Friday night... and I just found out my boy's popping in for dinner!! Woohoo! But, Friday's 5 long days from my last shopping trip, so... what do I have?
Hey! A bag of frozen shrimp... and fresh red peppers and broccoli... SCORE! Tonight we're having a quick stir fry with chopped fresh red peppers, broccoli, garlic, and shrimp with pasta!! So quick, super tasty and Joe's favorites... happy mom!! Here we go!
First, and the step that took the longest was thawing the frozen shrimp in cold water... about 40 minutes. Changing the water a couple of times can help speed along the thawing. Then, I shelled the shrimp, patted them dry, and marinated them in fresh garlic.
I could tell you I only used a couple of cloves... but I know you wouldn't believe me. Truth, I used 6, and it was perfect! I added that chopped garlic, some olive oil (about 2-3 tablespoons), salt, fresh ground pepper, and a teaspoon of Italian seasoning (hey, it's March, and I can't even see a patch of grass in my backyard, just a blanket of white... so, sadly, I'm months away from picking some fresh herbs "on the fly"). Dried will do. We also added a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes for heat!
Mix all that seasoning with the shrimp and park it on the counter for at least 15 minutes, up to 30 is fine, right there, on the counter... don't worry! Next, I washed and chopped my fresh red pepper (2) and broccoli, about 1 head, florets only (the tree-top part).
While the shrimp was marinating, I cooked some plain ol' pasta, thin spaghetti, according to the package directions. Rice would be fine too, or orzo, cous cous, or even grits! We had pasta tonight... and we loved it!
While the pasta cooked, I added about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and the chopped veggies into a medium high heat pan, a big one. Cook the veggies for about 2 minutes, stirring while they "bloom"!
Then, when veggies had just begun to cook, I spread them out to the perimeter of the pan and freed up the hot part, inside the middle of the pan, to cook my shrimp.
Cook shrimp about 2 minutes on each side, no more. Do NOT overcook the shrimp or they will be chewy and rubbery. We like super moist, tender juicy shrimp... and that's what we got! Last, when the shrimp is just barely cooked, I strained and added my pasta and tossed together.
Now, remember this trick, the reserved pasta water trick? It's perfect for this dish and here's why... All the flavor in this pasta comes from the garlic and seasoning in the shrimp marinade, and it was awesome!! But the water will help smoothen out all the flavors and prevent the pasta from sticking, clumping, or drying up. I used about half of this cup.
It's the perfect "glue" to bring this quick and easy dish together! You could also add cream, which would be delicious, but we wanted to keep this on the lighter side.
So... In walks my Joe: "Smells really good, how long?" Cue: Happy Gremlin Mom!! Quick and easy tasty shrimp and pasta... and a boy, my favorite Friday night combo!!
Hey! A bag of frozen shrimp... and fresh red peppers and broccoli... SCORE! Tonight we're having a quick stir fry with chopped fresh red peppers, broccoli, garlic, and shrimp with pasta!! So quick, super tasty and Joe's favorites... happy mom!! Here we go!
First, and the step that took the longest was thawing the frozen shrimp in cold water... about 40 minutes. Changing the water a couple of times can help speed along the thawing. Then, I shelled the shrimp, patted them dry, and marinated them in fresh garlic.
I could tell you I only used a couple of cloves... but I know you wouldn't believe me. Truth, I used 6, and it was perfect! I added that chopped garlic, some olive oil (about 2-3 tablespoons), salt, fresh ground pepper, and a teaspoon of Italian seasoning (hey, it's March, and I can't even see a patch of grass in my backyard, just a blanket of white... so, sadly, I'm months away from picking some fresh herbs "on the fly"). Dried will do. We also added a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes for heat!
Mix all that seasoning with the shrimp and park it on the counter for at least 15 minutes, up to 30 is fine, right there, on the counter... don't worry! Next, I washed and chopped my fresh red pepper (2) and broccoli, about 1 head, florets only (the tree-top part).
While the shrimp was marinating, I cooked some plain ol' pasta, thin spaghetti, according to the package directions. Rice would be fine too, or orzo, cous cous, or even grits! We had pasta tonight... and we loved it!
While the pasta cooked, I added about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and the chopped veggies into a medium high heat pan, a big one. Cook the veggies for about 2 minutes, stirring while they "bloom"!
Then, when veggies had just begun to cook, I spread them out to the perimeter of the pan and freed up the hot part, inside the middle of the pan, to cook my shrimp.
Cook shrimp about 2 minutes on each side, no more. Do NOT overcook the shrimp or they will be chewy and rubbery. We like super moist, tender juicy shrimp... and that's what we got! Last, when the shrimp is just barely cooked, I strained and added my pasta and tossed together.
Now, remember this trick, the reserved pasta water trick? It's perfect for this dish and here's why... All the flavor in this pasta comes from the garlic and seasoning in the shrimp marinade, and it was awesome!! But the water will help smoothen out all the flavors and prevent the pasta from sticking, clumping, or drying up. I used about half of this cup.
It's the perfect "glue" to bring this quick and easy dish together! You could also add cream, which would be delicious, but we wanted to keep this on the lighter side.
So... In walks my Joe: "Smells really good, how long?" Cue: Happy Gremlin Mom!! Quick and easy tasty shrimp and pasta... and a boy, my favorite Friday night combo!!
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