Stressfree Barbeque - Ideas please.

Bettyboop

Sometime in the next three weeks we are planning a BBQ at our house - the first one with friends and kids of course. Most importantly we are hoping this gorgeous weather holds out.

Although I am for now a SAHM does anyone have tips to share in terms of what to make and when to do it for the BBQ. Is it okay to ask people to bring drinks along and we in turn provide everything else like meat and salads etc... again we are boring and usually end up having potato salad, bread rolls and red meat. No one is a vegetarian so that helps.

My daughter is already having a birthday party so we may do this the same day in the afternoon after the party or the next day.

I want to email an invite to everyone... please help with ideas for food, desert and how to have a really nice time :rolleyes: THANKS

Claire_Bear

I'd suggest getting people to bring their own drinks, as this can end up getting very expensive to buy. I'm sure no-one would be offended, in fact I'd expect to have to take a few cans or whatever to a BBQ these days Just make plenty of ice.

I'd suggest cooking things in the oven for a little while first, to make sure they are fully cooked, and then finishing them off for the last five or ten mins on the bbq to give them that nice smoky taste. If you're marinading any of the meat do it the night before, wrap it up and leave it in the fridge overnight. Stuff like HM potato salad and coleslaw can also be made the day before to save the hassle on the actual day.

Wrap some potatoes in foil and snuggle them into to coals for lovely jacket spuds. There's also some really nice bbq desserts like fruit parcels, and the old favourite of cutting a banana in half, putting chocolate buttons in the gap, wrapping the whole thing in foil, and putting it on the bbq, mmmmmm.

Hope this helps!

Bettyboop

Thank you. I have never tried the banana desert but I certainly will next time : )

fifi63

One of our favourite salads for a barbeque is tuna and pasta mayonnaise.

You could also make a big fruit salad (lots of good offers on fruit at the moment) and serve it with cream or ice cream.

If there will be lots of kids, iceland have a great selection of ice lollies and most of them are £1 for a pack.

Hope the sun shines for your day.

sarahf191979

Definately ask people to bring some drinks as this works out really expensive ontop of food etc for the host and already said most people would expect to take something.

Have a few big buckets full of water and ice to put beers and drinks in outside, this saves people trapsing in and out of the house for drinks.

Try mini sausages and mini burgers/ maetballs done on skewers for the kids with either pitta bread or wraps as a change, and for the adults try steak, pork or chicken chunks on skewers with onions, peporoni, pineapple, peppers etc.. lots of different combinations to try with pitta/ wraps, they cook really quick and are easy to cook on the BBQ

Love the idea of the Bananas for pud, will try that out next time I have our BBQ out

HTH

Sarah