Memorial day is really a great summer kick off. Most schools end the week before the Memorial Day holiday, and the weather is warm enough to swim without feeling like you're swimming in bath water. What better way to celebrate the holiday than with a summer barbecue? (Maybe after a parade to commemorate those brave men and women who have served in our military.)

Well, we have no short supply of great recipes to whip up for your Memorial day Barbecue party, and I am putting them all right here, in one handy tasty place, for you!

Or, maybe you can order some tasty barbecue from a place that delivers through Uber Eats. Or, maybe you can sign up to be a driver partner with Uber Eats and earn some extra cash for yourself this holiday weekend. These are all great options, and you can find help with two out of three of them right here!

​Happy Memorial Day!

 We have a few options here! We've shared some pork recipes with you a few times. Like when I made these Honey Mustard Pork Chops! Although in my post I used a pan on the stove top, this recipe would work nicely on the grill as well. 

Continuing with the pork theme, remember when my husband made me a delicious Grilled Raspberry Chipotle Pork Loin? It was so tasty, and the raspberry chipotle sauce puts it over the top!

Maybe you're in the mood for chicken instead. This post had a great grilled chicken recipe. If you're in the mood for sea food there was skewered shrimp as well! It also has some great side recipes. You'll never stop hearing my mom raving about the cilantro butter corn, and as you know from Friday Faves last week, I love grilled pineapple!

Another great side is grilled asparagus! It is so easy to make! Wash your asparagus. Make a tinfoil packet by laying two strips of aluminum foil in a t shape. Spray with a little cooking spray. Place your asparagus in the center with 2 TBSP of butter and one minced clove of garlic. Fold the edges up and seal them together so you have a foil packet. Place on the grill in a spot with medium heat. Grill five minutes, flip the packet and grill another 2 minutes. You can serve the asparagus on top of your meat, or to the side!

We did a round up before of our favorite summer salads. This includes the vegan taco salad I made a while back. That taco salad can be a great option if you don't have a grill but still want something more hearty and filling.

My mom gifted us our own stuff 'em sticks for Christmas this past year and I think they'd make a fun addition to your Memorial Day Barbecue! There are lots of food options here, and I think the dessert ones would be a lot of fun. If you don't have a fire pit in your backyard then the grill is a great option!

Last year for our Memorial Day Swim Party and Barbecue I made this Strawberry Rhubarb Pie! I had a lot of fun doing the star topped crust! You know what goes great with homemade warm, fresh from the oven pie? ICE CREAM! Especially homemade ice cream. If you want a tasty homemade vegan ice cream recipe, sign up for our email! You'll get access to that recipe, and other tasty recipes to come, as well as some fun printables for your home/office/whatever space you'd like to spruce up!

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.​​​​

Hello! Alicia here with another food from my ancestry post. This time is a little different though because I have an injury that is making it painful to stand for long. It makes cooking difficult. So although I am in the midst of my Danish month, I was not able to make a Danish meal this past week. I decided I would instead pick my Favorite meal from each month so far.

If you're new, my family has been picking one country from our ancestry every month and each week we try to make a meal from that country. It's been a very fun experiment that you can see the results from in the slideshow below. If something looks tasty to you, clicking on the picture will take you to the post where I talk about that dish! Everything has been delicious so you'll be safe with any choice!

Our first month we picked Germany mostly because I wanted bratwurst. I think Brats are still my favorite, but paired with the Swabian Potato salad. Bratwurst have the best flavor, a little spicy (not hot but flavorful), and juicy. They pair perfectly with mustard.

The potato salad was best after being left in the fridge over night. And then I ate it all! So keep that in mind if you decide to make it. It is so good!

I also loved the Black Forest Cake, and have honestly been thinking about it since I last had it. The only thing that stops me from making it again is thinking of all the calories.

This is a hard choice, but I think my favorite still stands as Encebollado. This fish and onion soup is amazing! I love the flavors. I love that it's traditionally eaten at breakfast. I love that I have cans of it brought from Ecuador every time some one visits.

Runner up would be Encocado de Camarón​. The coconut and shrimp together were so delicious!

So I stereotypically picked Ireland for March. And I'm glad I did. My favorite from this month I have made again already! Bacon and Cabbage Pie. It's actually easier than it looks, and our pie crust recipe is so delicious and easy. This also makes great leftovers, if you can get everyone to stop eating it the night you make it.

​A runner up for me would be the Irish Stew. I'd say it's practically a tie. The stew was so good. Similar flavors as the pie, but with lamb instead of pork. And it's not an Irish stew if it's not made with lamb.

There is a reason the French are known for their cuisine. They have mastered combing delicate flavors to give you an amazing experience with every bite. It makes choosing a favorite difficult. My husbands favorite from France is theBoeuf Bourguignon. A very delicious and  hearty stew, it has really deep and earthy flavors. So good.

I also really enjoyed the Gratin Dauphinois. These rich potatoes have no cheese, yet you still get a deliciously crispy top layer. And the nutmeg adds a richness and decadence to the dish.

