Summer time is quickly approaching. Spring and warmth are in the air and on almost any given day, unless you live in the middle of nowhere, you can catch the fragrance of barbecue from some neighbor's barbecue grill. A barbecue grill for some is only for weekends, which makes the grill one of the most underutilized appliances many of us own. The fact is any night is a great night for a barbecue, or even during the day at weekends.

One thing I have found in my years of cook out and barbecue experience is that the barbecue grill is a very versatile tool for cooking. With a little creativity you can do all kinds of things with a barbecue grill. One of my favorite things to do is try out a new barbecue recipe. First of all, I love barbecue sauce and will try it on most anything. It's actually quite good on baked potatoes and as a dip for grilled vegetables. Barbecue sauce even makes a great dip for grilled chicken, steak, sausage, and kabobs.

I'll share one of our favorite family recipes with you. First of all, for excellent kabobs and getting the kids involved, have a make your own kabob night for the family. Provide plenty of vegetables (green and red peppers, mushrooms, and onions work well), fruit (we tend to stick with apple chunks and pineapple but you can get as creative as you would like), and the meat of your choice (some suggestions would be beef, chicken, sausage, and shrimp). We tend to have a selection of barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, or A1 steak sauce but you can chose your very own favorite to add to your selection. The kids love it because they can not only build their own kabob but are allowed choices (healthy ones at that) in what they have for dinner. My six year old likes to play with the sticks after dinner; he thinks they make great pretend swords.

Of course with any of the recipes you find for good barbecue, you can make variations to suit your family's tastes. Some will add onions, mushrooms, peppers, and all kinds of things or take things out that your family or a member of the family doesn't like. But for me, the absolute best thing about a barbecue is that there are no rules, just great food and a little imagination and you to can have everyone talking about your fantastic barbecues.