I figured while I have a few minutes to sit down at the computer I’d post about my dinner a couple nights ago… an insanely easy shrimp dinner… A tip on shrimp, buy the big guys and pay the extra couple dollars and get the ones that are already peeled and deveined, this makes life a little easier!! For this meal I picked up U12 shrimp meaning there are approximately 12 shrimp in a pound.

As soon as I got home from the oh so wonderful Top Tomato I prepped those shrimp. I always give them a quick rinse and then pat them dry first. Ok so we’ve got our beautiful huge, clean shrimp… get ready for this… toss into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a good amount of your favorite garlic and herb seasoning (my favorite is Tastefully Simples’ Garlic Garlic), toss to coat, cover with plastic wrap and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours. If you love lemon on shrimp as do I, do not add until after they are cooked… the acid will “cook” the shrimp if left on as a marinade. Approximately 20 minutes before you plan on cooking them, remove them from the fridge. This will allow you to get the chill out so they don’t bring down the temperature of the pan affecting the cooking process.

OK, time to cook! Shrimp cook incredibly fast so don’t plan on throwing them in a pan and stepping away. For shrimp I LOVE using my little cast iron skillet. I heat it over medium heat (cast iron gets hot!) and once its hot I use a drizzle of olive oil and a dab of butter in the pan. The butter is for delicious goodness and the olive oil is to bring up the burning temperature. Do not overcrowd the skillet! I have a small skillet so only put in 4 shrimp at a time. Figure about 2 mints per side. If the pan is the right temperature the shrimp should brown slightly on easy side. The shrimp are cooked through when they turn a beautiful pink and the tails curl in. Cook off the rest of your shrimp. Once they are all cooked, plate them up, squirt some lemon juice and sprinkle fresh chopped parsley. Shrimp do not need to be eaten hot, room temp works fine too! Serve over a yummy mound of rice cooked in vegetable broth and the vegetable of your choice.