Summer Shrimp Pasta

If you're a fan of carbs, shrimp, and memories of eating on rooftop decks overlooking the ocean, with a little salt water spraying your dinner, then you'll LOVE this dish!

You will need:

1 bag of Shrimp - we prefer the already removed tails/veins/etc ... you can use as much or as little shrimp as you like.
1 lb of Angel Hair Pasta
1 Lemon
Baby Spinach - I love the Organic MarketSide spinach found in most grocers produce
Mushrooms - buy the jar, drain them and again, depends on how much you love or hate the lil' fungus dude
1 Garlic Clove
Olive Oil
2 Tblsp of Butter
Grated or Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Chop up the clove of garlic and throw into warm skillet coated with Olive Oil and slabs of butter. Lean over the skillet and inhale deeply.

There is nothing like the smell of butter and fresh garlic cookin' in the kitchen. I salivate just thinking about it!

Put the mushrooms into the garlic/butter and cook over medium heat.

After a few minutes, add the shrimp.

In a separate pot, begin cooking the angel hair pasta in boiling water.

Cut the lemon in half ***TIP*** For a juicier lemon, press firmly on the lemon with the palm of your hand and roll back and forth on the counter several times.

Squirt half of the lemon over the shrimp and the boiling pasta. Cut the other half into slices for garnish later.

Add the baby spinach into the shrimp/mushroom/garlic. Toss everything together to well coat the spinach in the olive oil. It will shrink once cooked.

*** Remember, the amount of shrimp, spinach, mushrooms, and garlic all depend on your taste preference.

You will know when the shrimp is done by the color (pink). By this time, the mushrooms should be well cooked too, since you started with them first.

Drain the pasta and pour in a large serving bowl. ***TIP*** I drizzle and stir in a tee-tiny bit of olive oil into the drained noodles to prevent them from sticking together.

Pour the shrimp/mushroom/spinach/garlic over the pasta and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Garnish with lemon slices.

Take your beautiful beach dinner outside on the patio and enjoy in the warm summer evening!

*** This makes a wonderful leftover dish when you include the lemon slices in the tupperware as well. It really brings out the citrus pop this dish is famous for!

Bon Appetit!!!

{ When I make this dish again, I will take cooking photos and add them here ... but for now, my Blackberry-quickly-snapped-pic-before-we-dug-in-like-cavemen picture of the finished product will have to do. And pay no attention to the lil' man in the corner. He's just hungry and loves being near his Momma! }