Easy Shrimp Pasta

Easy Shrimp Pasta

Adapted from: http://www.cooks.com/recipe/n35mm3bs/quick-easy-shrimp-scampi.html

Don’t try to cook when you are hungry and tired. At least, that is a caveat I should observe.

I had had a long day. It was 7:30 at night and I was hungry and tired. I thought about making chicken salad tacos again, but I had had them for lunch.

So, I thought about what I had on hand: frozen vegetables, tortillas, a bit of onion, pasta, rice, cream cheese, black olives, raisins, canned soup, milk, fruit juice, and crackers. Hmmmm, Aha, I had frozen shrimp and I had been dying to try some shrimp recipes.

My GoTo recipe website is “Simply Recipes” (http://www.simplyrecipes.com/). I dream someday I will be able to cook like Elise but that’s probably a fantasy, not gonna happen.

But, it is soothing to read her recipes, she makes you feel like “You Can Do It!” I already knew I probably did not have all the ingredients or skill to handle most of the recipes but I saved a few for future experiments.

Then, I went to “Cooks.com" (http://www.cooks.com/), where I knew I would probably find a few easy recipes. I found one, “Quick and Easy Shrimp Scampi.” Oh my, what is scampi?

I started with a pot of water and a package of spaghetti. While I appreciate all those various types of pasta, spaghetti works for me for most pasta recipes.

As the water was heating up, I struggled to skin a garlic clove. After finally getting the skin off, I chopped the clove into small pieces and added them to a small skillet sitting on the counter.

Then, I added a little olive oil, a dab of butter, a palmfull of crushed parsley, black pepper and 2 grains of rock salt to the skillet.

I kept reading the recipe, then did a few exercises while waiting for the water to boil. I knew if I left the kitchen a disaster was predictable.

Ok, water is boiling, add pasta, a dab of olive oil and wait until it is done. I have a two burner hot plate but only use one for cooking, the other holds a stack of pots, pans and lids, like the Tower of Pisa, better not to touch.

When I tested a strand of spaghetti, it was not done. I wondered just how chewy could I tolerate in order to finish this dish quickly?

A few more exercises, then I poured a bit of Blanco POX into a sherry glass. POX is a Mayan alcoholic beverage made from corn. I had bought two types, one was vanilla flavored with the alcohol percentage similar to Sherry, it is smooth and tasty. The other was Blanco, original unflavored, it has the alcohol percentage of hard liquor. One sip and “Fire Water” came to mind.

As a side note, I should not be drinking alcohol but I occasionally fall for the romance of liquor. Add in a little history and mystery and POX is a very romantic beverage.

( http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2017/07/pox-a-mayan-elixir-that-embraces-the-soul-and-caresses-the-heart/)

I tested the pasta again, almost done. I removed the pot from the burner and set it aside. With the skillet on the burner, now, I began to heat up the garlic and spices.

Gosh, I have to thaw the frozen shrimp. I knew there was a way but I just put about 20 small shelled shrimp in a glass bowl and microwaved them for a minute. It worked.

Now, I added the drained shrimp to the oil and spice mixture. Then, I got the idea, add some of those black olives. I got the container out of the frig, darn, they were whole olives, but pitted. So, I just spooned a few into the skillet without slicing them. I let the mixture cook for about a minute more.

After draining the pasta, I forked a serving onto a plate and topped it with the cooked shrimp mixture and sprinkled the whole thing with a bit of Parmesan cheese.

While the mixture was tasty, the shrimp got lost in the pasta. I couldn’t finish the POX, so I poured it over the remaining pasta and stored the leftovers in the frig. Will see later if the POX has any effect when I use the pasta later.

Gosh, according to Merriam-Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scampi) Scampi means large shrimp prepared with a garlic-flavored sauce. So, I am calling my recipe, Easy Shrimp Pasta since my shrimp were not large, not tiny, not medium but small.

Ingredients:

20 small shelled frozen shrimp, thawed

1 package of spaghetti

Water to fill a pot 2/3rds full

2 dabs of olive oil

1 dab of butter

1 garlic clove, skinned and chopped

1 small palmfull of parsley, crush when adding to skillet

ground black pepper

salt to taste 

Optional: black olives, preferably sliced

Topping: Parmesan Cheese

Process:

Thaw shrimp in microwaveable bowl for one minute, set aside.

Add enough water to a pot to cook spaghetti, usually about 2/3rds full.

Once water is boiling, add spaghetti and a dab of olive oil.

Cook spaghetti about 8-10 minutes until spaghetti strands are tender and easy to chew.

In a skillet, add a dab of olive oil, chopped garlic, butter, parsley, and ground black pepper and salt to taste.

Drain the shrimp and add to mixture.

Optional: add olive slices.

Heat mixture on medium.

Stir mixture thoroughly.

Cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Fork a serving of pasta on a plate.

Pour skillet mixture over pasta.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.