Mesquite Shrimp Salad

The beginning of summer means summer salads and seafood to me!  What better way to kick off a summer evening menu than with a Mesquite Shrimp Salad?  This is super tasty--and the shrimp don't necessarily have to be served as part of the salad, eat them on their own if you want.

What you need:
 (Serves about 2)
-1/2 pound of shrimp; make it easy by getting 'EZ Peel'
-2 cups yellow frozen corn
-1 Ripe Avocado - chopped
-1 Large Vine Ripe Tomato - chopped
-1/2 red onion - finely chopped
-1 lemon
-salt and pepper
-1 teaspoon (divided) of Mccormick's Grill Mates, Mesquite Seasoning
-olive oil

How to...

Start by cleaning the shrimp, and putting in a small bowl.  Season with salt, pepper, 1/2 of the teaspoon of Mesquite seasoning, and then squeeze a lemon wedge over the shrimp (mix by hand-or spoon).  Set aside.  Chop your tomato, onion and avocado.  Heat a large pan low to medium heat, and cover the bottom in olive oil.  Add the corn and tomatoes on one side of the pan, and lay the shrimp flat on the other half of the pan.  Make sure to flip shrimp over, and cook until pink and cooked through (try not to over cook, a sign of over cooking shrimp is curling and tough to the edge of a fork).  You can move the shrimp to your salad bowl once cooked; now spread the tomatoes and corn out on the pan and keep over the heat for a few more minutes--until the tomatoes are cooked, falling apart; and corn is warm and tender.  Pour these on top of the shrimp in your salad bowl, then add the chopped onion and avocado from your cutting board.  Because the unseasoned components are on the top, sprinkle some salt and pepper, and the remainder of your Mesquite seasoning (which should be another 1/2 teaspoon), and squeeze another lemon wedge-or to taste- and toss and serve.

**This is a great recipe to try outside when your grilling, for a true smokey Mesquite flavor!...all you need is a salad bowl, wooden skewers for cooking the shrimp and tomatoes, some fresh ears of corn to replace the frozen ones you would use in your pan, and all your chopped up ingredients.  Brush the grill with some olive oil.  You can grill the corn on the cob, and chop it off into your salad bowl, you can cook the shrimp on the grill after seasoning the same way as written above, and skewering them with the cut up tomato.  "Bowl" all the components, even the last part of seasoning,  toss and serve! :)   

Eggplant Mozz

I love Eggplant Parmesan, but I make a lot of dishes with parmesan cheese, so for Eggplant Parm--I like switching it up, and who doesn't like mozzarella?  This vegetarian recipe is easy enough for a weeknight meal, but still nice enough for a dinner party.

What you need:

-1 Large Eggplant, peeled--so make sure the eggplant is not old, or the skin can be hard to remove; cut into about 1/4 inch thick slices (easier if you make the slices circles instead of the length of the eggplant)
-about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of plain italian style breadcrumbs--put in a plate or shallow dish
-1 teaspoon of dried italian seasoning--mix this with the breadcrumbs you have in the dish
-6 large cloves of garlic, chopped
-3 vine ripe tomatoes (really any tomatoes will do, but I like off the vine for this), chopped *insides discarded
-1 small red onion, chopped
-1 egg, mixed in a shallow dish
-olive oil
-salt & pepper
-about 2 oz of basil chopped
-1 large ball (generally about 8oz) of mozzarella (I like BelGioioso)

How to make:

Start out by heating a smaller pan or shallow pot, low to medium heat.  Cover the bottom of the pan in olive oil, throw in the onions, garlic and tomatoes; stir and add salt and pepper to taste (yes, with everything that says 'to taste' please taste your food as you make it, it's easier to keep adding things like salt instead of taking them away), *turn the burner off once the onions are translucent.  While this cooks, season your sliced eggplant with salt and pepper, and begin dipping the slices into the egg then covering with the breadcrumbs; repeat until all the eggplant slices have been breaded.  Heat up a large pan to medium heat, cover the bottom with olive oil and put 3 or 4 slices of the breaded eggplant into the skillet and drizzle with olive oil--let cook a few minutes, then flip over (use tongs for best results); continue this with all the eggplant until they are cooked through--and transfer them to a large oven to table dish side by side, and begin arranging your Eggplant Mozz.  Spoon on the onion, garlic & tomato mixture on top of each slice of eggplant, followed by the chopped basil; and finish it up with slices of the mozzarella ball which should be placed on the very top.  Put the dish into the oven on the top rack and turn on the broiler until mozzarella is melted and slightly golden...serve while hot!

This meal is great on it's own or with a side of spaghetti--a nice glass of wine to top it off!