bit more texture for my sandwich so I grabbed some crispy onion straws.
The taste is tangy and sweet from the mustard and the King’s Hawaiian bun. It feels hearty from the thick cut veggies and fresh from the herbs in the mustard sauce. You can pair it with anything from chips like I did since this was my husband’s night to help with dinner and since he was grilling I didn’t want to have to make anything…lazy. But this would go really well with a salad, baked beans, coleslaw, etc.
I can’t wait to make these again! And a quick side note, the leftover vegetables were fantastic cold the next day!
Thank you for supporting the brands that let me keep doing what I love. Which is eating, finding quick recipes and sharing all of this with you!
Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches with King’s Hawaiian Buns
Ingredients
- (Mustard Herb Marinade recipe is from French's)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 Yellow Mustard
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Eggplant
- 2 Red Bell Pepper
- 2 Green Zuccini
- 2 Yellow Zucchini
- 1 Red Onion
- 1 package King's Hawaiian Sandwich Buns
- Crispy friend onions (optional)
For the Veggie Marinade
For the Sandwich
Instructions
- Mix all marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
- Slice all vegetables into "steaks" and coat with whatever marinade you prefer.
- Grill vegetables.
- Spread mustard on each half of the bun and grill on direct heat on the grill.
- Assemble the sandwiches to your liking topping the vegetables with crispy fried onions if desired.
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Smirnoff Sorbet Light Cocktails for Memorial Day and Beyond
Memorial Day is this weekend! Will you be barbecuing? Our family, along with probably everyone else in my neighborhood, will be outside, grilling food and sipping cold drinks. When the weather warms up, I like to try to find a new “go-to” drink. Since this summer I will be vacationing where temperatures reach well over 100 degrees (which means I will be forced to wear a swimsuit), I need something that is delicious and refreshing but without a ton of calories or sugars.
This is a sponsored post by Smirnoff Sorbet Light. All reviews/opinions expressed in this post are unbiased and based on my personal view. And yes I did want my title to sound like Buzz Lightyear was saying it. Smirnoff sent me their new line of infused vodkas, Smirnoff Sorbet Light, to try and they are exactly what I was looking for. They have only 78 calories per 1.5 ounce serving which makes them light so I don’t feel super guilty about having a cocktail. The best part is they taste natural and do not have any sort of diet-y aftertaste.
I love to barbecue when the weather gets warmer but the menu can get pretty boring if you aren’t careful. It is usually just steak and corn, or at least at my house it is. I invited a few friends over for a little lunch barbecue to try out something a little different. My amazing friend, Amy (who used to write the most delicious food blog) put together this awesome grilled lunch to show us how we can change-up our menu. This grilled shrimp and hearts of romaine salad was insanely good and super easy since it was paired with a store-bought cilantro dressing. And remember shrimp grill up super fast so you won’t be stuck over the hot grill for long. Nothing is better than sweet grilled onions, am I right? The grilled tomato skewers are a fun take on a caprese appetizer and are sweet and juicy. And while I have never met a loaf of bread that I didn’t like, this grilled crostini is what dreams are made of. I will be recreating this menu on Memorial Day for sure.
The Smirnoff Sorbet Light Vodkas come in three, perfect for summer flavors, Lemon, Raspberry Pomegranate and Mango Passion Fruit. Perfect for making light cocktails.
I’m an iced tea lover so this black tea based cocktail had to be tried:
Smirnoff Sorbet Light Lemon Tea
1.5 oz Lemon Smirnoff Sorbet Light
3 oz Unsweetened Black Tea
.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
.25 oz Agave Nectar
Mix well and serve over ice.
YUM! And totally refreshing.
Hosting a barbecue is a good time to invite friends to try something new. Most of us get stuck in a rut and it doesn’t take much to push us out of it again. Set out some simple recipes and ingredients and have everyone pour their own cocktails. Chances are, they will give something new a shot. Or maybe they’ll just have a shot. And that is when the party gets really fun. (Please drink responsibly).
I’m pretty sure I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth. If you haven’t tried grilled pound cake yet you better get on it! Amazing! Like Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch amazing. And just that quick grill on the bread adds a whole new depth of flavor to a simple berries and cream dessert. I’d like to also note that this creme fraiche had honey in it which made me want to sing love songs to it. So simple, but SO delightful.
Passion fruit is one of my favorite flavors ever so I really enjoyed the Mango Passion Fizz but the big winner was the Raspberry Lemon Punch. Total crowd pleaser.
Smirnoff Sorbet Light Mango Passion Fizz
1.5 oz Mango Passion Fruit Smirnoff Sorbet Light
.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
.5 oz Agave Nectar
2 oz Club Soda
Shake up first 3 ingredients and top with Club Soda.
Smirnoff Sorbet Light Raspberry Lemon Punch
1.5 oz Raspberry Pomegranate Smirnoff Sorbet Light
4 oz Lemonade
4 raspberries muddled
Muddle 4 raspberries in a glass and add cold lemonade and Smirnoff Sorbet Light.
Huge thank you to Lauren and Amy for helping me out with my little lunch barbecue (Lauren did all my floral styling and Amy did all the food) I know testing cocktails and eating delicious food can be such hard work. Wink. And thank you Smirnoff for introducing me to your delicious new product. While this was a sponsored post by Smirnoff Sorbet Light all opinions are my own.
What are your favorite summer drink flavors?
