Pasta Caprese Salad

Source: food network

Time: about 30 minutes

Servings: a ton as stated in the recipe, the photo above is with the recipe halfed

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 pounds mixed heirloom tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 pound pasta, such as campanelle, penne or fusilli
• 12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces or buy the pearl mozzarella 
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions: 

Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, shallot and garlic in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and gently toss. Marinate at room temperature about 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook at the label directs. Drain and rinse with cold water. 

Add pasta and mozzarella to tomato mixture and toss. Stir in basil and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until serving. 

Verdict: 

This pasta salad is great, easy to make and easy to transport and leave out at a cookout. The kids love it too. They sometimes pick out the tomatoes, but the eat the noodles and cheese and then ask for more!

Grilled Shrimp

Source: combination of different recipes on allrecipes.com

Servings: 4 (really 2 adults, 1 kid who eats shrimp like an adult, and 1 toddler who ate 2)
Total time: 45 minutes, including marinating

Ingredients
2 lb frozen shrimp, defrosted under cold water (I used shell off, tail off)
3 cloves minced garlic (who i am kidding, i used 2 tsp of the jarred stuff)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 T tomato paste
2 T red wine vinegar
2 tsp dried basil leaves (or 2 T fresh chopped basil if you have it)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on taste
skewers

Directions
In large bowl mix together garlic, olive oil, tomato past, vinegar, basil, salt and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to bowl and stir until evenly coated. Refridgerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour to marinate.

Meanwhile, soak skewers in water.

Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread shrim on to skewers. Grill on lightly oil grates 3-5 minutes per side, or until opaque.

Verdict
Allison LOVES shrimp. But when she first saw these, without even tasting she said they were too spicy. She has something against seasoning. We finally got her to try it and then she loved them. She ate probably 10 shrimp. All the while saying next time she didn't want her shrimp to have the seasoning on it. This was really good and fairly easy. A little time consuming having to thread the shrimp on skewers, but it gave me plenty of time to make the other parts of the meal.

I served this with rice pilaf (Far East box stuff) and Roasted Parmesan Green Beans (recipe follows).

Parmesan Green Beans

source: skinnytaste dot com

Prep Time: <5 mins
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
12 oz trimmed, dry green beans (I buy the bag already washed and trimmed)
2 tsp olive oil
kosher salt & black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 T grated parmesan cheese (I just eye ball this, so it's probably more than 2T. More cheese=better)

Directions
Preheat overn to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place green beans and cover with olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic powder. Toss to coat.

Spread beans out on sheet so they are all flat. Bake 10 minues, shake the pan to turn; bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with grated cheese.