LIGHTEN UP SHRIMP SCAMPI PASTA WITH SPINACH

Another Game has come and gone.  After all the hoopla and anticipation, it’s over.  There was tackling, there were touch downs, we watched the cheerleaders doin’ their thang.  The Game was loaded with furry frolics; it was mutt madness, and oh so adorable.  Why yes, I watched Puppy Bowl IX!  Does Super Bowl have hedgehog cheer leaders?  Do hamsters operate the Super Bowl Blimp camera?  Does Super Bowl have a “Cute Cam”?  I think I’ve made my case.

Do you say it shrimp or sssrimp?  I say shrimp.  My mother in law, Miss Millie, says sssrimp; she’s a Southern girl, I’m not sure if that has something to do with her pronunciation.  No matter how you say it though, shrimp is just sweet and briny goodness.

I had intended on making a shrimp scampi pasta, but I started to feel guilty about all the butter and olive oil that would be consumed.  If I were feeling guilty before I even ate the pasta, how would I feel after eating it?  I decided that I had to lighten it up, cuz I did not want to feel guilty!

 

The light version of Shrimp Scampi pasta has spinach for some good nutrition, I also use some white wine and pasta water to create the sauce, so that I could use less butter and oil and still have a gosh, darned tasty dish!

So go ahead and eat a heaping bowl of Lighten Up Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Spinach, you’ll be glad you did!

Did I mention that the longest part of this recipe is waiting for the pasta to boil?  This dish takes no time at all to whip up. 

Here’s what you do.

Get the aromatics together.  Shallots, garlic, flat leaf parsley and lemon.

Give the baby spinach a rough chop.

Peel and devein the shrimp.  Unless you were smart enough to buy your shrimp already peel and deveined!  Season the shrimp with a little salt and pepper.

The shrimp will cook in about the time it takes for the pasta to cook.  Cook the pasta to just a little under al dente, about 2 or 3 minutes less than the package directions tell you.

Heat a little olive oil and cook the shrimp in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.  Cook the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes on this side.

When the shrimp have turned pink on the under side, turn them over and add the shallots and the garlic.  I decided to add some crushed red chili pepper after the fact, but this would be a good time to add them.  Cook for about another 2 minutes.

Add some white wine, and allow the wine to reduce by half.

When the wine has reduced add the spinach.  I like to season the spinach with a little salt and pepper at this point.

When the spinach is mostly wilted, stir in a pat of butter.

Drain the cooked pasta, but reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water.

Add the cooked pasta along with the parsley and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water.

When the pasta is perfectly cooked squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the pasta.  Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

This is how much sauce I like.  If you like more, add the remaining reserved pasta water a little at a time.  I was keeping this dish light, but you can add more butter if you like.

Serve Lighten Up Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Spinach with a lemon wedge and some grated Parmesan cheese.

LIGHTEN UP SHRIMP SCAMPI PASTA WITH SPINACH

 Serves 4

¾             box        Pasta, such as Spaghetti, Angel Hair, linguini; a box is one pound

1 ¼           lbs.        Medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

                            Salt and pepper
3              Tbsp.      Extra virgin olive oil

1                           Shallot, minced

3 to 5        cloves    Garlic, minced

                Pinch     Crushed red chili pepper

1-6           oz. bag    Spinach, roughly chopped

3/4           cup        White wine

1 1/2         cups      Reserved pasta water

1              Tbsp.      Butter

2              Tbsp.      Flat leaf parsley, chopped

1                           Lemon, cut half of the lemon into 4 wedges for garnish, use the juice from the other half in the pasta.

  1.       Cook the pasta in salted boiling water to just under al dente; this will be 2 to 3 minutes less than what the pasta package directions say (it will cook further in the sauce).  Drain the cooked pasta, but reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

  2.       Meanwhile; season the shrimp with salt and pepper.

  3.       Heat the olive oil in a large skillet between medium and medium high heat.

  4.       Add the shrimp to the hot pan.

  5.       When the underside of the shrimp has changed color, about 2 to 3 minutes; turn them over.

  6.       Add the shallots, garlic, and crushed chili peppers to the shrimp.  Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring to keep the garlic from burning.

  7.       Toss in the spinach; season the spinach with a pinch of salt and pepper.

  8.       When the spinach had barely wilted, add the white wine and allow the wine to reduce by half.

  9.       When the wine has reduced, stir in the butter, and add the cooked pasta along with about 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water.  Toss and cook until the pasta is completely cooked.  If the pasta is too dry, add a little of the remaining pasta water at a time; until you have the amount of liquid you like.

  10.   Add the chopped parsley, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the pasta, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

  11.   Cut the other half of the lemon into wedges, and garnish the pasta with the lemon wedges.

  12.   If desired, serve the pasta with grated parmesan cheese.

PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA CAKE with PEANUT BUTTER & HONEY FROSTING

It’s peanut butter, banana, time; peanut butter, banana, time!  
 

Alright, so I might have got the song wrong, but I didn’t get the cake wrong!

Billy gets a lot of credit for this cake.  I asked him, peanut butter in the banana cake, or just peanut butter on the banana cake.  He said in; and then I decided in and on, cuz can there ever be too much peanut butter?  I think not!  

So if Peanut Butter & Banana Cake with Peanut Butter & Honey Frosting is what happens when Billy and I put our heads together, what other craziness goes on in our minds?  Ya really don’t wanna know; it’s better to stay out of our heads.  Just be comforted by this practically perfect meeting of our minds that created all this peanut butter perfection!

The cake is light and moist from the peanut butter and bananas; and frosting is not overly sweet, so you can eat a big ol’ piece!

 Here's what you do.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish.

Add 2 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a medium bowl.  Give it a whisk to combine the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl cream together the 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar; using a hand held mixer.

Mix in the mashed a cup of mashed bananas.

Then add the 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla, mix well.

Add the dry ingredients and pour the 3/4 cup buttermilk over the top of the flour.  Mix only just until the ingredients are incorporated.  I didn't have buttermilk on hand; so I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar to 3/4 cup of milk and allowed it to sit for 5 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes; until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool completely.

To make the Peanut Butter and Honey Frosting; cream 2 Tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup peanut butter and 6 Tablespoons honey together.

A hand held mixer is easier to use, but I feel like I'm burning off calories when I use a whisk.

Beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1 Tablespoon of milk, until smooth.

Dump all of the frosting on to the completely cooled cake.  An off set spatula works best to spread the frosting.

Spread the frosting evenly over the cake, all the way to the edges...

Then take a big ol' bite!

PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA CAKE with PEANUT BUTTER & HONEY FROSTING

Makes a 9 x 13 x 2 inch cake

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA CAKE

                             Butter and flour for greasing the pan

2 ¼          cup         All-purpose flour

½             tsp.        Baking powder

1              tsp.        Baking soda

½             tsp.        Salt

½             cup        Butter, softened at room temperature

½             cup        Creamy peanut butter

1 ½          cups        Sugar

1              cup         Mashed ripe bananas, about 3 bananas

¾             cup         Buttermilk

2                           eggs

1               tsp.        Vanilla extract

                             Peanut Butter & Honey Frosting (recipe follows)

  1.       Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

  2.       Grease and flour a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish.

  3.       In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set the dry ingredients to the side.

  4.       In a large bowl cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  A hand held mixer is good for this.

  5.       Mix in the mashed bananas.

  6.       Add in the eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.

  7.       Add all of the dry ingredients and the buttermilk at once.  Mix just until combined.

  8.       Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

  9.       Allow the cake to cool completely then frost with the Peanut Butter & Honey Frosting.

*Note, if you do not have buttermilk, combine ¾ cup of milk with 1 ½ teaspoons of white vinegar and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER & HONEY FROSTING

2              Tbsp.     Butter, softened at room temperature

1/3           cup       Creamy peanut butter

6              Tbsp.     Honey

1 ½          cups      Powdered sugar

1              Tbsp.     Milk

1.        In a medium bowl cream together the butter, peanut butter, and the honey, with a hand held mixer.

2.       Add the powdered sugar and milk.  Mix until well combined.

*Note, because of the honey, the frosting will not be fluffy; it’s more like a thick glaze.

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