Spicy Lemon Shrimp Pasta

December 1, 2015

Spicy Lemon Shrimp Pasta| Sarcastic Cooking

 

Spicy lemon shrimp pasta is one of my weeknight go to meals. It takes 20 minutes to come together. Spicy lemon shrimp pasta doesn’t have to be suuuuper spicy. Also, don’t have fresh spinach on hand? Add in some fresh herbs or arugula! Try to make spicy lemon shrimp pasta for dinner this week!

You guys wanna know a secret? I friggen suck at meal planning. It is one thing to plan and shoot recipes for the site but when I have to be in charge of everyday life, I kiiiind of get a little uninspired. You see, Mike and I are in the midst of buckling down and budgeting for a house. As a part of that whole fun process, I have been trying to make a budget for groceries and stick to it. The key word there is trying. I even go so far as two write out the Monday through Friday meals in a little notebook I keep on my kitchen island. Sounds like I have my ish together, right?

Nope. It is so hard to stick to that menu plan and to buy food that I will use for dinner or lunches throughout the week. I normally like to either fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to dinner or take the lazy way out and have Mike pick something up on his way home. Both of those options usually lead to me spending more money. Do you guys have the same issue?

Spicy Lemon Shrimp Pasta | Sarcastic Cooking

I feel for you. Being the one in charge of dinner all the time is hard.

As a teenager, I used to give my mom a hard time about cooking the same things every week. We would have some kind of tacos and a southwest coleslaw one day and Hamburger Helper the next. The next two days would be this spicy lemon shrimp pasta and then some kind of chicken or turkey burger kind of thing. Fridays we usually got pizza or Chinese food. Not a bad lineup if you ask me now.

At the time I thought it was so boring. I would complain and whine, “This again?” Yeah, I was a gem.

Spicy Lemon Shrimp Pasta | Sarcastic Cooking

Now that I am the one doing the planning, I find myself in the same situation as my mom was. I will tell you, it does make things easier when you just stick with the classic meals that you know work for your family. It also makes shopping and grocery list making a breeze. So, yeah, sorry mom.

Since I was feeling my mom’s pain, I decided to bring her classic lemon shrimp pasta back into my life. It was like an old friend. I missed this dish. Shrimp is such an easy weeknight protein to add to any dish. It cooks in no time at all. My mom. Such a smart lady.

Sorry, I don’t have more tips to help you budget and meal plan. Like I said, I am in the saaaame boat as you. I do have one night of dinner covered for you at least!

Spicy Lemon Shrimp Pasta

An easy weeknight pasta dish with lemon and crushed red pepper flakes that takes less than thirty minutes from start to finish.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
  • 1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes more or less depending on your spice tolerance
  • 8 Ounces Grape Tomatoes halved length-wise
  • 1 Pound Raw Shrimp tails removed and deveined
  • 2 Cloves Garlic grated
  • 2 Cups Fresh Spinach chopped
  • Juice and Zest from 1 Lemon
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 8 Ounces Cooked Spaghetti or Capellini

Instructions

  1. Add olive oil to a medium skillet. Heat over medium flame. Add the tomatoes and cover with lid. Saute tomatoes for ten minutes, until softened. Use a wooden spoon to smash each tomato half.
  2. Add the crushed red pepper flakes to the skillet. Stir to combine.
  3. Reduce the heat to low. Add in the garlic. Stir to combine. Nestle the shrimp down in the sauce. Cover with lid and cook for three minutes each side, until the shrimp are opaque.
  4. Add the lemon juice, slat, pepper, and the spinach. Remove from heat. Add the cooked noodles. Use tongs to mix the pasta into the sauce and distribute the shrimp and spinach.
  5. Serve right away with some additional crushed red pepper flakes or grated Parmesan.

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  • Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
    December 2, 2015 at 8:56 am

    I think people have such high expectations when they know you’re a food blogger — extravagant dinners every night! Towering layer cakes weekly! But the reality is, there really are only so many blog posts you do each week, and yes, it can get kind of hard to think of dinner plans after that. Sometimes though, repetition isn’t the worst thing in the world, it feels comforting! And this pasta is just that, comforting…and looks DELICIOUS too!

    • Stefanie
      December 4, 2015 at 9:40 pm

      Oh man. I did a layer cake once in my first year of blogging. Let me tell you, never again! Too hard, too much pressure.

  • Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
    December 1, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    You’re not alone – I have the same difficulty with meal planning. It’s challenging as a person that lives alone too, because often I’m just cooking for myself and it’s easy to say “screw it” and either pick something up (and spend money) or eat cereal for dinner. I’m trying to get better at planning, but I find it just ends up being one more thing on my (already long) to do list. This pasta looks bomb though, and super easy too!

    • Stefanie
      December 1, 2015 at 3:15 pm

      I have been planning for the last two months and except a day or two I have stuck with it. Having a fancy cute notebook and nice pen to write it all out on help. Hahaha the little things.

  • Ashlyn | Dollop of Yum
    December 1, 2015 at 9:41 am

    This pasta looks beautiful and delicious! Shrimp is definitely and easy and tasty addition to pasta!

    • Stefanie
      December 1, 2015 at 3:13 pm

      Thanks Ashlyn!