A Give Away! with Shrimp Ceviche and a fresh salad dressing

 One of the best parts of being a home cook is not having to buy foods that have lots of additives and artificial ingredients in them. I know that when I cook I am only using fresh vegetables and herbs with high quality ingredients. But even I will admit that sometimes its easy to fall into using convenience foods when you are in a rush or just not in the mood to make everything from scratch. One place where I try to always go fresh but sometimes fail is salad dressing. Its so easy to make and you can work with so many different fresh ingredients to make the perfect mix but grabbing a bottle is just so temptingly easy at times.

This is especially true when it comes to bringing dressing to work for lunch. If you put dressing on the salad in advance it can get soggy and no one wants to eat a limp salad but if you keep it on the side it tends to leak and get all over the place. I was really excited when OXO asked me to try these new mini lock top containers. They make some of my favorite tools and I just knew that these containers would be the perfect solution for storing messy liquids and dips. I even was able to use the medium size one to make a few quick servings of dressing - shaking it up right in the container. What could be easier?

 
I love it when kitchen tools make dinner run smoother. The larger container was the perfect size for marinading my ceviche. Last time, I tried ceviche it was with a salmon filet and I was scared that it wouldn't be done and everyone would get sick! Shrimp turn a tell tale pink when they are done as an easy signal that the citrus fruit has done its job. Just give it a shake every 30 minutes or so to keep all the citrus mixed with the shrimp. Its fast and is perfect for a warm spring day or as a contrast to a barbeque filled with hearty meats.You can also serve it on a bed of greens for a lunchtime treat - just don't leave the shrimp in the citrus too long! After a few hours the fish can start to get overdone so try not to let it sit around more than six hours.

Check out my recipes for Tres Citrus Shrimp Ceviche and Garlic Cilantro dressing below and enter the giveaway to get your own set of OXO Good Grips Lock Top containers!






To enter the giveaway please leave a comment with your favorite OXO kitchen tool.

Want another chance to win? Like the new Carla's Tasty Treat page on Facebook or follow my twitter and leave another comment letting me know that you signed up. I will pick the winner next week on Monday 5/21/12 at 6pm so make sure to get your comments in by then!  (and don't forget to use an email that you check when you comment)

Garlic Cilantro Dressing
3 cloves of garlic - finely minced
4 tbsp fresh cilantro - chopped
1 scallion - diced
juice of 1 lime
1/4 c olive oil

Mix all ingredients together in a sealed container - shake until emulsified. Reshake before serving if stored.

Tres Citrus Shrimp Ceviche
1 lb jumbo shrimp - peeled and deveined and diced into 1/2" bites
1/2 spanish onion - diced
3 scallions - diced
1/3 red pepper - diced
1/2 green pepper - diced
1/2 jalapeno - diced 
juice of 3 lemons, 3 limes and 1 orange
4 tbsp fresh cilantro 
salt & pepper
2 c of watermelon cubes  (1")

Mix all ingredients except watermelon together and let sit in refrigerator for 2 to six hours. Stir every 30 minutes to evenly marinade. Serve on watermelon cubes, top with avocado and tortilla chips



Disclosure: OXO provided these items free of charge for review and another set for a giveaway. I was not compensated for this review. All reviews are the honest opinions of Carla's Tasty Treats.