Life (and shrimp) happens. =)

The months of March, April and May in my house mean one thing - softball. This is the weeone's 3rd year as a Cricket and it's her last in this division. One final year of teeball...it makes me sad and it makes me happy all at the same time. Teeball is so much fun - they hit well by the second or third year, really start to understand the game, and really start playing ball instead of just playing with the chalk lines and grass. =) If you have a little one, you know what I mean! So, this year, the weeone's playing pitcher which sounds odd since no one actually pitches, but it's still a pivotal role on the field since most girls that age hit the ball straight to....you guessed it, the pitcher. This is her year to be the star!

So far she's playing well and having fun, although she doesn't understand why she has to bat 4th. She's downright angry about it despite it being a position that she should be proud of - she just doesn't "get" that yet. Nonetheless, she's cute in the uniform....don't you think?


The other thing that comes along with softball season is quick meals. There's not a lot of time for cooking big dinners with either practice or games 3 nights a week. Last night was a "travel day", so to speak. No practice. No game. Hallelujah.

There's been some talk on the Cooking Light food boards about a recipe from the March issue of the magazine - Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi. It's gotten good reviews and seemed like a pretty simple meal to put together, so last night that's what we had. The weeone and I are big shrimp fans so I figured this had a good chance of being a winner for both of us.

I altered the recipe a bit, in that I added some chopped zucchini to it to up the veggie factor and I used about 1/2 the amount of butter that it calls for in the recipe. They suggest sauteed asparagus as a side, but we opted for the broiled grape tomatoes topped with parmesan cheese that I've come to crave on a regular basis! This was a GREAT meal! This is a definite to-be-repeated in our house.

Here's the original recipe....

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi
from March 2009 Cooking Light Magazine



4 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup orzo mixture and about 7 shrimp)

• 1 cup uncooked orzo
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
• 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.

2. While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.

3. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.

Nutritional Information

Calories:403 Fat:10.4g (sat 4.8g,mono 2.2g,poly 1.4g) Protein:40.1g Carbohydrate:34.7g Fiber:1.7g Cholesterol:276mg Iron:4.3mg Sodium:549mg Calcium:97mg