Grill Starter Recipes for Labor Day

For most people this Labor Day , grilling always starts out with the fundamentals: Hamburgers, hot dogs. However, it doesn't always have to be that way.
With a few ingredients and some time, you can make this Labor Day a tasty one to remember. Also, this will be a great way to send the kids back to school from a long enjoyable Summer. Hamburgers and hot dogs are universal when it comes to parties and cookouts, which makes them an ideal choice for a starter. Potatoes are also ok to give a try on your rookie season. You'll love this season.

Styles
Some of the basic styles of grilling nowadays comes down to one question: Charcoal or Gas?

I myself have always been a charcoal man, and so has my wife. Not that there's anything wrong with gas, but I've always felt that charcoal grills symbolize what Summer and America are all about. It's an old school kind of thing.

Now on the other hand gas can be cleaner to use, and you can control the flame a better than with charcoal, even though the only thing you have to do is make sure you've placed an appropriate amount of briquettes in the grill in accordance to how hot you want your flame to be.

Just remember one thing--In a world that counts calories and carbs, Grilling stays out of those bounds.
At least for me they do, because I'm usually the one eating a least two or three burgers and then feeling guilty the next day at work.

So what recipes can you indulge yourself and your family and friends into this Labor Day? Let's go Puerto Rican!

1.Puerto Rican Steaks

• 5 lbs of precut store wrapped steaks or any big beef roast sliced into ¼ thick pieces.

Dry ingredients:

• 1/8 cup Italian seasoning
• 1/8 cup Adobo
• 1/8 cup Meat tenderizer
• 1/8 cup Garlic powder
• 1/8 cup Lemon pepper seasoning
• 2 packets of Sazon seasoning
• A few shakes of Montreal Steak seasoning

Wet ingredients:

• 1/8 cup of Manzanilla Olive juice (from a jar of manzanilla olives)
• 1/4 cup of **Sofrito
• ¼ cup of Worcheshire sauce
• 2 tbsp of Apple vinegar
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice

Directions: Put your steaks in a large Tupperware bowl. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Sprinkle dry ingredients evenly over each individual steak until all the mix is on your meat. Hand rub the steaks together to evenly coat each steak. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Slowly pour it over the steaks and again, hand rub the steaks together to evenly coat each steak. Cover and set in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill.

2. Puerto Rican Pork Chops

• 5 lbs of precut store wrapped pork chops or any big pork roast sliced into ¼ thick pieces.

Dry ingredients:

• 2 packets of Ham seasoning
• 1/8 cup Adobo
• 1/8 cup Garlic powder
• 1/8 cup Lemon pepper seasoning
• 2 packets of Sazon seasoning

Wet ingredients:

• 1/8 cup of Manzanilla Olive juice (from a jar of manzanilla olives)
• 1/4 cup of **Sofrito
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice

Directions: Put your chops in a large Tupperware bowl. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Sprinkle dry ingredients evenly over each individual chop until all the mix is on your meat. Hand rub the chops together to evenly coat each chop. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Slowly pour it over the chops and again, hand rub the chops together to evenly coat each chop. Cover and set in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill the following morning.

3.Puerto Rican Stuffed Hamburgers

• 5 lbs of lean ground beef.

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/8 cup Adobo
• 1/4 cup Garlic powder
• 1 small diced onion (any kind you like)
• 1 small diced pepper (any kind you like)

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of **Sofrito
• 1 egg

Directions: Put your burger in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients evenly over burger and hand squeeze to evenly mix into your burger mixture. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Sprinkle into your burger and hand squeeze to evenly mix. Make your patties as big or small as you like.

4.Succotash

• 2 cans of any green beans
• 1 can of any Sweet Whole kernel corn
• 2 tbsp of any lite/fat free butter
• 1 packet of Ham seasoning
• A few shakes of salt and pepper

Directions: DO NOT DRAIN YOUR VEGES! Put green beans and corn into an aluminum bowl/pan and mix in the ham seasoning, salt, and pepper. Plop the butter on top of your vegetables and cover with aluminum foil. Poke a fork in the center of the foil to vent. The butter will melt as it cooks.

5.Baked Potato

• 1 Russel baking potato for each person
• 1 tsp butter
• Salt and pepper

Directions: Cut a deep X into the top of your potato about ¾ deep. Shake some salt and pepper into the X. Put a tsp of butter in the middle of the X and completely wrap it with aluminum foil. Keep it on the grill until the inside is soft, hot, and steaming.