With over 600 miles of coastline, Connecticut ranks 21st in the nation for shoreline living. We have access to some of the best fresh seafood in the world, caught by the best New England fishermen. 

But for a lot of people, seafood can be intimidating to cook. It cooks faster than beef, chicken, or pork, so it can dry out quickly. It also smells up the house.

Which is why we love to grill our seafood. Between the quick, high heat of the barbeque sealing in flavor and moisture, and the open-air dispelling of fishy smells, we love summertime seafood grilling.

Seafood is not only super healthy for you and super fast to prepare, it is also super varied which means you can eat it several times a week without getting bored.

Here are three recipes chosen for flavor and ease of preparation. And since it’s summer, we’re also thinking about those backyard BBQs you love to throw with friends and family.

Super Delicious Seafood Recipe #1: Grilled Shrimp Foil Packets

Image

Shrimp boils, clambakes — we love them, but who has the time? With this variation you’re prep time is cut to 10 minutes and your cook time to 15 minutes. In less than a half-hour you can be enjoying dinner with friends and family. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 - 1 ½ pounds of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 andouille sausages (or one package of kielbasa), thinly sliced
• 2 ears of corn, cut crosswise into 4 pieces
• 1 lb red bliss potatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 2 Tbsps olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tbsps freshly chopped parsley
• 1 lemon, sliced into thin wedges
• 4 Tbsps of butter

Here’s what you do:

1. Pre-heat grill over high heat.
2. Mix shrimp, garlic, sausage, corn, and potatoes in a large bowl and toss with olive oil and Old Bay. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
3. Cut 4 sheets of aluminum foil, at least 12 inches each. Divide mixture evenly between the four sheets.
4. Top each mixture with parsley, lemon, and 1 tbsp of butter. Fold the edges so the food is completely covered and roll the edges so the packet is sealed.
5. Place on the grill and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with your favorite beverages and a cool, chopped salad. Clean up is as simple as throwing away the foil packets when you’re done!

Super Delicious Seafood Recipe #2: Lime and Basil Tilapia

Super fresh, super summery flavors abound in this easy to prepare dish. Tilapia is a protein-rich main course that is easy to find and extremely affordable. 

For this recipe, you’ll prepare and marinade the fish for 30 minutes while the grill heats up to the perfect temperature. And from there, it is just 10-15 minutes of cook time.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 4 medium tilapia fillets
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 2 tbsps of lime juice
• 1 medium lime, zested
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (any variety will do)
• Optional: 2 tbsps of bourbon
• 1 tsp salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Here’s what you’ll do:

1. Combine olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, basil, bourbon if using, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
2. Place the tilapia into a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade in, making sure to cover the filets. Seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Pre-heat grill to high heat.
4. After 30 minutes, remove the tilapia from the marinade. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Grill tilapia 3 minutes per side, until flesh is opaque throughout.
6. Remove and drizzle with the cooked marinade. 

You can enjoy this dish with roasted potatoes or rice pilaf and a fresh salad. Or you can use this dish as the base for fish tacos and pair with tortillas, sliced avocado, and crumbled crema. Either way, you’re in for a treat!

Super Delicious Seafood Recipe #3: Grilled Salmon Steaks with Cilantro-Garlic Yogurt Sauce

Image

This light, summery sauce will work on any seafood but we love the pairing with grilled salmon steaks.

It’s super easy to prepare with a prep time of 10 minutes and a cook time of 6-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of your salmon steaks.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Vegetable oil (for the grill)
• 2 serrano chiles
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup cilantro leaves with tender stems
• ½ cup plain, whole-milk Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 (12-ounce)  bone-in salmon steaks
• Kosher salt

Here’s what you’ll do:

1. Pre-heat and oil grill.
2. Split and discard seeds from 1 serrano chile. Puree both chiles, garlic, cilantro, yogurt, olive oil, honey, and water until smooth. Season with salt. Split sauce in half, reserving one for serving.
3. Season salmon steaks with salt on both sides. Grill, turning once or twice until flesh begins to turn opaque. Baste with remaining sauce while continuing to cook and turn the fish until done.

Serve alongside the reserved sauce and pair with sauteed summer squash and freshly sliced tomatoes. 

NursePower Empowers Nurses!

Our goal for these pages is to offer you time-saving, soul-nourishing, body-strengthening tips and ideas that will help make your already stressful, hectic life as a nurse just a little bit easier. 

NursePower is owned and run by nurses so we know what you’re going through. We’ve been there. And we know that nursing is harder today than it was pre-Covid and it was pretty darn hard then too. 

If you are looking for a change — less stress, better schedule, improved pay, more control over when and where you work — then let’s connect because NursePower is hiring nurses right now for private-duty nursing positions.