This week the skies cleared, and the weather served up conditions fit for outdoor grilling. I took advantage of summer’s arrival by trying out a new recipe that came in the Summer 2013 edition of Hy-Vee Season’s Magazine. For those of you not from Iowa, Hy-Vee is a grocery store chain based in our fair state.
The chain has been around for decades, while the magazine debuted about a year ago. So far, every issue has been filled with healthy recipes–many of them dairy-free or easy to convert. The ingredients for shrimp skewers (called kabobs at our house) were at hand–right down to fresh basil waiting to picked in our herb garden–so I gave them a whirl.
The kabobs met two of my three keeper recipe requirements. They were health and easy to make, served with brown rice. However, they did not wow the man of steel or me. We liked them, but not enough to make the recipe a keeper.
It may have been the tomato-shrimp combination that didn’t tickle our taste buds. If that’s the case, and you like tomato and shrimp together, you’ll want to give this recipe a try. Because it really was easy. And healthy enough to make me feel virtuous all evening long!
Spicy Tomato-Basil Shrimp Kabobs
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh basil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into 16 pieces*
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 16 pieces*
1 small white onion, cut into 16 pieces**
In medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, tomato sauce, vinegar, basil, garlic, cayenne pepper, and salt. Add shrimp; stir to coat. Cover and marinate for 30–60 minutes. Meanwhile, soak 8 10-inch wooden skewers in water.
In a bowl, combine peppers and onions. Add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil, turning vegetables carefully to coat them.
Thread shrimp, pepper pieces, and onion pieces on skewers. Drizzle remaining marinade over skewers. Grill over medium heat for 4–5 minutes per side until shrimp are opaque. (It took closer to 10 minutes per side when I made them.)
*I used an assortment of miniature sweet peppers and did not count the pieces precisely.
**I used 1/2 of a large white onion and again did not count pieces precisely.
