Cottage Component 2!: Summer-Lovin' Sweet and Sour Skewers

Posted by amanda in budget, chicken, grill, kabobs, onion, peppers, recipe, sauce, shrimp, skewers, zucchini

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Before we left for our cottage adventure, CK came up with a great plan for feeding us right: we adjusted a recipe she found in a magazine to suit our group's budget and tastes, and came up with this winner! The quantities on this one are rough, because it really depends who you're trying to feed - our menfolk ate easily three times are many skewers apiece as we did. That being said, we served 6 people for about 6$ a head (including the pasta salad). We made around 40 skewers with this quantity of marinade, but that included a bunch that were just shrimp, without veggies. These, as it turns out, are a big hit, so when you run out of veggies and chicken, begin skewering just shrimp, and you will be everyone's favorite.

Marinade: (Note: Because I don't eat chicken, we split up our shrimp and chicken into different batches, dividing this amount of marinate between two bowls, and divvying up the veggies accordingly as well)

Props to Remy: Our host and a master griller!

In a large bowl (you'll be putting your chicken shrimp and veggies in here too) mix together...



3 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp soy sauce (try to get reduced sodium)
3 tbsp sugar
1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar

 Skewer ingredients: 

• 3 small zucchinis, chopped into rounds
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
• 1  red pepper, likewise
• 1 sweet onion (we used the leftovers from the pasta salad), cut into chunky wedges
• An orange pepper would be a nice addition too, chopped into chunks
• 1 bag frozen deveined shrimp (ours was a bag of 60-70 shrimp) - if you can buy them uncooked with tails off, power to you. Or, you can spend a good 15 minutes taking the tails off these babies if you REALLY love your guests).
• 4 chiclen breasts, cut into chunks

Mix skewer ingredients into marinade (whether you keep' em separated or not), and let sit for about 15 minutes. If you like your skewers really juicy, set aside a few spoonfuls to brush onto the cooked skewers. Skewer ingredients onto sticks, alternating meat with vegetables for as long as possible. Grill on the BBQ for about 4 minutes each side. Serve immediately. Pairs nicely with the Picnic-Perfect Pasta Salad!

Grill on!

-A

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

Posted by CK in grill, recipe, sandwich, vegetarian

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Here's an easy-to-make delicious sandwich! Full of vitamins and will get you going for a while! I ate alot of those during lent and they surely keep you full! When I made it, I didn't have all the ingredients, but I made with what I had and it turned out great! Enjoy! (source: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Vegetable-Sandwich-421)

Ingredients:

- 8 large garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 teaspoon plus 3 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
- 2 red bell peppers, halved, seeded
- 4 1/2-inch-thick eggplant slices
- 1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 4 slices
- 4 large fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
- 8 green onions, roots and 4 inches of green tops trimmed
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried
- 3 tablespoons slice fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 4 large whole-grain rolls, halved, toasted
- 1 tomato, thinly sliced

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place garlic in custard cup; drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil. Cover with foil; bake until garlic is tender, about 35 minutes. Cool and mash garlic.
2. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Grill or broil peppers, rounded side toward heat, until peppers are charred, about 10 minutes. Wrap in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel peppers. Transfer to platter.
3. Arrange eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms and green onions on baking sheet. Brush vegetables on each side with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil vegetables until golden and tender, turning once, about 6 minutes per side. Cut green onions into 2-inch pieces. Transfer vegetables to same platter. Sprinkle with thyme and basil.
4. Whisk vinegar and remaining 1 tablespoon oil in bowl until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle dressing over vegetables.
5. Spread rolls with mashed garlic, dividing equally. Top each roll with tomato slices, then roasted pepper, eggplant, zucchini, green onions and mushroom.