July 4 fires fires

Well, the Gap fire in Goleta is burning away. It answered the question with our best friends (who live there) - are we having dinner at your house or ours?

I served
guacamole (stretched with peas, only had one ripe avocado, it was quite good).
green beans stir-fried with salt, pepper
southwestern barley salad
chipotle-lime shrimp
soy-garlic marinated chicken drumsticks

Now, we don't have a grill, so everything was done on the stovetop or in the oven.

Chicken marinade: soy sauce, honey, orange juice, garlic, canola oil, a little powdered ginger (out of fresh). Chicken baked for 1 hour at 375. 20 min covered, 40 min uncovered, flip when you take off the cover.

Southwestern barley salad: $3.32, for 7 cups - 0.23 to 0.46 per serving, depending on whether it's a main dish or side dish
1 c dried black beans, rinsed, soaked, and cooked (makes 2 c): 0.32
1 c. dry pearl barley, cooked (makes 3 c cooked): 0.41
1/2 can corn: 0.25
1/2 small red onion: 0.30
1/3 bunch cilantro: 0.33
1 small tomato, diced: 0.50
1 small cucumber, diced: 0.50
2 T olive oil: 0.22
3 T white wine vinegar: 0.30
2 cloves garlic: 0.10
salt, pepper, cumin to taste.

Chipotle-lime shrimp: $8.04 for 6 servings (from America's Test Kitchen Family Favorites), $1.34 each
1.87 lb shrimp: 7.46 (31 to 40 ct)
1 small ice cube chipotle in adobo: 0.10
1 lime: 0.18
2 T canola oil: 0.05
2 T chopped cilantro: 0.20
4 tsp brown sugar: 0.04

This is pretty spicy. You saute the uncooked shrimp (peeled, deveined) in canola oil in batches until cooked, return all the shrimp to the pan, and mix in the sauce. (The sauce is: juice of 1 lime, chipotle, cilantro, brown sugar).