Barbecue Ready

 With Memorial Day in a week it's time to get the backyard barbecue ready. Clean off the grill.Start shopping for food. Dust off the furniture. It's a simple cleaning that will make the first grill of the season fun and memorable.

If you haven;t already it's time to pull out the grill and give it a good assessment. Give the entire grill a good wiping down. You can power wash iif you have a sturdier grill like Weber. You still have to scrub and scrape the actual grill if you didn't last fall. The best soap to thoroughly clean is Dawn's Power wash.This is a concmentrated version of the classic soap and it just spritzes out of nozzle. Thoroughly drench with the soap and start scrubbing. Rinse and then thoroughly dry. Also make sure the ash grate is throughly emptied and cleaned too.It's nice to start off the season with an immaculate grill. What about the table and chairs Again a good wiping and dring is all you need for the table. The same goes for the chair. Sturdier plastic ones can also get a power wash too. have you checked  your plastic or melanine dishes and cup. You may want ot clean those too if you haven't used them since October or November.If those plates are ratty looking then think about getting new ones from Target, Kohl's or Walmart. A new tablecloth is always a nice way to freshen up the back yard table too.

For food, start buying now. People usually begin shopping a few days before which means there may be some shortages. Get those burgers and hot dogs now and freeze them. The same applies to chicken and steak. What about sides? The potatoes for potato salad can wait. Buy them Saturday or Sunday. You could get the canned version now, especially if your grocery has a sale on them. The same for macaroni or pasta is you're thinking of making those two barbecue classics, macaroni and pasta salad. Hold off on the fresh veggies and rolls. Again like the potatoes they can be bought just hours before you cook.Dessert ingredients can also be bought before hand.Ice cream cakes can be made the night before and frozen. Get the ice cream and cookies if they're on sale right now, The same for the sauces and decorations you may want to use. This also applies to those s'mores too, especially if there's a sale on chocolate and marshmallows. Save buying any fresh fruit until Sunday or Monday morning.

Memorial Day is almost here. Get ready for the most important barbecue of the year. It'll make for a memorable cookout.