You should make this for dinner soon...

Since Ed and EV have basically been on the road for the last month either visiting family or coming to watch our games, we decided to stay home for Memorial Day weekend.  It may also have to do with EV having Roseola this past week/weekend. Basically, super high fever for a few days then a wicked rash...really it just means she's grumpy for about a week. She is completely recovered now, no sign of rash or grumpiness...ok, not all of the grumpiness is gone but it's at least back to her usual amount :)

For this weekend though we decided to have some great dinners. Most of the day was spent with the laptop hooked up to the TV watching Super Regional action via ESPN3 but we did take a break to head to the store and pick up some supplies.

Friday's menu: Bangin' Grilled Shrimp with Brown Rice

I haven't perfected making an entire "meal" yet, you know, with a main dish and sides.  I'm still trying to keep my main dishes from being pizza, grilled cheese or spaghetti.  Also, I have never, not once, ever, purchased shrimp at the grocery store. Not even the frozen shrimp in a bag or cocktail shrimp. The only seafood I have ever purchased were pre-made crab cakes. So having to purchase shrimp was a new experience!

We bought the big shrimp, not the tiny guys in the bags. They were NOT cheap (I'm talking $17.00 a lb and two handfuls of these monsters rang up to nearly $22!).  I shopped at the local Kroger.  Would you be surprised to find out the Kroger on Old State Rd 37 in Bloomington, IN does not have the prettiest selection of seafood?  I know, crazy, right?

The shrimp were "ready to eat" and since I knew nothing about shrimp, or buying from the Butcher's area anyways, I asked if we could still grill them.  The guy, Dusten was his name, didn't even need to answer. I saw the answer on his face...it was basically, "duh, you can grill them still".  Well Mr. Dusten, I don't know and you're supposed to help me.

Anyways, we also had to buy Thai Sweet Chili sauce.  I had a feeling I knew what this was and I didn't want to go near that aisle but I held out hope there would be options.  Let me explain.

This is the bottle of Thai Sweet Chili sauce we purchased:

It is good, really good and there were few other options.  This is why I avoided this option until I realized there were no other suitable bottles:

See that broken bottle?  Well, I've purchased this item before and when I went to unscrew the cap, it nearly killed me.  Luckily that isn't blood in the picture, it is the sauce, but it did cut my finger pretty well which took a while to heal.  The bottle seriously split into 3 pieces before!  Since then I have purchased all my Asian sauces in plastic bottles (I hope that isn't racist, I don't seem to be afraid of ketchup in a glass bottle...just Sweet Chili Sauce).  This time I checked the bottle for any cracks...and then made Ed open it...in the kitchen...while I sat in the other room...I made him give me a play by play.

This bottle did not break and it was awesome!  I mixed it with some low fat mayo and scallions (green onion/are they the same thing?). Ed grilled the monster shrimp, I made the brown rice...um, I mean I put the brown rice bag into a pot of water and let it boil...then voila! Dinner was ready!

For those of you interested in the recipe, I got it from skinnytaste but I can repost it here as well:

Bangin' Grilled Shrimp Skewers
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 2 skewers •  Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 140 • Fat: 4.7 g • Protein: 18.5 g • Carb: 4.2 g • Fiber: 0.1 g • Sugar: 2.8 g
Sodium: 266.9 mg
  

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp scallions, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 tbsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha (or to taste) - this was also in my "ethnic" aisle in the store but I didn't want to go too hot this time...next time I will!

For the Shrimp:

• 40 large (12.8 oz) raw shrimp, shelled and deveined (weight after peeled)
• fresh cracked pepper
• oil spray

Directions:

Combine the mayo, scallions, sweet chili sauce and sriracha sauce in a small bowl.Set aside.



Now here she has a lot of pretty pictures and basic instructions.  Mine: cook shrimp, put sauce on. Simple :)