Roasted Shrimp with Summer Vegetables and Wild Rice

Ingredients:
12 oz peeled, medium shrimp
4-5 sprigs worth of thyme leaves
1/2 oz lemon verbena, chiffonade
1 eggplant, small dice
1 fennel bulb, diced
1-pint grape tomatoes, halved
8 oz crimini mushrooms, halved
1 small-medium pattypan squash, cubed
8 oz cooked wild rice

olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Toss the shrimp and herbs together in a small bowl. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

Arrange eggplant, fennel, tomatoes, mushrooms and squash in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 5-10 minutes or until the eggplant is nearly fully cooked and soft. Add the shrimp and roast for 5 additional minutes or until the shrimp is fully cooked.

Place all items in a bowl and add wild rice. Stir to evenly distribute all ingredients.

My thoughts:

This is sort of like on of those "sheet pan" meals I keep hearing about except you have to toss it with wild rice at the end so it isn't totally done on one pan. I cheat and use these vacuum-sealed pouches of wild rice because wild rice takes forever to cook but you can, of course, make it on the stove top according to package instructions. Even though this is made in the oven, it is pretty quick and doesn't heat up the house too terribly. It was incredibly tasty and filling. The wild rice makes it into a full meal and it is loaded with vegetables and shrimp. So easy yet so satisfying. I even enjoyed the leftovers cold the next day.