My parents came by for a little while yesterday afternoon. Daddy needed to come to the Harbor Freight store in our town, so he and Mama brought me fresh squash, green beans, and banana peppers from their garden. Michael and Daddy talked and watched some baseball game on t.v. in the living room. Mama and I tried to talk as best we could in the kitchen. I say the best we could because the kids wouldn’t stop interrupting. They love when my parents come, but it always kind of turns into an episode of “One Upping.” Every time Christopher tells something, Elizabeth tells something that is bigger, badder, worse, etc. “Yesterday at football practice, I twisted my knee and had to ice it all night.” “One time, I twisted my ankle! It hurt really bad!” I usually let them go for a few minutes before shooing them out of the room.
I love visiting with my parents. It makes me miss them so much when they leave. About a year and a half ago, my sweet mama was diagnosed with beast cancer and had to have a double mastectomy. In the months that followed, she went through chemotherapy. She lost her hair. She was nauseated all the time. Her joints ached. And this woman who has always been my hero became Wonder Woman. I watched her journey and saw her faith grow stronger. She never asked God why. She just prayed and studied and continued to live her life. She was such an inspiration to so many people. And Daddy? My daddy was the sweetest, most attentive caregiver anyone could ever have. I watched the two of them and saw the personification of a Godly marriage in the face of “for better or worse.” She is now cancer free and we couldn’t be happier.
Last night when I started thinking about dinner, I thought about how nice it would be to live closer to my mom so I could cook for her. She loves pretty much anything, but she really loves shrimp and foods that are fresh and tasty. When I saw shrimp in the freezer, I decided to make a dish for my family that my mama would love.
The key to cooking shrimp – no matter how you’re going to cook it – is to be sure you don’t overcook it. Overcooked shrimp is tough and rubbery and no fun at all. I like roasting or baking shrimp because I can cook a lot of shrimp at once by spreading it on a big baking sheet. It’s also pretty easy to keep an eye on it and see when it’s done. This ended up being a “take no prisoners; eat now, ask questions later” kind of meal. It was so good! The only downside is that I wish I’d had just one more bag of shrimp. You can never have enough shrimp in this house!
Baked Honey Ginger Shrimp
- 2 12-ounce bags of small shrimp, thawed and drained
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 1/4 cup of honey
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped basil
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk together all ingredients except shrimp. Pour into a large, zippered bag. Add shrimp and seal, allowing shrimp to marinate for 10-15 minutes. Pour shrimp and marinade onto the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Serve over vegetables and couscous.
Vegetable Sautee
- 1 8-ounce bag of snow peas, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 20-ounce can of pineapple chunks, drained
- 1 12-ounce jar of roasted red bell peppers, drained and cut into strips
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
While shrimp is baking, heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add snow peas, pineapple chunks, and pepper strips. Sautee for 4-5 minutes until everything is heated through. Season with garlic salt.
Well Duh #1: I used grated ginger and basil paste from tubes. These are usually found in the produce section of your grocery store.
Well Duh #2: If your shrimp comes in pound bags, that’s fine. Just use 2 pounds. There will still be plenty of marinade.
Well Duh #3: It’s totally okay to sneak a few pineapple chunks. It won’t mess up the recipe. I promise. And you know you want to.
Well Duh #4: If you are lucky enough to have fresh pineapple, use it! About 2 cups of chunks.
This was so good! The vegetables were incredible. The briny flavor of the peppers. The crunch of the snow peas. The unexpected sweetness of the pineapple. It was a perfect marriage – and a perfect bed for those yummy shrimp! The kids and I had ours over a bed of couscous and Michael just had the shrimp and vegetables. Everybody was happy! It was a beautiful dish, too. The bright green of the snow peas and the red of the peppers. It looks as fresh as it tastes! And it took less than thirty minutes to cook! Perfection!
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