Aloha, Monday! In the spirit of grilling season, I thought I’d share my dinner with you–or rather what I had for dinner with you. Hmm… still sounds bad, but I’m movin’ on!

Tonight, we dined al fresco on (Happy) Hawaiian Kabobs, a recipe given to me from my friend Sweet Caroline (Bah Bah Bah!). Sweet Caroline and are bonded forever by our husbands who’ve been the best of friends since high school band. That’s right, folks: Nerd Alert! They reside up in my hometown neck of the woods (D.C. area), while we have remained here in the South. We rarely see each other, but when we do, it is always rich for me.

Mainly because Sweet Caroline is one awesome cook, yo. Whether she’s channeling the Ina (“Barefoot Contessa”) or grillin’ out, Sweet Caroline is always a hospitable hostess and some of the best company I’ve been lucky enough to keep. Why do we have to so far apart? Boo.

Good thing I have this recipe of Sweet Caroline’s to keep me company. Hope you enjoy!

(Happy) Hawaiian Kabobs

1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup pineapple juice (from can of pineapple chunks)

1/4 cup oil

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breast cut into 1 in. cubes

1 15oz can pineapple chunks, drained

1 large green pepper cut into 1 in. pieces

12 mid-size fresh mushrooms

18 cherry tomatoes

3 cups hot cooked rice

Combine first 8 ingredients in saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Let cool. Pour mixture into shallow dish. Add chicken, tossing to coat. Cover and marinate 1 hour in refrigerator.

Assemble kabobs. I usually put all the meat together and the veggies keep to themselves, too. Not that they won’t mingle later–on my plate. And go ahead and baste away with the extra marinade.Why not? Live a little!

Sure, you might not be headed to the Big Island this summer (if you are, frankly, I don’t wanna hear about it–I kid!), but you can always get your backyard luau on with your bad self. Go ahead. I’ll even serenade you with the hand motions and everything…

Oh we’re going, to the hukilau

Huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau

Everybody loves the hukilau…

Any favorite marinades out there? Come on, don’t be shy!