Okay here is an easy meal for all to impress. Cause I don't like cooking but it is easy. And if you do it like this you will really impress. Adjust for how many ppl you are having over. Great way to impress parents.
Chicken breast (boneless, skinless) I like to go about 2/person, but whatever you think works. Cut it into cubes. Find a marinate that you like, I did a honey teriyaki mix the other night. If your taste buds aren;t up to that try italian dressing. Pop that into the fridge to marinate however long you like, at least an hour maybe more. Then get your kabob sticks (4 for a $1 at Dollar stores, or the wood ones, but i like the metal better) BBQ, but watch them as they cook fast. f you want to cheat here, go the co-op or sobeys or whereever and mapleleaf has ready to go kabobs, just put them on the metal ones so it looks like you make them.
Take a green pepper, and a red onion (or white, but the red looks better), cube these bad boys up too. (a half of each for each person is more than enough) put them in a bowl, with some canola oil and mrs.dash. Same as the chicken onto kabobs, but not with the chicken ones as they take a little longer to cook.
Dice up a couple of potatoes (small cubes) make a tinfoil envelope, you'll want a few layers, again some canola oil and i recommend garlic powder for seasoning. Put these on before they take minimum of 45 minutes, but check them after about 1/2 an hour.
Take a cob of corn for each person make again a tinfoil envelope again, put in with the corn some butter (quite a bit actually) and some cayenne pepper, if you are against this spice, whatever the hell you want. throw those on the bbq to. The corn will not be the bright yellow, it normally is when boiling it, but it will be good, and you do not have to heat up your oven.
Go to the store, get a french loaf, cut that up, you can have some oil and balsamic viniger to dip it in, just put it in a very shallow bowl or plate.
Go buy some baby spinach, boil up a couple of eggs (boil the night before), grab some crutons and an onion vinigrette.
For dessert, some ready made cut up fruit, you can make a rum dip by basically putting some rum into whip cream (not the canned kind you will have to whip it yourself) or Sobeys ans other places sell individual cheesecakes, grab some strawberries and a can of whip cream and serve them on a little plate. or go to a farmers market and buy a cake or pie from a little old lady, or if you are really on top of things, go to that little old lady before and see if she would make a special cake or pie for you the day of your big bbq.
it sounds like a lot of work, but really the most you do is cut things, marinate them and bbq them. And ost of it you can do the night before so you are not running around watching pots boil over and all can be done on the BBQ. Also this is a great potluck, just get everyone to bring one of the items, jsut let them know for how many.
Good luck and happy cooking.