Shrimp Scampi

I feel like shrimp is a great addition to summertime dishes. Sure, you can have it any time during the year, but for some reason it feels like summer to me. In a recent blog post I mentioned I had a fantastic Greek salad with grilled shrimp on a patio in Old Town Alexandria - to me, that is SO summer.

I have also been really diggin shrimp cocktail at the house. We don't really have time to do happy hour or apps out at restaurants these days, so we often make a few apps or have wine and cheese, or recently, wine and shrimp cocktail. Well, we happened to have a shrimp cocktail in the fridge and rather than having that as an app when Jim gets home from work, I decided to whip up a quick and easy dinner. Sometimes I am intimidated to cook seafood - so how simple is this shrimp scampi idea? There is a paleo shrimp scampi idea under my recipe tab, so if you are in the mood for shrimp - both are great options.

I took out all my ingredients, and then immediately started boiling some water. I knew the boys were going to be up any minute from their nap, so I tried to work quickly. ;)

As the water was boiling, I heated up some extra virgin olive oil and threw in some red onion and some minced garlic. As soon as that was done, I poured in some chardonnay from one of our favorite Napa vineyards, "William Hill". My motto is - if you won't drink it, then don't cook with it. Use wine that you actually like - better ingredients make for better dishes. 

After the onions and garlic softened for about five minutes, I added the wine, and also some lemon juice and a touch more EVOO. I let the wine reduce a bit and then added my whole wheat pasta to my "sauce". All of that took maybe 6-8 minutes. I stirred it a few times, sliced up a few lemons and squeezed it over the pasta. I also added some salt, pepper and garlic salt at this point.

Then I added a bit of crushed red pepper...

And I sliced up a few cherry tomatoes for not only color, but also a fresh burst of flavor. Tomatoes also feel like summer to me. I enjoy some scampi dishes that add tomatoes...but if you don't like them, then skip them.

I then popped off the tails of the shrimp and tossed them in! Stirred it a few times with the burner on real low. You don't want to overcook the shrimp. If you overcook it, it becomes rubbery and rather unappealing.

I added a few more lemon slices and some parmesan cheese for a garnish...and all done! This dish seriously took less than 12 minutes to prep and cook. So simple.

All the more time for some cuddlin' with my babies!!! They were so patient while I was cooking. Yes, they both woke up in the 12 minutes it took to cook it, haha. So we are now hanging out in the living room and they are brainstorming some blogging ideas for Momma! :)

Til next time!

xo,

Shaz