Grilled Pesto Shrimp and Summer Veggie Salad

Source: Sisters Cafe (I love this blog, amazing)

Okay, so I made this tonight for dinner and all I can say is, "Oh my, goodness it was good!" It made me realize that eating healthy isn't so hard after all. we made it tonight, because I want to continue eating a little healthier and because it gave us an excuse to fire up the grill one more time before summer is officially over. Seriously, try this. It is such a great way to use up all those summer veggies from your garden!

For the grilled veggies:
1 yellow and 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into large pieces
1 red onion, chopped into large segments
1 yellow summer squash, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
Olive oil (I used Extra Virgin and it was great!)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper


Either use previously prepared pesto or make a small batch of fresh pesto:
2 tbsp. pine nuts
2 tbsp. walnuts
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled (My garlic cloves were huge and so 2 was a little too much for me, so next time, I would use one if they are big)
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
3½ tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese


1 lb. uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined


For serving:
Spinach ( I don't like straight up spinach, too chewy for me, so I mixed spinach with romaine lettuce)
Tomato wedges
Crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
Heat a grill to medium-high heat. Oil the grates to prevent food from sticking.

To prepare the veggies for grilling, combine the bell peppers, red onion, squash and zucchini in a large bowl and toss. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat evenly. Set aside.

To make the pesto, combine the pine nuts, walnuts, garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Process 30 seconds. Add basil leaves, olive oil, salt, and pepper and process until smooth. Add parmesan cheese and process 1 minute. Set aside.

Thread the shrimp onto skewers for the grill. Once the skewers are assembled, use the back of a spoon or a pastry brush to smother the pesto onto both sides of the shrimp. Set aside.

Transfer the veggies to a grill basket and cook on the grill until they are crisp-tender, about 10-15 minutes (depending on the heat of your grill). Remove the grill basket from the heat and place the shrimp skewers on the grill in a single layer. Assemble the salads while the shrimp cook by tossing the grilled veggies atop a bed of spinach.
Allow the shrimp to cook just until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes (depending on the heat of your grill), turning once during cooking. Remove the shrimp from the skewers and place them on top of the salads. Top with fresh tomato wedges and crumbled feta cheese. Serve immediately.