Honey Grilled Shrimp

Before I even start, I need to tell you something... this was the best shrimp I think I've ever had in my life. Not joking. The flavors were SO great, I could have eaten 50 of these things. So if you like shrimp, you absolutely need to make these. YUM! (Found on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients (makes 3 servings)

FOR MARINADE

* 1/2 tsp garlic powder
* 1/4 tbsp ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce (I didn't have any so I used soy sauce.. delicious!)
* 2 tbsp dry white wine
* 2 tbsp Italian-style salad dressing

FOR BASTING SAUCE

* 1/4 cup honey
* 1/4 cup butter, melted
* 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I omitted from basting sauce)

* 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails attached (I took tails off)
* Skewers

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together garlic powder, black pepper, 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce, wine, and salad dressing; add shrimp, and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill for high heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.
3. In a small bowl, stir together honey, melted butter, and remaining 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Set aside for basting.
4. Lightly oil grill grate. Grill shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque. Baste occasionally with the honey-butter sauce while grilling.

Shrimp Alfredo

Yep, another pasta recipe! This was really tasty :)

Ingredients

* Large shrimp, as many as you'd like (I used about 10 for myself because Keith doesn't really like shrimp. Mine were pre-cooked.)

* Appx 8 oz uncooked pasta (I used a tri-color "Creste di Gallo")

* Fresh basil, chopped

* Appx 6 cloves garlic, minced

* Bacon crumbles

* Red pepper flakes, to taste

* Appx 8 oz jarred alfredo sauce

* EVOO

Directions

1. Begin boiling pasta and cook until al dente.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat some EVOO in a large frying pan. Add your garlic and then basil to saute, then the shrimp for a few minutes until just heated through (since mine was pre-cooked).

3. When pasta is done, drain and return to pot. Keep stove on low. Add your shrimp/garlic/basil mixture to pasta. Add alfredo sauce, bacon crumbles, and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together. Enjoy. (I chose to leave my tails on my shrimp and then just cut them off as I ate, but it's probably better to cut them off to begin with if your shrimp aren't already de-tailed.)

PW's Penne a la Betsy

After hearing so many great things about this dish, I decided that I needed to make it asap. OMG. Go make this now. Seriously. This is probably one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had in my life. And that's a HUGE compliment coming from me, the girl who could eat pasta for every meal. MMMMMMMM.

A HUGE thanks to Pioneer Woman for this recipe!

Ingredients

* 1 lb shrimp

* 3/4 lb penne pasta (I used Mezze Penne)

* Butter

* Olive oil

* 1 small onion

* 2 cloves garlic

* 1/2 cup white wine

* 8 oz tomato sauce

* 1 cup heavy cream

* Fresh parsley

* Fresh basil

* Salt & pepper

Directions

1. Cook the penne pasta until al dente.

2. Peel, devein, and rinse 1 lb of extra large shrimp (I used large). Heat about 1 tbsp butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook! Remove shrimp to a plate and let cool.

3. Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves garlic.

4. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute, stirring occasionally. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board, pull off the tails, and chop shrimp into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

5. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit, add the white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Add 8 oz plain tomato sauce and stir until well combined. Add 1 cup heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer while you chop your herbs (about 1 tbsp parsley and 1 tbsp basil).

7. Add your the chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Stir and add salt/pepper. Add herbs and stir until well combined.

8. Add pasta and stir everything together.

9. DEVOUR!

Spicy Orange Shrimp and Asparagus

I found this recipe on Thyme for Nourishment, who spun off a Pioneer Woman recipe. This had a different flavor, but was really good! I love finding new ways to incorporate shrimp in our dinners. It's such a nice change from our typical chicken dinner :)

Ingredients

* 1 lb shrimp (we used 31-40 count)

* 1 lb asparagus cut into 1" pieces

* 6 tbsp butter

* 6 cloves of garlic (we used minced)

* 1 1/2 cups orange juice

* 2 tsp Old Bay (we didn't have any so we used Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy)

* 1 tsp cayenne pepper (we used more.. we like it hot!)

Directions

1. Mix the orange juice, garlic, cayenne, and Old Bay together and set aside.
2. In a large saute pan melt 2 tbsps of butter and saute the asparagus for 3-4 mins. Add the shrimp and cook till done.

