Pineapple Chicken Kabobs

Pineapple chicken kabobs & entertaining tips

This post has been sponsored by Glad. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As summer approaches I’ve been busy getting the house ready for upcoming events and parties. Summer is filled with birthdays and celebrations for our family. Everyone, with the exception of my husband, has a summer birthday so we’re constantly in a state of celebrating with our friends and family. This year we have guests staying with us, which has motivated me to get our home ready for their arrival. I’ve always enjoyed entertaining and welcoming our friends into our home. Over the years we’ve worked hard to make this humble house our home and it’s always exciting to invite guests over. Today I’d like to share with you a few entertaining tips I’ve learned over the years and a recipe for Pineapple Chicken Kabobs that’s perfect for a summer BBQ party.

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Entertaining Tips

Prepare as much as you can ahead of time. This includes cutting vegetables, making salads or other easy to refrigerate side dishes the night or morning before. I can’t tell you how many parties I’ve felt like I missed because I was constantly running around. I’ve learned my lesson over the years and focus on preparing ahead of time so when the party begins I can actually enjoy myself. I also like to have drinks and appetizers available before guests arrive.

Clean ahead of time & prepare for easy after party clean up.

With the kids home from school over the summer it’s a lot easier to assign chores that help prepare our home for guests. Whether that’s keeping the bathroom tidy or having clean sheets available, preparing our home ahead of time makes the day of the party (and day before) go smoothly. I like to make sure the bathrooms are fully stocked with supplies and light scented candles. The day of the party I make sure the dishwasher is empty so I can quickly load up dishes as I go. To avoid odors from vegetables like onions, or fish recipes, I keep Glad® OdorShield® Gain™ Original Scent with Febreze® trash bags on hand. The bags have a 5 day Odor Control guarantee and neutralize odors while leaving behind the original scent of Gain™. The reinforcing bands also help add strength to help avoid trash disasters as we clean up. Save $2 on any one Glad OdorSheild Trash Bags (15ct. or higher).

Set the mood. What makes entertaining enjoyable for me is making guests feel welcome and comfortable. When we first bought our house and had guests over I remember welcoming our friends inside and sitting in our quiet living room with slightly awkward conversation for the first half of the evening. Even though they were some of our closest friends, the mood felt awkward. These days I like to begin the evening with low music playing in the background before guests arrive, set the lights to a warm ambient glow (during dinner parties), and have plenty of candles and flowers around the room. It helps create a welcoming atmosphere and with drinks/appetizers ready we can get started on enjoying our evening without the uncomfortable silence.

Go for casual decorating. I’m a big fan of simplicity when it comes to decorating. I like to use décor that I can reuse (like candle vases, table runners, etc.) and focus on using candles and flowers as my main source of décor. Keeping things simple not only makes things easy for me but also keeps the focus on the delicious food.

Speaking of food..today I’m sharing this easy recipe for pineapple chicken kabobs. We plan to make these over the weekend to help kick-off our first BBQ of the summer.

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Pineapple Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes optional
• 8 boneless chicken breast
• 1 green and orange bell pepper
• 1 large red onion

Instructions

1. Cut chicken, bell peppers and onions into small chunks; set aside.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Reserve a small amount of marinade in a small cup.
3. Marinate chicken and cover with foil or plastic wrap.
4. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before cooking.
5. Meanwhile, soak wooden skewers in water for at least an hour before cooking.
6. Assemble kabobs by layer chicken, bell peppers and onion.
7. Grill kabobs for about 10-12 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Glaze with remaining marinade.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Glad. The opinions and text are all mine.