Before I take a trip to the supermarket, to do my weekly food shopping, I like to use ingredients that I still have on hand. This is fun for me, as it allows me to be really creative in the kitchen. This can also happen any night during the week if I don’t have a dinner planned for my family and I have a busy day in my office. This can also work if you have family or friends that pop by unplanned and you need to throw together a few quick & easy appetizers. So, what’s a busy mom & working girl to do? Go shopping in her pantry and fridge to come up with a recipe on the fly!   It is fun to play with ingredients to learn what tastes good together. To be creative with my recipes, it helps to keep some good staples on hand in my pantry. I will go over in more detail what staples I like to keep on hand at a later time.

I have been known to surprise my family as this has produced some of my best recipes. Nothing is more satisfying than hearing your husband and especially your kids say “this is the best meal you have ever made, mom”! Or “how did you make this”. I love that my family has a genuine interest in learning what goes into our meals or finding out how I made something.   My husband was a very picky eater when I first met him and now he will try just about anything with me. My kids are starting to get better at trying new foods also. I always ask them, “Do I ever make anything that has been gross”? And they always say no! So I keep reminding them to trust me and to at least try what I make. They always surprise themselves and find that they like just about anything I make. Sometimes, when asked by my kids, what I put in a recipe, I leave out a few details, like not telling them I added black beans or ingredients they think they won’t like (what they don’t know won’t hurt them)!   I can hide some healthier ingredients in my recipes and they never realize it!

Just the other night, I got swamped with work and I didn’t have a chance to plan a dinner. So, I went shopping in my pantry and fridge and came up with Creamy Garlic/Parmesan Risotto w/ Grilled Shrimp & Asparagus. I try to always keep ingredients like shrimp in my freezer; they thaw out so quickly. By having fresh herbs on hand that I grow on my deck, I can easily add flavor to any dish. The dish was delicious and my husband loved it. My dad ate with us that night and even he was throwing out the compliments.   My dad grew up with very basic food; he’s a meat and potato kind of guy. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I like to think I have grown with my recipes over the years and to impress a basic meat/potato kind of guy is pretty good in my book!

Creamy Garlic & Parmesan Risotta w/Shrimp

Ingredients

1 bunch, Asparagus

18, Shrimp, peeled & deveined (buy shrimp that is uncooked)

Risotto, store bought or homemade

2 tablespoons, fresh chives

1 teaspoon, crushed garlic

S&P

2 tablespoons, Olive Oil

1/2 Lemon, zest and juice

1/2 cup, parmesan cheese

 

Instructions

Clean, peel and devein shrimp. Lay on a plate with paper towels; be sure to dry your shrimp really good. Start cooking your Risotto; this will take the longest to cook out of your ingredients (about 20 min for store bought). Follow the instructions on the box.

Turn grill on to medium-high heat. While that is heating up, season the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of oil, S&P, about ¼ of the lemon zest and lemon juice (reserve the rest for the asparagus). Chop chives and add about 1 tablespoon over shrimp (reserve the rest for garnish). Add garlic. While that is marinating prepare the asparagus. Rinse, cut off ends and place on a plate. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus and season with S&P, and the remaining lemon zest and juice.

Grill both the shrimp and asparagus; they take about the same amount of time to cook. They both cook very quickly. Turn shrimp once and they are done once they turn whitish in color. Remove asparagus and shrimp from grill.

Cut the asparagus into bite size pieces, set aside. You don’ t have to do this next step but I will remove the tail off the shrimp to make it easier to eat with less of a mess! You can simply gently squeeze the tail to remove, set aside. Once Risotto is just about done add the parmesan cheese and the asparagus and stir to combine the ingredients. Place a serving of the Risotto mixture into a bowl or on a plate and place 6 shrimp around the top/sides. Garnish with remaining chives and drizzle a little oil over top. If you really like your cheese you can also sprinkle on some more parmesan cheese!

Tips

There is nothing like a good homemade, creamy Risotto.  I love Risotta from scratch and have made it several times.  However, it takes longer to make and requires continuous stirring.  So, for a busy weeknight I like to use store bought.  I found a Creamy Garlic and Parmesan flavored Risotta that is delicious and very easy to make and by adding some fresh ingredients to it no one ever knows I didn’t make it from scratch.  Only items you add to it are Olive Oil (to toast the Risotta) and water.  It requires much less stirring!

For the shrimp, I would typically leave the tails on when making a dish with shrimp.  I thought I would give it a try this time with removing the tails to make it easier for everyone eating the dish.  It made for a much less messy dining experience! Leave tails on, remove them? you decide! Either way, it is delicious! Just be sure to gently squeeze the tail off so that you get all the shrimp.

Mangia, Enjoy!