Pantry Shrimp Pasta

So, first let me vent a bit... I do not have a final presentation picture for this dish and I am beyond frustrated about it!  I actually made it for dinner tonight.  Because it was late and I was being lazy, I took the picture with my iphone instead of my camera.  Later, I went to back up my phone to my computer and hit the restore button; which caused me to lose all my recent photos. Ughh! Fortunately, my husband took a picture while I was cooking so at least there's something... But the plating on the final dish was oh so pretty! :( 
(If any of you know a trick to get the pictures back let me know!)

Ok, so on to the meal...

It is always crazy in our household.  My children are 5 and 2 and are systematically trying to sabotage my quest to actually be a "put-together" mommy.  My husband is a workaholic and a bikeaholic.  The combination of all these things makes for a lot of last minute menu planning.  Thanks to my home away from home, Trader Joe's, I almost always have a bag of frozen shrimp on hand.  Shrimp is the easiest and fastest thing to prepare when you are short on time; or short on patience.  It cooks through in minutes and somehow makes you feel a bit more sophisticated than if you were eating chicken; Again.


I like to call this dish Pantry Shrimp Pasta because everything you need is likely on hand in your pantry.  If they are not, perhaps you should consider stocking your pantry with the basics.  :)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup of olive oil (approximately, I never measure olive oil...)
3 tablespoons of butter
juice of 1 lemon or about 1/4 cup of lemon juice 
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced 
1 full handful of fresh parsley finely chopped (you can substitute dried if you must)
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1 16 oz bag of thawed uncooked jumbo shrimp
1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
salt to taste

8-10 ounces long pasta (I like linguine or angel hair)

In a deep saute pan heat olive and butter over medium high heat until butter is melted.  Add lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and bread crumbs.  Cook a few minutes until garlic and bread crumbs start to turn golden in color.  Add shrimp and cook until cooked through and opaque in color.  Season with desired amount of salt and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.  Add drained pasta to skillet and stir. (The bread crumbs help to coat the pasta and thicken the dish in absence of a cheese. )  Dish up and eat!

Enjoy!