3. Remove the shrimp and asparagus from the saute pan.

4. Add the orange juice mixture to the pan and allow it to reduce by half, then add the remaining 4 tbsps of butter and continue cooking untill the sauce becomes thick enough to coat and stick to the shrimp and asparagus.

5. When the sauce has reached a consistency that you like return the shrimp and asparagus to the pan and mix well. Serve over rice.

Creamy Cajun Shrimp Linguine

I got this recipe from Colleen's blog (Cooking This and That). This was sooo sooo sooo good. One of the best pastas I've ever had. Seriously. My husband and I like things really spicy, so we kicked up the cajun seasoning and added some cayenne pepper in there. Yum! Here is Colleen's recipe, adapted from Cooking Light. (Makes 4 servings).

Ingredients

* 8 ounces uncooked linguine (I used whole wheat)
* 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* Appx 6 slices bacon or turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
* 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
* 8 oz package presliced mushrooms (I omitted.. ew, mushrooms)
* 7 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced or 1 large red pepper, chopped
* 2 tsp all-purpose flour
* 1 tsp cajun seasoning (I used a lot more b/c we like things very spicy)
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 2/3 cup half-and-half
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* Addition: cayenne pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring medium pot of water to boil. Add linguine and cook 5-8 minutes. Add shrimp to pot and cook 3-5 more minutes. Drain and keep warm.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Add roasted red peppers and mushrooms; saute 4 minutes or until moisture evaporates.
3. Add flour, seasoning (& cayenne pepper if using), and salt to pan; saute 30 seconds. Stir in half-and-half; cook one minute or more until sauce thickens, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from heat. Add pasta mixture, bacon, and parsley to pan; stirring to combine.

Since Keith doesn't like shrimp very much, I gave him a plateful of the pasta without any shrimp and he added chicken into it, which was very good as well.

Healthy Shrimp Scampi

This was really really really good! I made it just for myself since Keith isn't a huge shrimp fan, but it was well worth the effort. This is really simple to make and tastes soo good! I found this recipe on Stephanie's Macaroni and Cheesecake blog, who originally found it in the Eating for Life Cookbook. (Recipe below serves 2).

Ingredients

* 4 oz uncooked whole wheat penne pasta
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
* 3 tbsp Butter Buds, divided (in the spice aisle)
* 3 tbsp white wine (or chicken stock - which I used)
* 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
* Lemon to squeeze (I used lemon juice)
* Parmesan cheese & parsley for topping

Directions

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil & garlic in large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add shrimp to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently until it's almost pink, about 2 minutes.
4. Add 1 tbsp of Butter Buds & and all the chicken broth to the shrimp. Saute about 2 more minutes, until shrimp is cooked through.
5. Drain pasta. Add pepper and remaining butter buds, and mix gently.
6. Add shrimp to pasta and toss gently.
7. Spoon onto plates and top with squeeze of lemon, parmesan cheese, & parsley.

Shelly's Crunchy Shrimp

Well this was my first time ever having shrimp at home... I just recently started ordering it more and more at restaurants, mostly in pasta, but have always loved it breaded as well. This was probably one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. No joke. Shelly, this was AMAZING! (Huge thanks to Shelly @ LovesToNom!) She linked me to this recipe at work this afternoon and I ran out to the grocery store at lunch to get some panko bread crumbs so that I could make it for dinner tonight :)

Serves 2.

Ingredients

* Appx 2 dozen medium size shrimp that come in the frozen bag (I bought a big bag of tails off @ Sam's Club)

* 3 tbsp flour

* 3 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like spicy!)

* 2 tsp black pepper

* 3 tsp garlic salt

* 2 eggs

* Panko bread crumbs

* Vegetable oil

Directions

1. Set out 2 paper plates and 1 small bowl. On the first plate mix the flour, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic salt. In the bowl, beat 2 eggs. On the second plate, dump some Panko bread crumbs.

2. Heat up some vegetable oil in a large skillet (not olive oil). Pour just enough oil so it thinly covers the entire bottom of the pan.

3. Take a shrimp, dunk it in the flour mixture, then the egg, then the panko. Carefully put it in the skillet. Repeat as necessary.

4. Fry each side about 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

5. Shelly says you don't need dipping sauce, but I picked up some of this lemon dill sauce and it was so delicious on the shrimp!