Mango Shrimp Kebabs

Earlier this week, I wrote a post reviewing Cooking Light’s new App. I have been playing around with the app for about a week and kept coming back to this Mango Shrimp Kebab recipe. The colors are amazing, and it sounded so delicious! I cut the recipe in half (makes 2 servings) but kept the original recipe mostly intact.

 

Ingredients:
3/4 pounds large peeled and deveined shrimp
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 mango, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 small red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
Juice and zest of 1 lime, cut into wedges
Cooking spray

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Prepare your mango, pepper, and onion.

 

Thread shrimp, bell pepper, mango, and onion alternately onto 4 skewers. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lime zest. Note: the original recipe did not include zest. But I thought it might be an easy addition to the flavors, you’re using a lime anyways!

Coat the grill with cooking spray. Place the skewers on the grill rack and cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until shrimp are cooked (Mine took closer to 3-4 minutes per side, I blame my little indoor grill. If using a normal grill, 2 minutes on each side should be plenty.)

Serve with  lime wedges. Squeeze the wedges over kebabs before eating.

 

Before I go on, I want to give special thanks to my “Sous Chef” and friend Ericka for helping me out. I am pretty darn scared of knives and cutting slippery fruit stresses me out quite a bit, so I am forever grateful to Ericka for her amazing mango-chopping skills.

We made this along with the Corn with Lime and Chipotle, also suggested by the app. And I couldn’t be happier with the results. The pairing was perfect! We actually ended up using some of the leftover chipotle butter mix on some of the shrimp, just to try it out.

shrimp with chipotle butter

Ericka thought maybe marinating the shrimp in a jerk marinade before adding to the skewers would really bump this recipe up a notch and I agree. However, the original recipe is delicious on its own, and quite simple and fast to make. Look out for my post on the Corn, these two really should be eaten together!

The ingredients were wonderful together, sweet, tangy and fresh. Ericka kept referring to getting a piece of each ingredient in one bite “the perfect bite” and I have to agree with her.

Do not forget to squeeze the lime over the skewers before enjoying. The citrus adds a whole new dimension to this already delicious dish.

 

Pesto Pasta Salad

I am in a pasta salad making mood, so I decided to make one more batch for this weekend. I already made one pasta salad for this weekend, but I have a bunch of these ingredients on hand from other recipes and I don’t want them to go bad over the long weekend. I used a recipe from My Recipes as a base and substituted ingredients I already had, and ended up with this Pesto Pasta Salad!

Ingredients for the pesto:
1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil
1 bunch of packed fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Ingredients for the salad:
1 box gemelli or other short pasta
1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 small cucumbers, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese

 

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.

To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.

Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.

Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.

Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

Because I am making this for the weekend, I only made a tiny batch fully mixed so I could taste it. The pesto mixture is so so creamy that you honestly might not even need the feta. The tomatoes and red onions add a wonderful contrast to the pesto and the cucumbers add a nice crunch to the salad. I will try to take some photos this weekend of the fully assembled salad, but if it is anything close to what I just sampled, I think my friends will be happy.

 

Pesto Pasta Salad

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

    Pesto:
  • 1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil
  • 1 bunch of packed fresh parsley
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • Juice and zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Salad:
  • 1 box gemelli or other short pasta
  • 1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt
  • 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
  • 3 small cucumbers, sliced
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese

Instructions

  1. Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.
  2. To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
  3. Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.
  4. Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.
  5. Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.
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Fresh Salsa

I wanted to make quesadillas, and it called for salsa. I realized I had all of the ingredients needed to make my own on hand, so I decided to try coming up with my own salsa.

Ingredients:
3 chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic scape, finely chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup corn kernels (I just used frozen)

I have no clue why I put olive oil in the pic, sorry

To make the salsa,  first rinse the chopped onions under very cold water. This will help remove some of the bite associated with raw onions.

To seed the tomatoes, cut off one end of the tomato and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.

Dice the tomato.

Chop the scape as finely as possible

Cut the cilantro.

Combine the onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, corn, and salt. Allow to refrigerate for a few hours to get the best flavor, or overnight.

 

The corn will defrost in the fridge
There is nothing like fresh salsa. This recipe can be adapted to what makes you happy as well; feel free to add some jalapenos or another hot pepper to add some spice. As I’ve said before, a lot of color in a dish makes me so happy. The red, green and yellow brighten up the whole meal. There is enough flavor in this salsa to serve at a party with some tortilla chips, but I can’t wait to try it with my quesadilla!

 

Fresh Salsa

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 chopped and seeded tomatoes
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic scape, finely chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup corn kernels (I just used frozen)

Instructions

  1. To make the salsa, first rinse the chopped onions under very cold water. This will help remove some of the bite associated with raw onions.
  2. To seed the tomatoes, cut off one end of the tomato and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
  3. Dice the tomato.
  4. Chop the scape as finely as possible
  5. Cut the cilantro.
  6. Combine the onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, corn, and salt. Allow to refrigerate for a few hours to get the best flavor, or overnight.
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