Summer BBQ season is the best of all the seasons in the land. You have seen our passion for backyard games, but did you know we have a similar passion for food? Honestly it was a tight split between starting a website about our favorite backyard games vs. starting a website about food. Just kidding, we just really love backyard games, but that being said we will still find time to talk about our favorite foods whenever possible! 😋
First up on our list of the best BBQ dishes – Corn on the Cob. Corn on the cob is literally a staple of summer in my mind. I grew up going with my mom to the local corn stand, then coming home and shucking each of the cobs with my siblings. We picked every last strand of the little hairy things so that we could enjoy without getting too much stuck in our teeth. Slather a cob with butter, salt and pepper and my mouth is seriously watering as I imagine the butter melting slowly down the sides. WOW. As kids we also loved the little cob holders you stuck in the sides – just like these. Ah… the memories. Anyways, anytime we see corn at a BBQ, we know summer is truly here. Also as a pro tip… as seen in the photo above, when you have some good Pesto, corn + pesto is a match made in heaven.
Second, Pretzel Jello Salad. Cassidy’s mom has made this staple for probably every family event ever since a kid. But guess what, she still loves it to this day. If you are looking for a fruity side item that is really not a salad at all, but more dessert, this is the dish for you! A sweet layer of cream cheese, whipped cream base in the middle, raspberry compote and jello on the top, and a sugar/buttery pretzel bottom to add a delicious crunch and texture to each bite. Highly recommend making this the day of the event, or else the pretzels start to get a bit soggy. We have family that love seeing this at every BBQ, and are sad when it does not make an appearance. We will post about this family favorite recipe soon!
Pasta Salad is honestly one of my favorite dishes to immediately scoop onto my plate during a BBQ. We are heavy carb lovers and always adore pasta salads. Funny enough, we have not found a recipe that we absolutely love and want to rely on 100%. Calling all pasta salad lovers – please start sending your favorite recipes. Seriously though, Cassidy tried a homemade Italian dressing recipe for a BBQ a few weeks ago and spit it out in the sink after only 1 small taste. Down the drain that went. Immediately. Our favorite pasta salads include lots of toppings mixed in, and a bomb Italian dressing.
Watermelon is delicious delicacy that is also a summer staple. It’s one of the easiest things to bring, because it’s that’s simple. Grab one from the store, cut it and bam. You’re done. The cutting is probably the only strategic part: are you a watermelon baller? Or a watermelon chunk person? What about just triangular pieces? They are easy to hold but then you are stuck with the rind on your plate. A few weeks ago Merek carved a watermelon into a shark and I’m still upset that he didn’t get a picture. He brought it to the neighborhood party – it was a total hit but no picture proof. 😢 We will write a post on how to DIY your own shark watermelon soon.
Last but not least, here’s the thing: it’s called a BBQ, so honestly anything with BBQ sauce we love. Love might even be a weak word for how Cassidy feels about BBQ sauce. We have an awesome rack of BBQ ribs featured above that are a hit at any BBQ. If there are burgers, you will have a 100% chance of seeing Cassidy drown her burger in BBQ sauce. A BBQ chicken salad is a favorite in our house. BBQ chips are some of the best. Literally, anything with BBQ is delicious. It’s almost like a law to have something BBQ-y at a BBQ (right?).
We’ve now shared some of our BBQ staples – what are yours?
Backyard Buffs 