Sweet Shrimp and Spicy Sausage Skewers and No Sense

It's official, winter is here.  Yesterday in the city we saw our first snow.  One thing is for sure, never a dull moment around here.

I left for work at 7 am and it was 63 degrees, sun shining and a beautiful morning.  In less than 4 hours, the temperature dropped to 20 degrees, gail force winds, snow dumping everywhere...and there I was at work...no coat, no gloves, no boots and obviously no sense.  After being here for 2-1/2 years you think I would learn to always leave the house prepared and keep my car packed with the winter essentials because we truly never know when a surprise blizzard is going to set in here.

This photo below, which was posted on Instagram tells the story perfectly of how yesterday went down.  That is the exact location on University of Colorado Boulder campus at 4 different times throughout the day...amazing!

Well, the good news is we had an opportunity to make this dish before we put the grills in hibernation and covered them up before yesterday's downpour of snow.  If you have a stove top grill pan it can also easily be made inside and keep you toasty warm for the winter.

Sweet Shrimp and Spicy Sausage Skewers
Courtesy of Traeger

21-24 Shrimp cleaned, peeled, & de-veined
8 spicy sausage links
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons honey
¼ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon dry thyme
Salt, pepper to taste

12-15 metal skewers

Mix together the vinegar, mustard, onion powder, garlic, honey, thyme, salt, pepper, and canola oil. Toss in shrimp, let marinade for 30 minutes.

Cut sausage links in half length wise, and then cut into 2 inch pieces.

Start the Traeger grill on smoke with the lid open until the fire is established (4-5) minutes. Set the temperature to 450 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Alternate the sausage and shrimp on the skewers (about 2 shrimp and 3 sausages per skewer). Place on grill, cook about 8-10 minutes until shrimp is cooked. 

*** You can also do this dish on your own grill, bbq or stove top grill pan.

One Year Ago: Pear Tart

Garlic Chicken Skewers and Local Farmers

Happy Labor Day to all and hope it is a restful one as we head into a new week and the month of September.  For us we have seen more labor than rest in our household.  Summer reading assignments are due next week, laundry, house cleaning, yard work, finishing up house accessories, trying out new recipes...and of course our annual pickle making weekend.

We did however take some much needed time out and travel to our city Farmer's Market on Saturday for fruits, veggies, herbs and beautiful floral bouquets and we also visited a local farm stand, called Grandma's Produce Farm, down the road from our house.

Love Grandma's little red truck - this is their street view signage.

Here it is, Grandma's farm stand.

Only in the heartland would you find an "honor system" farm stand.

Grandma's has a little bit of everything at their stand.  There is no one tending to the stand, you just help yourself and leave money in their Honor System jar.  How great is that?!!

Since we had our new fresh vegetables, we grilled up chicken skewers for dinner.  Light, flavorful and really fresh.

Garlic Chicken Skewers

1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 chicken breasts) cut into 1 inch pieces.
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 teaspoons dried rosemary, finely chopped
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 large zucchini, sliced about 1" wide pieces, then cut into quarters
1 (8) ounce package button mushrooms
2 large red, yellow or orange peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces

8 (12 inch ) metal skewers

Lightly coat grill and heat to medium-high.

In a bowl, combine chicken, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Stir and coat well.

Alternating the chicken and vegetables, thread the zucchini, mushrooms, peppers and chicken on skewers.

Filled and ready to grill.

Grill filled skewers, turning every 2 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender and lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.

The dog days of summer are just too much for Theo.
He takes full advantage of his sun naps.

One Year Ago: The Flavornator