Veggie Skewers w/ Chimichurri

Centering your meals around vegetables is a great healthy practice and helps you feel satisfied instead of stuffed when you’re done eating. On Friday, my best buddy Lauren was in town for the weekend and we stayed in for dinner and a movie at home. She wanted to make some kind of skewers, and with her being a meat-eater and me not-so-much, we met in the middle and made veggie-heavy shrimp skewers with chimichurri sauce and roasted potatoes. Skewers are such a simple idea and these babies turned into one of my favorite meals I’ve had in a long time. Plus, it was so fun having one of my best friends around to cook with me.

For the potatoes, we cut small red potatoes into wedges, tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of whole grain mustard. Then we roasted them for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees until they were very crispy (tossing a few times during cooking).

Using wooden skewers, we layered on jumbo wild shrimp with big bite-sized pieces of baby portobello mushrooms, red onion, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, fresh pineapple, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. I cooked each skewer in my grill pan for about 10 minutes, turning them a few times to grill all the sides. Cooking about 4 at a time, I watched for the shrimps to turn white on each skewer then kept them warm in the oven while I cooked the rest.

To top off the skewers, I made a fresh chimichurri sauce in my food processor. It was a perfect topping for the shrimp and veggies and was really easy to make (see recipe below). I placed a bowl of sauce on the table and we drizzled it on top of our skewers before eating. It was sooooo good. My favorite bites were the grilled pineapple. That burst of sweetness mixed with the chimichurri sauce was heaven!

Chimichurri Sauce

1 cup fresh basil leaves

3/4 cup fresh Italian parsley

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup red onion

2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Big pinch of salt & pepper

Place all the above ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Store leftovers in an air-right container refrigerator for 1-2 days.

Veggie and Shrimp Skewers with Chimichurri Sauce and Roasted Potatoes

My messy plate that was oh-so-delicious.

Leftover chimichurri sauce