Old School Skateboard inspired Father’s Day Fun
This old school skateboarding inspried Father’s Day inspiration shoot is based on my husband and his love of the sport and his penchant for saying, “Let’s do this thing” to my boys when they ask him to do something. When Amy of Amy’s Kitchen Table (recently redone as Southern Belly Kitchen) and I decided to work together on a post, me doing decor and she doing food, I was super excited. I haven’t gotten to do any fun projects with her since Easter. A year ago. I came up with the idea for the look of Father’s Day for my family and asked Katherine of The Side Stuff to help with the graphic design. I took her design and changed it up a bit to make more decor. I bet the party would have been even better if Katherine would have been able to work with me on the whole thing but she’s about to have a baby any minute and I didn’t want to bog her down. If you haven’ checked out her site, GO (My fave party is her Monster Happy Hour! for moms and kids)! The ideas and decor for this is solely based on my family. I’ve got two little boys and they love to have “boys club” with dad. So I decided that Father’s Day would consist of lots of activities and, of course, if Amy is involved, delicious food.
I didn’t intend to use neon when I first thought of the idea (it’s soooooo 5 minutes ago, said with big eye roll for dramatic effect, but not by me) but I found the Todd Oldham paper tape set at Target and knew it had to be part of this. Because I still love neon. I don’t know when I’ll be over it and that is ok. If you are over it feel free to use something less offensive. I added lightning bolts to make it a little more fun. I can’t tell you why I think lightning bolts are fun, I just do.
Sometimes, since I am a girl, I am not invited to boys club. If that happens this Father’s Day my husband will be able to follow this checklist.
And then it’s time for dinner. Amy came up with a delicious menu and guess what? I got to eat this for lunch after we took pictures. Bangin! Coffee rubbed steaks with homemade steak sauce and homemade potato chips. Hop on over to her page for all of her recipes! You HAVE TO check out her blog if you haven’t already. She’s the most insane cook I know. She has that ease and common sense and creativity in the kitchen that I, and most people, lack. I love to watch her cook! And I love eating what she’s cooked even more!
Seriously, those chips!
My kids are obsessed with snow cones right now. So I decided for the “chillax” portion of the day we would serve snowcones that the adults and kids could both enjoy. My husband and I have been exploring whiskey sours lately so I found a recipe that was a bit fruitier than usual and used that in place of the standard snow cone syrup.
Serves AT LEAST four adult snowcones with some left over:
1 cup Orange Juice (fresh squeezed is best!)
5 oz. pineapple juice
1/2 cup whiskey (if making this kid friendly, use ginger ale. Leave out the whiskey, duh)
1 tsp agave
2 tsp maraschino cherry juice
Pour over shaved (of crushed ice)
Garnish with a cherry
What could be better than drinking a whiskey sour snow cone while playing a game of dominos? The kid friendly version of the snow cone is shown with the little green picks. The ginger ale keeps the color similar to the adult version and is sweet enough that the kids really enjoy it.
I really wanted to enjoy that whole snowcone, but I had to get home from Amy’s…boo to mid day photo shoots of cocktails.
Ain’t nothing more chillaxing than a red cup filled with the leftover whiskey sour after an afternoon of activities. Your Father’s Day might look a little different than ours especially if you have little girls. But I am sure dad would be just fine with having his hair brushed for a minute. But he might draw the line at makeup.
BIG thank you to Katherine for creating the main graphic for the shoot and Amy for wanting to play with me. Seriously, go check out her site and tell me what recipe sounds delicious to you. My answer, all of them.
Happy Father’s Day!
Find the recipes here!
All up in my grill
“It works almost too good.” What? What does that even mean? That is what my husband said after he used the Grill Daddy Pro. Have you seen or heard about the Grill Daddy Pro? I was recently sent a sample of this really cool grill cleaner gadget and being that I have never used the barbecue in my life, I decided that my husband would be the best person to try it out. But then he gives me something like, “It works almost too good.”
My husband and I moved a few months ago and now live in a large house with a yard. We have been super excited to invite people over for dinner and think we even have a signature meal to make for our guests. We both enjoy a good steak (I mean, who doesn’t, well – besides a vegetarian or a cow) but neither of us really make them that well. I have tried them on the stove and in the oven and his weapon of choice is the grill. Mine never come out right and his come out okay but they are nothing to write home over and certainly not something that will encourage guests to return should steak be on the menu again. But we finally found a dry rub recipe that we really like, adjusted the measurements to our liking and now we are ready to grill just in time for summer. BBQ season is just around the corner (or right now since we’re on the West Coast) and we are going to be ready. Especially now that the Grill Daddy Pro came in to our life.
You know how when you have people over, you clean your house to make a good impression. At the very least you cram things in to drawers, closets and cupboards so your guests don’t have to see how disorganized you really are. But what happens when people migrate outside and end up around the grill? Have you seen most grills? They are NOT pretty. Ours was no different. I always wondered if people looked at it and thought, OMG my food was just baking in that filth. I thought the Grill Daddy Pro did an amazing job getting the guck off. You turn the grill on to heat up and then add only water to the handle. The steam melts the grease right off the grill and the brush really gets in there to finish the job. That is all there is to it. He said you don’t even really feel any heat and that I could probably do it… if I didn’t have an irrational fear of fire. It looks really modern and is designed to hang with the rest of your bbq tools. He has used it every time we’ve grilled since we got it. I think he really likes it, but just won’t say it. Could it be that he is trying to be macho and pretend that he doesn’t need it? Like, somehow the grill is now too clean and that somehow is stealing flavor from the food? I’m just saying…If you are planning on doing any summer entertaining, I think the $24.99 price tag is totally worth it. You can find the Grill Daddy and Grill Daddy Pro at Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Ace and True Value Hardware Stores or online. You can find the luxe Grill Daddy Platinum (made in chrome) through special orders. I can’t wait to have people over…well just once since we only have one meal that we make well.
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