Dinner Tonight - Pasta with Shrimp And Zucchini in Garlic & Oil, Fresh Fruit, Cookies (40 min)

Ok, we do love pasta. This dish I served tonight is one of my older child's favorites. He cleans his plate every time. Tonight I served pasta with shrimp and zucchini in oil and vinegar, fresh fruit and the remaining whole grain rolls from last night.

As an added treat, I baked some sugar cookies. My kids LOVE fresh baked cookies. Typically, whenever I make them from scratch I make two batches and freeze whatever I don't bake that first time. I roll the dough into a tube shape, wrap it in wax paper and freeze it. Then I just slice the dough and cook as needed. Cooking only what you need for dessert (not a whole batch) leads to less waste (or that overwhelming need to "finish the cookies before they go bad" - I know you know what I mean!). This time, I bought an all-natural prepared dough from Immaculate Baking that my kids love. The image on the right is what they look like baked. Yum!



Shopping list for a family of four (possibly with leftovers for lunch):

• 1 lb of ez-peel shrimp (i.e., tail on but split so it's easy to remove), defrosted (add 5 minutes of soaking in lukewarm water if frozen). I usually buy a frozen 2 lb bag and make two meals out of it.
  
• 4 portions of dry pasta of your choice
  
• 3 medium-sized organic zucchinis
  
• organic spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder
• organic extra virgin olive oil
• 4 whole grain rolls
• fresh, in-season fruit
• organic butter

Directions:
1. Start the water for the pasta to boil. Set the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Peel the shrimp and ensure it is deveined. See this YouTube video if you're unsure how to do this. I also like to remove the "vein" on the other side of the shrimp. ( For me, cleaning the shrimp thoroughly is the most time-consuming aspect of this meal but I think it makes it taste better and look more appealing.) Rinse in cold water and set aside.
3. Put the pasta in to boil.
4. Peel each zuccini then cut it lengthwise twice (so you have 4 long pieces), then chopped into pieces (see photo for size of pieces). Place all pieces in a microwave-friendly dish (I prefer PYREX), add 1/2 inch water. Sprinkle with a bit of salt. Cover with an eco-friendly wet paper towel to hold in the steam while it's cooking. Set aside.


5. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and put it in the warm oven. Put the zucchini in the microwave on high for 2 minutes, then continue in 30 second increments until it has reached your desired firmness. I don't like mushy zucchini.
6. Put the shrimp in a medium-hot skillet with a teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Continue turning and cooking until it is opaque - no longer translucent. Usually takes about 5 minutes.
7. In a large serving bowl, mix about 1/8 cup of olive oil with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the pasta and zucchini and turn until coated. If this amount doesn't coat it, mix more of this combination in a separate dish and pour over the pasta, then turn until coated.
8. Serve the pasta/zucchini in a bowl with the shrimp on top. Prepare the fruit and bread.
9. Before you sit down, put the frozen dough on a cookie sheet and into the 375 oven you used to warm the bread. Check in 5 minutes, then periodically thereafter until they are done.

Done!