The past few weeks, I’ve been frantically searching for some quick, easy, and most of all healthy recipes to get me through the weeknight dinners. No longer would I accept another day of coming home and throwing a frozen pizza in the oven. I thumbed through my enormous recipe collection until I came upon a Spicy Garlic Shrimp recipe in an old Men’s Health magazine. The recipe required very few ingredients, most of which were common, so no last minute trip the grocery store. The preparation time and cooking time very quick which allotted more time to sit down and relax with the family!
The recipe required a 1/4 cup of olive oil, however since the family and I are attempting to eat healthier, I chose to reduce the oil to 1/8 cup. I also decided that 4 cloves of garlic may or may not be going overboard (depends on how much you like garlic) I went for 3 cloves, but honestly anywhere from 2-4 cloves should be plenty. It all comes down to personal preferences, that’s the beauty of cooking, you can always change up a recipe to accommodate the people enjoying the food. Partway through cooking I came upon a realization; I had no side dish. The shrimp cooks fast and had to throw together a quick side. I grabbed a package of Al Dente Fettuccine (common pantry item in our household), butter infused olive oil, and a handful of fresh chopped parsley. The fettuccine was a great match to go with the Spicy Garlic Shrimp and turned the meal into an excellent, easy and fun pasta dish!
My husband and I are big time wine drinkers and absolutely love figuring out great food and wine pairings! For this meal we decided to go with a Spring Mountain Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc – A white wine with a medium level of acidity. The crisp and a light flavor of this Sauvignon Blanc goes hand and hand with the bold flavor of the garlic. The wine was refreshing and really rounded out the entire meal.
Rating: Excellent! Was easy to make, required very little time, and served a family of 4 perfectly.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes
Spicy Garlic Shrimp
1/8 cup of olive oil (original 1/4 cup)
1tablespoon red pepper flakes
2-3 cloves garlic (original 4). Thinly sliced.
1lb of shrimp, peeled
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper
Heat oil in a sauté pan just below smoking temp. Add garlic and pepper flakes. As the garlic begins to brown add the shrimp. (I was distracted and over cooked the garlic slightly). Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute add parsley and sauté another min. Remove from heat.
Parsley Fettuccine
1/2 package of Al Dente Rainbow Fettuccine (cook as directed)
1-2 tablespoons of Butter Infused Olive Oil
Handful of chopped parsley
Cook pasta as directed. Drain and put back in pot. Add olive oil and parsley, heat.
Serve shrimp on top of pasta.
- ⅛ cup of olive oil (original ¼ cup)
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 2-3 cloves garlic (original 4). Thinly sliced.
- 1lb of shrimp, peeled
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Salt and Pepper
- ½ package of Al Dente Rainbow Fettuccine
- 1-2 tablespoons of Butter Infused Olive Oil
- Handful of chopped parsley
- Heat oil in a sauté pan just below smoking temp. Add garlic and pepper flakes. As the garlic begins to brown add the shrimp. (I was distracted and over cooked the garlic slightly). Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute add parsley and sauté another min. Remove from heat.Cook pasta as directed. Drain and put back in pot. Add olive oil and parsley, heat.
- Serve shrimp on top of pasta.