On the grillz

Yesterday was a *gorgeous* Michigan day. Mother Nature decided to give us a reprieve and send us temperatures in the low 80's-- a rare April treat. Of course, everyone and their mother is "grilling out" today. It's time to dust off the grill tongs, hide the tarp, and get cooking. I *love* grilled food. It keeps so much of the food's natural flavor while giving it a ..crunchy exterior. 

When I grill, it usually involves a burger of some sort. I like grilled chicken and LOVE grilled shrimp, but nothing- absolutely nothing- beats a burger fresh off the grill. Turkey burger, veggie burger, traditional beef burger-- doesn't matter to me, just get it in my belly! I have a crap ton of turkey in the freezer- I keep thinking I'm out, and *surprise!* I'm not-- so I wanted to make a turkey burger. The problem is, what do you eat with burgers? Fries. YES. Crispy, oily, fatty fries. I don't have those at home, and the budget says hell no to me running out to the store and picking up a bag of Ore Ida fries or tots.

I run through the week's grocery store visit in my head- I have red skinned potatoes! Foil covered red skinned potatoes are a staple in my parent's home during the summer. Every meal that starts with the propane tank turning involves red skins and pita bread (flavored with some garlic infused oil/sauce stuff). I dice the potatoes up, add some garlic (2 cloves), a little onion, some fake butter, and wrap them in foil. In 60 minutes time, I have soft red skinned potatoes, beautifully flavored. *Much* better than fries.

Used the foil, and still got desired crispiness!

Then I get crafty. I realize that I picked up asparagus this week while it was on sale. Can I grill asparagus? In the vein of trying new things, I gave it a whirl. Cooks.com says you add some olive oil, some salt and pepper, and grill for 2-3 minutes.  I can handle that. I spritz on the oil, dash the Crazy Jane's Mixed Up Salt...presto! Tasty asparagus. It was awesome. So awesome, in fact, I asked my mom when she called to brag about her dinner at Xochimilco's in Detroit why we never had when I was a kid. Her response? "You never ate asparagus. Your dad and I had it all of the time." Oops.  Cooks.com also say you can put it right on the grill, but I don't see that until after I split the asparagus in half. I put some foil down on the grill and put the asparagus on top, and it worked just fine.

For dessert, I go a little crazy and go with strawberry shortcake- fresh strawberries, lightly dusted with Splenda... add a little dessert shell, some fat free whipped cream, and presto! Low point dessert! Of course, I was so stuffed after dinner that I had to wait 3 hours to have dessert... oh, the prices you pay while at a cookout.

Couldn't finish the 2nd "mini" burger... Too full of awesomeness!

Yes, this food was all for me. I invited some of my friends over to join in the fun- actually 3 of them- and NONE of them showed up. In fact, 2 of them didn't even respond to the invite (meanies!)- though I did get an apology this morning. The other one... yeah. He got distracted by a movie. I'm ok with this though- because I have plenty of leftovers for tonight's meal :-)

Hungry Girl has some other BBQ ideas that I want to try- Like the grilled pineapple with dip, and the "I cant believe it's not potato salad." So, when's the next cookout...?