Cache's birthday meal--grilled shrimp

This is a favorite of ours and tonight we experienced why once again:

Cilantro Lime Grilled Shrimp

2 cloves garlic

2 TBSP chopped cilantro

zest and juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup oil

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 lbs large shrimp

Combine first six ingredients in food processor (or chop finely yourself if your processor is kaput). Marinate shrimp for 30 minutes. Thread on skewers and grill for about 5 minutes. (unless you have a *very* old junky grill like ours then grill them-rotating often for heat distribution-until they turn pink--about 20 mins.)

With this meal we also had white rice, rolls and asparagus with the following recipe.

Baked Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce
1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed
cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce

Arrange asparagus on baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 12 minutes at 400 degrees or until tender.

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Brown slightly. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and soy sauce. Pour over asparagus.

Then I served his favorite cake--carrot. We love the yummy recipe found on this post. I've made it WAY too many times!

---------------------

Just a note about this meal. . . I accidentally purchased and thawed a package of precooked shrimp ($6.98/2 lb. bag). So Tom ran and got me some thawed, uncooked shrimp; it was quite a bit more pricey at $13.98/2 lbs. When I spend that much on an item for a meal I start calculating the price of the entire meal to make myself feel better. I figured that with the dessert the whole meal, including the price of shrimp, for a family of 7 was $20. Tom and I had eaten out earlier that day at The Lion House (which is considered quite cheap for that type of meal) and the two of us ate for $16. (And it wasn't even very good, I left very dissatisfied that I had spent that much money on not very good food.) Since I can usually feed my family for $4-$10 a meal, this was a more expensive meal--but not that much. It was WAY cheaper than eating out, even if you added the cost of the shrimp I didn't use this meal. (By the way, other plans were made to use the other shrimp.)