For dinner I made a buttery garlic shrimp pasta. I have to admit I have been wanting pasta lately and my little one really enjoys it. It’s also an excuse to make it more often. First of all it’s easy, quick and very filling. Pasta is definitely a dish for those busy school nights. On top of that, the shrimp cooks in just about the same time your pasta cooks! I made this dish with the thought I could make it for Christmas Eve or Christmas. Pasta and seafood are dishes I lean towards for the holidays. Maybe because they are comforting dishes. Garlic Shrimp Pasta is easy but can be made as fancy as you want!

Now I must say, the calories can really pack on but recently I read there are benefits to eating pasta! I was super surprised to read this for sure. Eating pasta is linked to better dieting habits. Check out the article HERE. To make this pasta dish “healthier” I used 4 tbsp of unsalted butter, in total. 2 tbsp to cook the shrimp and 2 tbsp for the pasta. It was super delicious without the extra calories. 1 tbsp of butter alone has 102 calories! Which is why you always notice the calorie intake on restaurant menus!

Add Some Greens

Pasta is delicious, practically anyway you make it and serve it, but adding some greens is more nutritious and it looks prettier on the plate! After cooking the shrimp, I sautéed spinach and cilantro for a few minutes. I served the pasta with the greens on top and some shrimp.

Cheese

Traditionally cheese was not a thing with pasta but over MANY YEARS it has become okay to add cheese to pasta. I am a cheese lover and personally, I NEED cheese on my pasta. Watching the Food Network Channel over the years I have learned a few things. A great tip is to add the cheese to pasta before adding any sauce. It will adhere to the pasta this way. I have found that to be true. If I add the sauce first and then the cheese, the cheese slides right of the sauce. It slides right down lol

I suggest using fresh parmesan cheese instead of the parmesan cheese sold in the inner aisles at the grocery store. It has been years since I stopped purchasing the “parmesan sprinkle cheese.” It contains wood pulp, along with other ingredients. Most of these cheese bottles are not 100% parmesan. They contain other cheaper cheese. The real stuff tastes incredible and it does last! I use parmesan frequently and I don’t have to bother buying it so often!

Holidays

Lastly, I may make something similar for the December holidays but a more elevated dish. Who know what I will come up with! Something simple for Christmas Eve and something fancier for Christmas. I want to enjoy the holiday and not be in the kitchen all day!

Buttery Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Recipe by Azilde ElizabethCourse: Lunch/DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• For the Shrimp

• 1 lb of shrimp

• 8 oz of spinach

• 1 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped (loosely packed)

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/4 tsp of garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp of onion powder

• 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes

• Salt

• Pepper

• For the Pasta

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning

• 1 lemon

• 1 cup of fresh parmesan, shredded

• 6-8 oz of angel pasta

Directions

• Remove shrimp tails and pat shrimp dry. Season with salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes. (Reserve Italian seasoning for pasta)
• Boil pasta for about 7 minutes. Angel hair cooks fast! I used about 6oz. 8oz of pasta works if you are feeding 4 adults. While the pasta cooks, start cooking the shrimp.
• In a non-stick pan, on MED HIGH, add 2 tbsp of butter. Add the garlic and stir. Cook for 30 seconds and the shrimp. Cook about 4 minutes per side or until golden brown.
• Remove shrimp from pan and cook the spinach and cilantro in the same pan, until it becomes wilted. Just a few minutes. No season required, as the pan is already buttered and seasonings are still in the pan from the shrimp. Remove from pan.
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain water and add 3/4 of the parmesan cheese. Reserve the rest for serving. Stir the cheese and pasta, add the Italian seasoning and 2 tbsp of butter. Squeeze half the lemon in the pasta and stir.
• Serve pasta, with spinach and cilantro mix. Top with a few shrimps, sprinkle some parmesan cheese and squeeze some lemon.

Notes

• Cheese sticks easily to pasta if you add before adding pasta sauce; in this case we used butter as our sauce.

What are some of your favorite holiday meals?