Grilled Shrimp Sticks That Won't Stick (or dry out)

I almost gave up on grilling shrimp because they dried out and stuck to the grill, but my neighbor, who also loves to cook, helped me with this one.

Thank goodness too, because this will now be a staple on our dinner table. Not only is shrimp delicious, but it is low-calorie, low in saturated fat, and contains helpful omega-3 fatty acids. Consider this: eat 7-8 shrimp in this recipe and you are taking in less than 200 calories.

I served it with rice, steamed broccoli, grilled red pepper and black beans, but you can serve it over a salad, with potatoes and any vegetable.

Look for my upcoming grain recipes for black beans, red beans, lentils, green peas, etc. I keep home made servings frozen and simply defrost for quick, healthy sides as shown above. Also look for my upcoming recipe on making your own garlic in oil mix - it stores for months and we use it on EVERYTHING. Garlic is great for your body too.

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Ease of Prep Index: ☺☺☺☺☺/5
Healthy Index: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥/5

OK - enough chatter. This blog is about fast healthy food, so let's get cookin'.

HOW TO MAKE JUICY GRILLED SHRIMPSTICKS:
(click pic to enlarge)

1. We want to do things quickly, so I buy the 1 or 2 lb. bag of frozen shrimp (size 31-40 or 21-25) which is labeled as PEELED and DE VEINED. (see pic enlarged) Defrost in the fridge overnight.
2. In a shallow container, brush with garlic (see my upcoming post on how to easily do your own garlic in oil). Then shake oil over the mixture and turn with a spoon. Turn with a spoon and make sure all of the shrimp are covered. This keeps them plump and juicy on the grill. All oils are not equal and I prefer grapeseed or canola (see upcoming post on oils). Sprinkle with seasoning. I prefer season-all, but again, you can go Cajun here.
3. load the shrimp onto skewers. i like to attach both the bottom and top of each shrimp facing the same way so they cook evenly and securely.
4. Slice a red pepper into 2-inch strips. Grill bot over medium heat and turn the shrimp and peppers every 4-5 minutes four times for a total of 15-20 minutes of grill time. It can be tricky to turn a skewer full of shrimp. Grab the skewer in the middle with a grill clamp and turn.
5. Serve as you like. While they are grilling you can steam broccoli in the microwave for three minutes and the rice cooks in a rice-cooker in about 12 minutes or mic your fav kind of potatoes. the sides are different every time on my dishes.