Speedy Shrimp Pasta in a Pan

By Victoria Abbott aka Mary Jane and Victoria Maffini

Please join us in congratulating Daryl for the release of Fudging the Books and Peg for Berried Secrets!  What a week.

And now onto our recipe and GIVEAWAY!  

We love dinners in a pan. They’re fast and fun and surprisingly tasty.  We were waiting for things to cool off before trying this one again, but then we decided what the heck. 

SPEEDY SHRIMP PASTA IN A PAN

This one is so easy and fast, especially if you have a bit of leftover pasta.  We didn’t (having used it all in salad), but face it, it takes a few minutes to cook some up.  We used linguine but have liked this with rotini or bows as well.  Just use your favorite.  While the water’s boiling, you can defrost your shrimp and slice your green onions, mince your garlic, squeeze the lemon and heat the pan. 

You will need:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons butter

2 green onions, green and white parts, sliced

Juice of one lemon

2 cloves of garlic, minced (or two tablespoons prepared – we are not above this trick)

2 tablespoons parsley, fresh or prepared

1 pound frozen peeled shrimp, thawed and patted dry

1 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Eight to ten ounces cooked pasta (more if you like more)

Grated Parmesan cheese

All you do is:

Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.  Don’t overcook as it’s heading for that pan. Drain pasta when cooked.  Someone here added a bit of butter and it wasn’t MJ.  Never mind.  You could use leftover pasta. We won't tell!

Head the oil and butter in a large frying pan.  

 Cook the green onions for three minutes over medium heat. 

 

 They will smell great!  Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.  Don’t let the garlic burn.  

Add the thawed, dried shrimp.

 Sprinkle with the teaspoon of sugar. This makes quite a difference in bringing out the flavor of the shrimp.

Cook stirring until the shrimp is pink, about three minutes. Don’t overcook! 

Add parsley and lemon and heat through, stirring,  a minute or so.

Add drained pasta to the pan and mix well.   

Heat for another minute or so and you’re done.  

 Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve with a simple salad.  

This is a easy dinner that takes only about ten minutes (not counting the pasta and depending on how fast you chop and mince).  It a regular feature on our menu

Enjoy! And use the time saved to read a good book.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

That shadowy body known as Victoria Abbott is actually artist and photographer Victoria Maffini and her mother Mary Jane.  Together they write the book collector mysteries.  They are very happy to announce that THE MARSH MADNESS, the fourth in the series, is now available for pre-order by clicking the links below or through your favorite source of books!  It's out on September 1st!

If you haven't started this series yet, we're having a draw for a REVIEW COPY of THE CHRISTIE CURSE, first in the series. If you have read it, we're also offering you a chance to review The Marsh Madness. Two chances to win.  All you have to do is leave a comment!

 Just leave a comment below and your name goes in the hat.  Don't forget to leave your email address. Be lucky!

 

 Pre-order paperback

Or  Pre-order Kindle

They'd love it if you would friend them on Facebook where there's a lot going on.
 

Friend Mary Jane

Friend Victoria Abbott

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http://www.pinterest.com/jbinghamkelly/

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Cooking for One

Did you see Camille Minichino's guest blog on October 13th? Absolutely hilarious!  Camille's blog made me think about how differently we cook when we're only cooking for one. Do any of you prepare a proper well-balanced meal when you're by yourself? A carb, meat, veggies, fruit? Sometimes I just nosh, which is far worse calorie-wise, I'm sure. A few olives, some cheese and bread, an apple, a leftover chicken leg. But you know what almost always falls by the wayside for me -- veggies!

I like vegetables, but unless I'm having a salad, which, let's face it, is often the same ingredients as my noshing, except with lettuce and dressing added, I'm less inclined to bother with potatoes, carrots, broccoli or greens when it's just me. Bad, bad Krista.

But that reminded me that I bought Lacinato kale, and I really should cook it. In addition, I saw a fabulous photo of mustard greens with white beans in a magazine. Mustard greens -- eh. But kale and beans might make a tasty one skillet dinner. This dish takes the flavor from the garlic and the sausage. Here's what I did.

What do you make when you're only cooking dinner for yourself?

Skillet Kale and Beans with Sausage

1 to 2 servings of sausage (breakfast sausage, chorizo, whatever you like)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 bunch of Lacinato kale
1/2 can white beans
salt and pepper

Prepare the sausage according to directions, or saute briefly in  olive oil.

 

Remove sausage, lower the heat and add minced garlic and red pepper.

 

While they cook, wash the kale, cut out any tough stems and chop in 1-2 inch pieces. Add the kale to the pan and cook until wilted.

Add the beans to warm them, salt and pepper to taste and stir.