This is a sponsored post on behalf of Mueller’s, all opinions and ideas are 100% my own.
I love to dish up home cooked dinners for the family as much as possible, with being a working mom that works outside the home as well as here on the blog that’s always a challenge. I’m proud to say though, we cook dinner at home semi-scratch every night and Sunday night we eat dinner at Grandma’s house. That is quiet the accomplishment to dish up healthy dinners for the family to eat.
I don’t like boxed meals or too many frozen (unless I pre-make them of course) dinners for the kids, I like them to see that people actually use real veggies and meat to prepare their dinner and every so often I come across a few short cuts that help me tremendous in dinner preparations throughout the week.
One shortcut that I use all the time is to cut up all my veggies and herbs as soon as I bring them home and either freeze them or vacuum seal them for the fridge to be used throughout the week. That saves soo much time when you come home late from work all you have to do is toss your meal together and cook it, voila dinner done in about 20 minutes or less (depending on cooking time of course, but prep time is hardly any). What is your favorite shortcut in the kitchen?
Mueller’s wants to help you celebrate those things with their “Share Your Shortcut” contest on Facebook! Share your favorite kitchen shortcut and you could win a $500 American Express gift card!
I also love to create pasta dishes, pasta is super easy to prepare until you try to make spaghetti and the long pasta goes everywhere but into the pot with water; ever had that happen? All the time for me, I was super excited when I found yet another shortcut. Mueller’s came up with a splendid idea to make the spaghetti pot size, no more haggling and breaking and trying to make them all fit; NOPE… I was able to fit 2 boxes (That’s two pounds!!) nicely into my pot of boiling water. I was impressed; I had no pasta all over my counter and all cooked perfectly, not the top hard and the bottom mushy… LOVED it! That was a genius idea that I will utilize in the kitchen a lot from now on.
Check out how simple it can be to dish up a perfect dinner that your family will love in under 20 minutes; actually I dished up two dinners at the same time. I made Shrimp & Pasta for hubby and myself and Spaghetti Bolognese for the kids. Same pasta, two different toppings and everyone loved it!! You too can dish up 2 different dinners in 20 minutes or less.
Simple Shrimp and Pasta Dinner
You need:
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1 box of Mueller’s Pot-Sized Pasta (I used Angel hair, but they also have Spaghetti)
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1 garlic ~ I love a lot
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1 lemon, zest and juice
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handful of fresh parsley
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1 pound of peeled shrimp
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1 cup vegetable stock (You could make your own fish stock if you use shrimps with shell)
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5 tbsp. Olive Oil
This is how to make your Simple Pasta Dinner:
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In a bowl, combine the garlic, zest and juice of 1 lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste, and the shrimp. Set aside to marinate.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a generous amount of salt. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, 2 minutes less than instructed on the package. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water.
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Heat a skillet over high heat. Remove the shrimp from the marinade, reserve the marinade, and add the shrimp to the skillet. Cook until they turn pink and start to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate and add the reserved marinade. Let cook a few minutes then add about 1 cup of vegetable stock and about 1/2 cup pasta water. Continue to cook until sauce reduces by half. Add the zest and juice of the remaining lemon, the butter and the parsley and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. Add in the shrimp and pasta and toss to combine with the sauce. Turn out into a serving bowl and serve immediately.
There you have it, dinner is served in under 20 minutes; enjoy it and don’t forget to post your very own shortcut on Mueller’s Facebook page for a chance to win a $500 Gift Card (You could also vote on mine if you like, would love to have some extra spending money for the family, maybe for dinner??)
For more information, be sure to visit Mueller’s Website, they also have amazing recipes to share and follow on Facebook to dish up simple dinners in no time and with a little luck you may win big, too.
What is your favorite Kitchen Shortcut? Would love to hear it…
Michele says
Generally I break the long spaghetti in half before putting in the pot of boiling water! I never even knew Muellers made it pre-broken! Gotta find this and use it!! That pasta with shrimp looks delicious-think I might pick up some shrimp when I am out today and make some of this!!
Terry says
I love parsley… love it. I am one of those that pick it off of my plate and eat it when they use it for garnish on a plate. Great idea to cut them up as you bring your veggies into your kitchen.
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Melanie Roberts says
Hahah I’m the same way.. LOVE parsley and even eat the garnish ;-)…
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
We don’t eat seafood in our house, but I could probably substitute chicken and it would be just as good I bet 🙂
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amanda ripsam says
I use my crock pot when ever I can. I also use my rice cooker a lot.
Pam says
That looks like a really good recipe. I hate having broken pasta all over my counter so I will definitely be picking up some pot-sized pasta.
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vinma says
What a neat idea for a short cut to cook Spaghetti! I usually break them in half before putting it in the pot. But it does make a mess around the stove.
jobeth says
I absolutely love Muellers I wish they carried it more here in KY. It is one of my favorite brands. But alas I am so off the grig here it is hard to find any thing.
Jennifer Williams says
I do that as well, bell peppers and onions are so nice to have pre-dice on hand and they freeze well. This allows you to stock up when they are on sale. I also make menus where there will be leftovers that can easily convert to another meal the next night.
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Rosey says
This looks nice and light! It also looks great for serving when company is over.
Amanda McMahon says
Thank you for the simple but yummy looking recipe.
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Lawna says
This looks so delicious. My hubs just ate something similar earlier at a restaurant but I bet he would have liked this even more. Our family are huge shrimp lovers.
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Ashley Wintters says
Looks delicious! I need to start doing the prep work you talked about….then I could cook more frequently and we would eat much less junk!
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Tough Cookie Mommy says
This looks like a delicious dish. I love the idea of mixing pasta and shrimp.
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Annie says
I always have shrimp with my pasta, so easy to cook! I have everything in place before cooking so that it goes smoothly 🙂
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Melanie says
Hmm Kitchen shortcut, ok I cut all my bell peppers up into different sizes as soon as I buy them at the store or bring them in from the garden. by getting them all cut and freezing them I can take them out toss them into dishes at anytime. It’s saved me both time and money . You can even do this with celery or onions.
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Amanda Love says
Looks great! I actually make something very similar. Shrimp dinners are always so easy to do and I tend to make them a lot whenever I don’t have much time. 🙂
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Maria says
I do a shrimp scampi that is similar to this. Super easy to make and tasty!!
Rachee says
This looks like a quick and easy meal to make as well as a fresh way to serve pasta. Adding to my list of wants.
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Eliz Frank says
These are awesome dishes. Love the tips you offer too.
Fan R says
Shrimps with Pasta sound delicious, like the recipe, it is easy and fast plus we have a bunch of seafood fans at home.
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Nikki says
This looks like such an easy recipe! I’ll have to pass it on to all the shrimp lovers I know.
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Onica {MommyFactor} says
One of my kitchen shortcuts is to separate and basic season the meats for meals. Easier to defrost and cook this way. Gotta try this tip of making spaghetti pot size. Very useful