Orzo with Grilled Shrimp and Summer Vegetables

Tonight, my sister asked me to make dinner, so I decided to make this yummy dish.  Then as I started cooking Jessica got a message from The Chad and he asked if she wanted to meet him at "World Sports Grille" for "Happy Hour."  I, of course, said it was fine.  But I went on to make the dish anyway.

It's a great dish for picnic and BBQs too.  For Jessica and The Chad's anniversary I made them a picnic because I didn't have a lot of money to spend on a gift.  I made this dish, put in some cheese and crackers, and made raspberry lemon cheesecake bars, and I put in a bottle of wine.  It was super cute.  When I made it for them, though, I used feta cheese instead of mozzerella and I don't think I put tomatoes in it.

It's a light and fresh dish and great for summer.  Yes, it's still summer here and probably will be for another couple months.

First, cook up the Orzo.  My mom calls it Uzo, and I tell her "Uzo is Greek liquor."

Slice two zucchinis into quarters.

Do the same with the red pepper.

I hate when my fingers smell like peppers, especially if it's a spicy one, so I use a spoon to scrape out all the seeds and membrane into a trash can.  I think I saw it on a cooking show one time or something.

When the orzo is done, drain it and give it a little rinse.

Get the grill pan ready.  I like the grill pan better than using the grill outside because it's freaking hot outside.

Drizzle (or brush) the olive oil and red wine vinegar mixture on the vegetables then sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

Arrange the zucchini and red pepper on the grill.  I love love love grilled zucchini.

Yum!  Can I get an "amen?"

Toss the orzo with some olive oil.

Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, pesto, and lime juice.  I love this little whisk that my sister had, it's perfect for making dressings and sauces.

To thaw the shrimp, toss it with hot water until they're bendable.

Toss the shrimp with a little of the pesto-oil-vinegar mixture.

Place the shrimp in the grill pan.

While the shrimp are grilling, and smelling quite nice, cut up the grilled zucchini and red pepper into bite-size pieces.

Add the veggies to the orzo and give it a good toss.

I love grilled food with a good char to it.  It takes a few minutes each side to get it perfect.

Add the shrimp to the orzo and veggies mix and give it a good toss.

Add the remaining pesto vinaigrette.

Cut up 2 heirloom or roma tomatoes and add the to mix.

Cut a block of fresh mozzarella into cubes then add to the mix.

Then "voila!"  Doesn't it look tasty?!  It is also supposed to have slices of basil, but we forgot it :)

Let the drooling commence :)

You can find the original recipe here.

And this is the serving I had, so there is a large bowl if this left in our refrigerator.  Anybody want to come over for leftovers??

This is my cooking buddy- music playing from Pandora.  Country, of course.

I bought this little rose plant at the store today.  It was on "manager's special" lol.  My mom said "Those are hard to take care of," which in mom-speak means "you're probably gonna kill it."