Meatball Kabobs

Our snow all melted and an ill wind blew in Sunday night. It was cold, damp, blustery, and rainy yesterday. The temperature was actually warmer than usual, but with the wind and the damp, I felt colder. The landscape certainly did not look like a winter wonderland!

What a relief to wake up to a light snow covering and gentle flurries in the air. The forecast for the last week of January is that the month will end with dignity - crisp and pretty.

We have been busy indoors putting away the stray ends of Christmas. After all the glitz and glimmer of the season, the house always looks a little dull. We made some adjustments to our decorating, but nothing takes the place of that Christmas warmth. After a few weeks, memories fade and everything looks fine again.

I'm mostly on schedule with my first-of-the-year bookkeeping. It's my time to clean out last years files and to readjust the budget to cover holes created by holiday spending. I also made some changes to my bookkeeping system. In the past, I kept two sets of spreadsheets that would both balance against my checkbook. One was to keep track of all expenses according to category, and one was to enter all expenses against future income to see how we were going to end up at the end of the year. It was a lot of work, since I was doing it for two checking accounts (four spreadsheets in all). I've decided to eliminate three of the spreadsheets and keep only the one for the household budget which is run through my checkbook and the only thing I really can control. This will be a lot more 'effortless' (my key word for the year).

Here is the delicious recipe Steve used for his meatball kabobs. I also happened to have this recipe, although I had never made it. He had another one for chicken kabobs that was different and equally delicious. I'll have to track him down to get it.

MEATBALL KABOBS

1 Package wooden skewers soaked in water 30 minutes before using.
32 frozen fully cooked 1-inch meatballs (1 pound), thawed
1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 green pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
Opt: Wedges of onion, chunks of pineapple (Steve used both)
1/4 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Thread meatballs, vegetables, and fruit alternately onto skewers.
Microwave jam on HIGH 15 seconds. Mix with BBQ sauce. Brush half onto kabobs.
Grill 8-10 minutes turning occasionally and brushing with remaining sauce.

Served with cous-cous or rice, this fits my profile for more 'effortless' cooking for the new year.