It's summer, so you know I'm avoiding turning on my oven or stove as much as humanly possible. When TheMotherhood offered to let me combine some of my favorites - grilling, cooking with friends, and trying new recipes - it was a no brainer. Of course I was in.
Our team of Melissa from
Peanut Butter in My Hair, Vanessa from
ChefDruck Musings, Hyacinth from
Undercover Mother, Cher from
Mom and More, and Paula from
Frosted Fingers were part of our team, assigned to come up with three recipes using Lawry's products on a vacation theme. It was such a blast, and it renewed our commitment to getting together to cook with friends.
After much thinking, we came up with a great menu, a twist on vacationing through the Mediterranean. Although Paula and Cher had to do a separate get together due to schedules, it was a blast cooking with Vanessa, Melissa, and Hy! And oh was our lunch scrumptious! We all left stuffed to the gills.
How could you possibly resist that?
Watermelon Gazpacho with Grilled Shrimp
Ingredients:
1 Medium Seedless or Seeded Watermelon, Finely Diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 avocados, coarsely chopped
3/4 lb large uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 T white wine vinegar
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 T of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Salt and Pepper to your Taste
Directions:
Mix watermelon, cucumber, bell pepper, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil in a large bowl. Measure 3 cups of the mixture into a blender or food processor and puree. Transfer to another large bowl. Puree another 3 cups and add to the bowl.
Taste the soup and salt as desired. Top with the remaining diced mixture and the avocado.
Season the shrimp with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Thread them onto skewers. Cook on direct heat for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Remove the shrimp from the skewers and arrange them prettily around the soup. Serve the soup chilled.
Lawry’s Balsamic Marinated Chicken Kebabs with Grilled Pineapple
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 c Lawry’s Balsamic Marinade
1 pineapple, peeled and cored, and cut into 2 inch cubes
Directions:
Wash and cut the chicken into 2 inch cubes, removing most fat and the tenderloins. Place chicken in a bowl and cover with the marinade overnight.
Soak bamboo skewers in water for an hour.
Preheat your grill with one direct heat zone and one cooler indirect heat zone.
Peel, core, and cut the pineapple into 2 inch cubes. Thread the chicken onto skewers. On separate skewers, to maintain even cooking, thread the pineapple. Mixed fruit and meat skewers may look prettier but they don’t cook as evenly or safely.
Cook the chicken first on indirect heat, 5-6 minutes on each side. Cook the pineapple second, also on indirect heat, 2 minutes max on each side to have it caramelize but not burn.
Serve immediately, or place in the fridge to serve cold. The peach chutney makes a delicious dipping sauce.
Peach Chutney
Ingredients:
2 fresh peaches, peeled and diced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 T of white wine vinegar
2 T of brown sugar
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T olive oil
Directions
Chop the peaches, shallots, and onion.
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the shallots and onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the peaches, lemon juice and zest, sugar, and vinegars. Stir well. Lower heat to medium low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the chutney has come together and is a little brown.
This will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days after preparation.
Tomato Mozzarella Pasta Salad with Lawry’s Balsamic Herb Marinade
Ingredients:
1/2 c basil leaves, chiffonaded
3/4 lb fresh Mozzarella balls (Ciliegine size)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 lb pasta noodles (any round type variety that will work well with a fork)
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 c Lawry’s Original Seasoned Salt marinade (or you could use Lawry’s Balsamic Herb)
Directions:
Cook pasta noodles but don't let it completely cool. The salad will come together better if you add the dressing and accompaniments while it's still warm. Chiffonade the basil leaves, rolling them up then slicing the roll you created. Dice the red onion, and and chop mozzarella into bite size pieces. (You can cut up tomatoes if you’d like but we kept them whole.)
Toss everything together and stir in Lawry’s Balsamic Herb. Let it sit together for a few hours in the fridge for the flavors to meld, then serve cold.
Thanks to all my wonderful cooking partners for an awesome meal I'm ready to eat again right now!
Ready to start your own grill right now and invite over some friends? Me, too. I'm ready to do this again. Now. And I already ate dinner tonight. One lucky winner will be able to replicate this meal with seasonings from Lawry's. I have a 16 oz Seasoned Salt, a full size Balsamic Herb Marinade, and a full size Seasoned Salt Marinade to give away. Yum! So what do you have to do to win? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count!
This contest is open until Monday August 29 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 48 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.
Mandatory Entry: Tell me - what is your favorite thing to grill?
Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):
1) Earn one additional entry for
following me on
Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Time to kick up your grilling. Win #Lawrys seasoning and marinade from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/qT8yqn" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog
Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
And no, you won't earn any extra entries for it, but you will get good karma for
following me on Facebook, too!
Good luck!
In the interest of full disclosure, I was given samples of the Lawry's products as described above for review purposes. I was also compensated for this campaign. That said as always, all opinions expressed remain my own.
