Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday. On birthdays in our household, the birthday person gets to choose the food that is eaten the WHOLE day! Yes… our family does, at times, revolve around food and meal time. We enjoy eating! So… needless to say, I think we ate out all 3 meals yesterday and cooking was not happening! HA! My little girl LOVES to eat out. We eat out maybe 3 or 4 times a month, so I guess it’s exciting still?? At least she does say she likes my cooking, so still a win.

So I figured I’d make a yummy lunch so that I could post today. This one is delicious too. I’m gonna be full for a few hours on this! No needing a snack this afternoon like usual!

You can make this for a lunch, or have bigger portions for a summery refreshing dinner out on your back porch on a summer evening. Doesn’t that sound delightful? For some reason when I think of lemon and shrimp I think: outdoors, sunshine, summer, hanging out on the porch on my Outdoor Furniture. I eat those two ingredients all times of the year… but this dish just made me think summer. YUM!

This makes 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the shrimp:

• 1/2 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 TB butter
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• dash cayenne pepper

For the Lemony Orzo pasta:

• 1/4 cup diced onion (about 1/4 of a small yellow onion)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup Orzo pasta
• 1 cups Organic Chicken Broth
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 TB lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 TB heavy cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2-3 TB fresh parsley chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Season shrimp with salt and pepper, garlic powder and cayenne. Toss with olive oil and place onto a Aluminum Foil
  lined Cookie Sheet (with a lip on each edge, or curve up all edges of the tin foil to catch all of the juice and liquid from the shrimp)
• Bake shrimp at 375 for 12-15 min, depending on size of shrimp. Make sure white and cooked all the way thru, and pink on the outside. No more transparent parts of the shrimp.
• While the shrimp is cooking in the oven, heat olive oil in a large Skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and oregano, and cook, stirring often, until onions have become translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in orzo until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes. (FYI, IF you do actually have a cast iron skillet, check out this cleaning tool: Cast Iron Cleaner
• Stir in chicken broth and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and cooked shrimp that you have removed from the oven and set aside. Sprinkle with Parmesan and stir and remove from heat. Add the frozen peas and the cream and stir in.
• Serve immediately garnished with fresh parsley and a bit of shaved parmesan cheese.

Oh me oh my. Soooo good!

Give this one a try for SURE!

And now, for the quote of the day: