Shrimp Pasta Dinner

Now that I'm back in Hawaii, I can cook again! I love to cook and to try new recipes and tonight, I finally had the chance to cook after 6 weeks of being away! I purchased a magazine called Tastes of Italia and made "Spaghetti with shrimp, garlic, oil, and hot pepper."

I was a little wary of making pasta with olive oil since I'm used to making the traditional marinara sauce (i.e. pouring it from a can). However, I thought I'd give this recipe a shot. Of course, certain thoughts crossed my mind while deciding on this recipe ... Would my pasta be edible? I definitely didn't want to eat it by myself. I've made my share of awful meals and cringe at the thought of having to eat another one.

I was up for the challenge!

The ingredients used in the recipe included 1/2 cup olive oil, a pinch of hot pepper flakes, 3 anchovies, 2 tbsp Italian parsley, 1 lb. shrimp, a couple garlic cloves, and grated zest of 1 lemon. I used a pound of whole grain spaghetti noodles instead of regular spaghetti noodles.

Mince the garlic cloves and the parsley.

In a skillet, add the olive oil, and heat up the garlic with the pepper flakes. Then, add the shrimp.

Boil the noodles just right ...

I learned a great tip from my magazine. I've always rinsed my pasta noodles, but in order to keep them from sticking, it's better not to rinse the starch off.

I also made a terrible mistake. Instead of grating the zest of 1 lemon, I peeled it and grated the inside. What was I thinking? I sure do have a lot to learn ...

After the noodles are done, drain and add to the the skillet. Then, add the parsley and lemon zest. Mix everything together!

Personally, I didn't like the lemon in my pasta. If I actually grated the "zest of 1 lemon," maybe it would have tasted a lot differently. However, the taste of lemon wasn't very appealing to me in the recipe.

I also increased some of the other ingredients, such as the garlic, anchovies, and pepper flakes to enhance the flavor.

Fortunately, my pasta was edible! My husband seemed to enjoy it A LOT. I thought it tasted plain, I did enjoy eating the shrimp. It was flavorful. Next time, I'll add clams to the recipe and will leave out the lemon or I'll at least use less.