Garlic Shrimp Pasta

I wanted to make something simple, yet delicious for Valentine's Day.  This garlic shrimp pasta meal was a success.  As mentioned before, I am not a huge fan of pasta with marinara.  However, pasta tossed with olive oil will make me happy on any day.


This entire meal took about 20 minutes to make from start to finish.  Most of the time was spent waiting for the water to boil for the pasta.  Had I been feeling incredibly domestic, I would have prepared my own garlic bread.  However, I chose to use my favorite frozen garlic bread and it worked out just fine.

The original recipe (reflected below) called for green peas and mushrooms.  I omitted these ingredients from my preparation because I did not want to watch Ron pick them out individually.  Instead, I cooked up an individual serving of green beans for myself and mixed green beans in my pasta.  It was great.  This meal is so quick and easy to prepare.  It was delicious and I highly recommend serving with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio!  (I had 3 sips and had a headache.  Wow, can you tell my tolerance is non-existent?) 

For dessert, we had some cupcakes.  They were guilt-free cupcakes and absolutely fabulous!  Ron didn't even balk when I told him the nutritional content.  I will post the recipe tomorrow :) 

Garlic Shrimp Pasta
adapted from My Baking Addiction
Yield:  3-4 servings
Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
• 3/4 pound linguine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 lemon, zest grated
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• the fresh lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/3 cup peas
• 1/4 cup canned mushrooms 
• Original recipe reflected that sauteed would taste good.  Agreed!
• 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
2. Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. 
3. Add the garlic; Saute for 1 minute.  
4. Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. 
5. Add wine and cook for about 30 seconds. 
6. Remove from the heat; add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, peas, mushrooms and red pepper flakes.
7. Toss to combine.
8. When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot.
9. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve!