Skewered Shrimp on Grilled Pineapple Planks

I'm a teacher, and although the pay is not great, I'll give you three reasons to be a teacher: 1. June 2. July 3. August.  I rest my case.  I'm officially on Summer vacation, and I am loving every second of it.  My summer vacation has been filled with drafting ideas for Children's Books (my dream job), exercising, playing with the kids, cooking healthier, and playing Angry Birds.  As an added bonus, we finally sold the piano that did not belong to us that has been sitting in our front room for a year.  Now, I have a sitting area in my front room with my record collection.  Words cannot describe how awesome it is to listen to The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, and Led Zeppelin on vinyl.  Ahh... I'm loving life right now. 

Now, to the recipe.  I checked out a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from the library awhile back and found this recipe.  Since shrimp is now a staple in my freezer, I knew I had to try this.  Grilled pineapple planks and skewered shrimp?  Sounds like a dream come true to me.  When my husband came down for dinner, he looked at the plate and said, "Who are you?  The editor of Better Homes and Gardens?!  This looks amazing!"  I found it quite humorous when I told him that it was really from that magazine.  This is a delicious meal, and I'd imagine that it's pretty healthy.  Relatively speaking... Compare this to my Mexican food or steaks smothered in Mushroom Cream sauce, and it's like eating carrot sticks and asparagus.  I know it seems "weird" since it's not your traditional grilled meal, but I promise it won't disappoint- especially if you like shrimp and pineapple.

Skewered Shrimp on Grilled Pineapple Planks:
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

1 lb shrimp (I used medium)
1 fresh pineapple, crown removed and peeled
3 T butter, melted
1/4 c BBQ sauce
1-2 T canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c chopped cucumbers
1/2 c chopped, peeled jicama (I omitted this)
1 T lime or lemon juice
1/4 t salt
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

To prepare the pineapple, cut off the skin and any pokey parts left on the fruit.  Slice it into thin planks.

Brush the pineapple with 1 T melted butter.

Combine the remaining melted butter, BBQ sauce, chipotle peppers in Adobo, and garlic in a bowl. 

Add the shrimp and let it marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.

In another bowl, combine the diced cucumber, Jicama (if you're using it... I couldn't even tell you what it looks like), cilantro, lime or lemon juice, and 1/4 c chopped pineapple from the one you cut up.  Keep in the fridge until you're ready to eat.

Skewer the shrimp and grill over medium heat for about five minutes per side.  If you're using bigger shrimp, they'll need more time.  If you'd like, brush with more BBQ sauce while they are on the grill. 

Place the pineapple planks on the grill as well and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes total.

When it's all said and done, place a pineapple plank on your plate, add some of the cucumber relish, and top with the skewered shrimp. 

I served this with brown rice, steamed vegetables, and some of that frozen Strawberry Daquiri drink- non-alcoholic, of course.  It was wonderful! 

Hopefully, I'll be back again to post more soon, but I'm really enjoying this summer break.  I've been doing pretty good with my diet, too.  I'll find something more to post this week though.  Hang in there!  I haven't completely abandoned you!