What’s for dinner?

Adeline Olmer
Jun 23, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Jul 26, 2022

Sometimes that’s a difficult question and other times not.

This past weekend I didn’t want to spend a lot of time cooking—I just wasn’t in the mood. That didn’t mean I didn’t want to eat.

Our daughter, Olivia, was with us, so I really did need to make something for dinner. After asking what everyone wanted, we decided on grilled vegetables with shrimp in a sheet-pan—easy!

I cut up onions, green peppers, zucchinis, and asparagus; thawed and peeled large shrimp and preheated the oven to 450º—prep done.

After lightly coating the vegetables and the pan (I used a half-size sheet-pan) with olive oil. I generously sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground pepper over all the vegetables and the shrimp. Put the shrimp aside for later, and spread the vegetables evenly onto the pan.

Place in the top third of your hot oven for about 20 minutes. The vegetables should be fork-tender and starting to brown. Make sure to turn the vegetables over halfway through.

Add the shrimp in between the vegetables and continue cooking; when they turn pink, flip them over until they turn pink and opaque. It only takes a minute or two.

I placed everything into a large serving bowl and served it with a bowl of quinoa on the side.

The flavor was a surprise. I hadn’t expected that salt, pepper, and olive oil would bring out the intense taste of the shrimp and vegetables, but it did and it was perfect.

So simple and easy!

P.S. This is a recipe that is made entirely by feel. But here are a few clues.

4 shrimp (colossal 13/15) per person

1 large onion cut in half and then cut into ½-inch slices

1 large bell pepper cored and cut into ½-inch slices

1 and a half zucchinis, keep skin on and slice in half lengthwise and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces

8 thin asparagus stalks, break off the bottoms and slice the remainder into 2” pieces

And of course, salt, freshly ground pepper, and olive oil.

Ideal book for learning how to cook. —Patricia A. Meyer