What's for dinner...

I went out to my little garden today and the Oxheart tomatoes, the hot peppers, and the purple green beans were ready to be picked! We've been eating lots of vegetables all summer long from our little four-square and they taste so wonderful fresh off the vines. I had some frozen shrimp that I wanted to use up and I've been in the mood for Cilantro, so I came up with this recipe for dinner tonight and it was yummy! I gave measurements just for the general idea, but you can change up the amounts depending on how many people you want to feed.:

Beth's Southwestern Shrimp Garden Pasta

Makes 6 Servings

3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Butter

4 cups of frozen Shrimp (tail removed)

4 small cloves of garlic, minced

3 Tablespoons fresh Cilantro

1-2 cups of Green Beans, ends removed and cut in half

Jalapeno Pepper, diced small

2 Ears of fresh corn, kernels removed

3 Medium tomatoes, diced large

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 lb. Penne Pasta

1/2 Cup Pecorino Romano Grated Cheese

1 lime

1. Cut up all of your ingredients so you're ready to go!

2. Heat either a non-stick skillet or my favorite-- my Cast Iron Skillet-- with 2 T of the Olive Oil (or drizzle twice around the pan, like Rachel Ray!) on Medium High Heat.

3. Start a big pot of water to boil for the pasta and add a couple T's of salt.

4. When the oil in the skillet is hot (don't let it smoke... that means the oil isn't healthy anymore), add 1 T of Butter, then add the shrimp to the pan and sautee until it starts to warm. (There will be some liquid from the ice) about 3 minutes.

5. Throw in the minced garlic (invest in a press... makes this so easy!) and 2T of the Cilantro leaves. Cook about 2 minutes but don't let the garlic burn.

(Have you added the pasta to the boiling water in your other pot yet? That takes about 9- 10 minutes to cook.)

6. Add the Green Beans and stir into the mix. The extra moisture will help them to cook.

7. Add the minced Jalapeno Pepper and Corn. Cover the skillet for about 5 minutes. (These times are approximate... check your vegetable-- the beans will retain some crispness which is great in contrast to the noodles.)

8. Add the diced tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste for another two minutes.

9. Drain your pasta and add 1 T of Olive Oil and one T Butter (or one pat)... this keeps them from sticking together!

10. Add the Pecorino Romano cheese and the 1 T of Cilantro that's left to the noodles.

11. Put the noodles into a big pasta bowl and then add your shrimp and vegetables over the top and serve with a slice of lime to squirt over the individual portion.

Enjoy! (And try not to eat too much!!!)

***** If you have any questions, please email me and I'll be glad to explain!