Italian herbed shrimp pasta

I'm making up for lost time by adding 2 recipes today! This original recipe comes from Cooking Light July 2008 edition and is titled "Italian Herbed Shrimp Kebabs". Well, I was in the mood for pasta, so I took all of the "kebab" ingredients and threw them into some spaghetti. I already had a bag of large frozen, cooked shrimp, but I would not use them again for this recipe. If your going to make this, then get the uncooked jumbo shrimp...which will make for a more tender, flavorful shrimp. I didn't make them as kebabs because I grilled them on my stovetop grill pan, but when I make this recipe a second time, I will definitely kebab them to save on time, then throw them in the pasta along with the grilled asparagus. Go to your local farmers market to find some awesome zucchini right now...the yellow squash is one of my favorites!! Oh, and while your there, pick up the fresh herbs that's called for in this recipe!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4-5):

• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 24 peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 1 bundle asparagus
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper
• 12-16 oz. cooked spaghetti

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat

2. Place first 6 ingredients in a blender or small food processor; add 2 teaspoons oil. Process until smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Add shrimp to bowl; toss well to coast. Let stand at room temp. 15 minutes.

3. Thread shrimp and zucchini slices alternately onto each skewer and reserve the marinade for pasta. Drizzle kebabs evenly with remaining 2 tsp. of oil. Place kebabs on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until done. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. While kebabs are grilling, drizzle asparagus with some olive oil, salt & pepper and place on grill for about the same amount of time as the kebabs. After asparagus is cooked, cut into 3 inch pieces. Cook the spaghetti, drain; then in a large pan heat the reserved marinade along with 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Add the spaghetti, shrimp, zucchini and asparagus. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add additional olive oil as needed. Heat through then serve.

Simple ingredients...

Ok, so I just HAD to throw in a couple pictures of my nephew & niece. I had them over yesterday and it was definitely the highlight of mine & Ella's day!!

Ella & Kai having a tea party...Kai was addicted to the tea!!