Divas on a Dime: The versatile recipe you’ll love all summer

Can we just all agree that this year is going by way too fast? I mean, we blinked and now it’s May? But the sun is shining and it’s time for celebration!

Today is May 4, or “may the fourth… be with you”, for all our “Star Wars” fans. And this first weekend in May has lots of official holidays going on. Tomorrow is National Chocolate Custard Day, Museum Lover’s Day, International Drone Day, National Hoagie Day, National Home Brew Day, World Naked Gardening Day, and we can’t forget – Beer Pong Day! This just goes to prove there’s always, always something to celebrate.

But we can’t ignore the two biggies Saturday : Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby. I believe I found a recipe that’s perfect for both! This’ll go with your margarita or mint julep. Heck, it’d even go on a hoagie or partner with your homebrew.

This refreshing recipe will be your “go-to” dish all summer long. This is also significant because it’s the first time I’ve published a recipe using shrimp. My tagline is “Where Frugal Meets Fabulous” and shrimp is certainly fabulous but not very frugal. But this! This is a recipe that takes a small amount of shrimp and stretches it to feed a crowd.

LEMON HERB MARINATED SHRIMP

What You’ll Need:

¾ cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon old bay seasoning

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon celery seeds

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

4 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped

1 big handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

1 big handful cilantro or dill, chopped

1 cup sweet corn, (frozen is fine)

1 cup red pepper, diced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 lemon, very thinly sliced

1 (14 oz.) can Great Northern beans, drained

1 pound cooked, deveined shrimp

Here’s How:

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, old bay, salt, sugar, pepper flakes, celery seeds, allspice and garlic. Whisk that together really well. The add the parsley, fresh herbs, corn, red pepper, shallot, lemon and beans. Give that a good stir. Add the shrimp and stir to evenly distribute.

Place the mixture into a large glass dish that can be sealed or a couple of mason jars. Let this sit for at least 6 hours, or overnight before serving.

Serving Suggestions: Make Tacos! Spoon the mixture made with cilantro onto corn tortillas. I used street taco-sized for appetizer portions. Amazing! Make Salad! Use the oil and vinegar from the mixture as salad dressing and top crisp romaine with the shrimp mixture.

Make Avocado Salad! Thinly slice avocados and arrange on a plate. Top with marinated shrimp and all the other goodies.

Make Lettuce Wraps! Use leaves of butter lettuce or your favorite lettuce to make cute little appetizer servings of the marinated shrimp mix. This is great made with dill, served with champagne or add some mint leaves and serve with a mint julep and watch the run for the roses. Or eat out of the jar with a fork. I don’t judge.

Fabulous Food by Patti Diamond from Divas On A Dime – Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! - www.divasonadime.com Join us on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom.