It’s been quite the summer with family gatherings and other events I haven’t had much time to myself.  On top of it all, I’ve had a sinus infection for the past little while.  Humph!  So once again, next weekend will be filled with family gatherings, one of which I’m hosting.  We’re planning to have a BBQ because, let’s face it, summer is coming to an end and I want to get as much use out of my BBQ before the cold weather hits.

So I decided this weekend to start preparing some food ahead of time so that I’m not tearing my hair out on the day of the BBQ.  Plus, I’ve got a fully loaded week before then so I won’t have much time to prepare this week.

Some of the menu items at our BBQ will be chicken shish kebabs.  So over the weekend, I prepared some marinades, cut chicken breasts into cubes and placed them in freezer bags, added the marinade and froze them.  That way all I have to do the day before the BBQ is to take the marinated chicken cubes out of the freezer and let them thaw.  I like to freeze my chicken in marinade because I find the chicken really takes on the flavour of the marinade when it is thawing.

I kept the marinades very simple.

For the Greek kebabs I mixed olive oil with lemon juice, fresh grated garlic and oregano.  The only preparation I’ll need to do for these kebabs is to cut up some onions and red pepper that will be skewed with the chicken.

For sweeter kebabs, I mixed vegetable oil with honey, soy sauce and freshly grated garlic.  I’ll skewer these with chopped red onion and diced pineapple.  Pineapple is great grilled because it caramelizes!

Of course, the usual BBQ fare will be served.  Burgers, sausages, and locally grown sweet corn.  As for the rest, I love that my local grocery store always has very fresh vegetable and fruit trays.  I’ll also pick up so prepared salads to which I’ll add fresh vegetables and have a selection of homemade and store bought dressings.  The key is to make sure there’s enough variety for everyone.

Do you have a time saving tip to prepare for a party?  If so, we want to hear about it so let us know in the comments.