Quick, Make Me a Meal

Monday night dinners now present a challenge for me as my daughter has a Monday evening class and my husband has meetings sometimes on Mondays and once a month I have a meeting on Mondays. Confused? That's okay: I am too.

So, anyway, this evening my daughter called to say that, because of a power outage, football practice was cut short - and can I make something quick for dinner? Why, yes I can. And without a seasoning packet in sight. Don't believe me? Just watch:

I have some frozen shrimp (shell-on, but that is easily remedied), black pepper, salt (well, what do you know, I opted to not use this - but then again, I dislike salty foods), red pepper flakes, pinot grigio wine, unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice, garlic and flat-leaf parsley.

If your shrimp is frozen, place it in a bowl and add cold water. In just a few minutes the shrimp will begin to safely thaw. Now you can also easily peel the shrimp.

I have fettucini cooking in the pot in the back while 2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil, 4 tbs. butter, 1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper, and 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes heat in a pan on the front burner.

After chopping 2 cloves of garlic and adding that to the pot, I added the shelled shrimp and the juice from half a lemon (about 2 tbs.) to the pan.

Kelley is a big fan of her "aunt" Rosie Hawthorne and her awesome photography skills.

My dear daughter worked hard to get a good picture of me adding shrimp to the pan.

Working quickly, I added a splash of white wine and the cooked fettucini to the mix. Just before serving, the chopped flat-leaf parsley is sprinkled on top.

Our family prefers to add grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese on top of our shrimp scampi pasta. Kelley came home in time to put together a quick salad to accompany this very simple and very quick dinner. And all with nary a seasoning packet in sight.