Spice Girl

I love music.  ALL kinds of music.  Blues, rock, jazz, praise & worship, country, pop, indie, folk...you name it and I pretty much love it.  I would prefer to listen to music than watch TV...unless Sons of Anarchy is on and then it's all about the TV.  My husband would argue that I have poor taste in music because I have playlists that include cheesy boy bands from back in the day and random tunes with ridiculous lyrics.  I guess we can't all have great taste in everything ;)  As ashamed as I should be to admit this, I was once a fan of  the Spice Girls.  I could sing every word to every mainstream song and if I randomly hear them to this day, I can still recite every single lyric.  I lead a very, very exciting life.  

This recipe has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Spice Girls, but whenever I read or hear the word "spicy", something takes me back to 1998 and visions of platform boots and Union Jacks dance around in my mind.  So tell me what'cha want, what'cha really, really want...  You can thank me later for getting this song stuck in your head :)  

SPICY SHRIMP & TOMATO FETTUCCINE

via Budget Bytes

8 oz. fettuccine

2 TBSP. olive oil

1 TBSP. butter

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 {15oz.} can of diced tomatoes

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. salt

pepper, to taste

This recipe is pretty quick and simple, so no prep pictures are included.  

First things first.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  

While the pasta cooks, mince your garlic & set aside. 

Heat the olive oil & butter in a large skillet over medium heat on the stove top.

While the olive oil & butter are heating, go ahead and peel your shrimp.  Honestly, you might wanna go ahead and do that before anything else because those little suckers take a few minutes to come out of their shells :)

Once the olive oil and butter are heated, add the raw shrimp and garlic.

Saute the shrimp for about 3-5 minutes {or until they're pink}.  

Remove the shrimp from the skilled and leave all the other goodness inside.  

Place the shrimp in a bowl and set them aside.  

Now add the tomatoes {don't drain!!} to the skillet  and toss in the cracked red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.   Let that simmer for about 5ish minutes.

Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat and then toss in the shrimp and give it a good little mix.  I like my shrimp coated with the yummy tomato mix.

Now pour the tomato sauce & shrimp over the {drained} pasta and toss until it's all combined.

You can garnish your plate with a little chopped parsley and some shaved parmesan, but I opted out on both counts.  It was just perfect on it's own.  

This little dish packed the perfect amount of heat, too.  Not too mild.  Not too spicy.  Perfectly perfect.  The best part about this meal {aside from the outstanding flavor} was the amount of time it took from prep to plate.  I think I was in the kitchen for a total of *maybe* 20 minutes.  Those are the BEST kind of meals, for sure.  

I do think the addition of a little chopped chicken would be really delicious, too.  Shrimp is my personal favorite so I won't be making any adjustments.  If you're a fan of spicy sauces, seafood, and pasta....and quick meal prep...then you should definitely add this to your menu!  It won't disappoint!!