May isn't over yet and I've only had chance to make two Danish dishes; Æbleskiver, and Smørrebrød. They were both delicious! I have made both of them twice already! I think I prefer the Smørrebrød mostly because I usually prefer savory to sweet. But this doesn't mean I'm not dreaming about making the Æbleskiver again already.

And there you have it! I hope you will try out some of these recipes, or try to find recipes from your ancestry to make. Please let us know if you do. 

     Have you ever eaten something that is really good,but still needs a certain "Je ne sais quoi" to push it right over the top to heavenly deliciousness?  Well, now I "sais quoi" or in other words, I know what that something is!  That something is pickled onions! 
     Don't be shocked! If you were like me, when I was young I could take or leave onions.  They were strong tasting, made my eyes water when I chopped them, and gave me bad breath.  But, as my taste buds have matured, I have learned that a burger isn't a burger without a slice of onion and if I refrigerate my onions, the eye burning isn't such a problem.  (Also, I can brush my teeth and use mouthwash to cure the breath issue.) So many casseroles and other recipes just wouldn't taste right without that onion flavor added to them. So, needless to say, I have come to love the onion.  
     While Maddy and I were at Disneyland recently, we discovered a really good restaurant there called The Red Rose Tavern. (You can read about it in this post.) They serve a Beef Poutine in that place that is so delicious.  I have been working on a copy cat recipe for it! But, before I share the entire recipe, I wanted to share with you the thing that topped it off so perfectly, and that is pickled onions! 

     I know that pickled onions have been around for awhile, but it was on the Poutine that I first noticed them.  They seemed to lift the dish to a higher level.  Since then, I have noticed them being used in so many places! They are often on sandwiches at sandwich shops .  They are terrific on salads, on burgers, or even in tacos. I haven't tried them on hot dogs yet, but I can only imagine how good they would taste! They are so easy to make that they are now becoming a staple condiment in my refrigerator.  Here is how I make them: 

     I hope that you give these a try! They are easy, economical and the perfect accompaniment for so many dishes!  
     Now that you have the Pickled Onion Recipe, you are ready to get the rest of the Poutine recipe! Check back for that soon! 

Let me explain a couple of things as I begin this Friday Fave post.

1. Barbecue is the actual spelling of the word, but in today's world, Barbeque is also accepted! I found this on 3 different sources. I tend to use the "que" spelling, but for this post I will use the traditional spelling. (Sorry if I slip).
2. This is National Barbecue Month. And, we know that if you are speaking of purely real barbecue, you are speaking of slowly cooking and smoking meat over indirect heat for many hours. It is delicious and a couple of states out there claim to have the best barbecue in all of the land. Grilling is the quicker method of using a device called a barbecue in a more quick fashion over direct heat.

     One of my sons is really good at smoking pulled pork and we all love that.  But, today we are going to actually focus on grilling for our Friday Faves and share some of our favorite things to throw on the barbie! After all, school if almost out and things are heating up.  Memorial Day is coming and after that a plethora of other reasons to cook out on the grill will present themselves.  So, let's get started! 

I love grilled chicken and corn. Last year I shared a grilling post with some of my favorite recipes that we had enjoyed at Alicia and Adrian's house. Just thinking about these recipes is making my mouth water. The Cilantro-Lime butter to slather on corn and rice is so good! This post also includes shrimp on skewers which is one of Alicia's favorites and grilled pineapple which is Lindsey's choice.

Alicia loves surf and turf and says that she loves a good steak. I have recently perfected (in my humble opinion) a great way to grill steak that comes out so tender and delicious.

1. An hour before cooking, take your steaks out and dry them off. Sprinkle on coarse sea salt liberally, some chopped garlic and some rosemary. Let them sit at room temperature for an hour.
2. Just before grilling, rinse off the seasonings! You heard me right! It will be perfectly seasoned, don't worry!
3. Place on the grill or in your grill pan, Grill for about 4 or 5 minutes on one side, depending on the heat of your grill, the thickness of the steak and how rare you like your steak to be. (My husband likes his on there for much longer than I do.) Flip and grill the other side. Put a pat of butter on the cooked side and let it melt into the steak.
4. Remove from the grill onto a platter and allow to rest for a few minutes. It will be tender and delicious!

     Maddy loves veggies of course, so the grilled corn and other grilled vegetables are right up her ally.  
     Even if you aren't firing up the barbecue, you can grill indoors on your grill pan.  I wanted a grill pan for years, then, when I finally got a new set of cookware, they came with a grill pan! I was thrilled! This one is similar to mine. This evening I did some zucchini in the grill pan. It was really good! Using the grill pan with vegetables makes them so much more tasty and different than just the normal way of sauteing them. And the grill marks make them look so pretty. 

    Grilled Zucchini is easy to do. Just slice it length wise.  Heat up your grill pan and add some olive oil when it is hot.  Lay your zucchini in the pan on the diagonal to get the nice grill marks. 

    Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and parsley.  It just takes a couple of minutes per side to get tender slices with beautiful grill marks. 

     Finally, when it comes to grilling, I think my husband would choose a hamburger every time.  How about you?  What will you choose? It's time to start thinking about it and to start celebrating National Barbecue Month!