Grilled Shrimp and Sausage Kebabs

Fire up the grill this week. A great way to stretch your meat budget is to make kebabs (stuff on a stick.) Add some meat or seafood and use up some of the extra vegetables in your fridge. Be creative! The basting sauce for this recipe could also be used on beef or chicken. If you make the recipe using the shrimp and sausage, buy extra and you can also make the frittata recipe that I posted yesterday.

Makes 6 servings

3/4-cup olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, pressed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

5 teaspoons paprika, or smoked paprika (also known as Pimenton Dulce)

4 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Sea salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 pound extra-large shrimp (12 – 15 count)

1 pound turkey smoked sausage, or other nitrite free sausage (Applegate Organic is a good choice)

12 cherry tomatoes

2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges

1 red pepper, cut into 2” pieces

Olive oil spray, or olive oil

6 skewers, metal or wood (If using wood, soak in water for an hour so that they won’t burn on the grill.)

Whisk together first 8 ingredients (through crushed red pepper) in a small bowl. Pour half of it into another small serving dish.

Alternately thread shrimp, sausage pieces, cherry tomatoes, separated onion wedges, and red pepper onto each of the 6 skewers. Heat grill to medium high heat. Brush skewers on both sides with glaze from 1 bowl. Grill for about 6 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque in color and vegetables are slightly charred. Serve with extra glaze.

Hint: You can also make these on the stove in a grill pan, in the oven under a broiler, or even in a George Foreman Grill.