I am always on the hunt for new family dinner recipes that meet a few specific requirements. They must be quick, have simple ingredients, healthy but kid approved and yummy! Also, it’s a plus if the meal goes far- we have 3 growing boys and my husband is the type that eats 2-3 portions. I make some big dinners nowadays.

Since being in a shelter in place situation and cooking 99% of our meals here at home, I have been searching and trying new recipes. I really have been tired of the same old thing. Recently, I had a craving for a seafood pasta dish, which is always my favorite when eating out at a restaurant and since that isn’t possible right now, I made up my own.

I have read through many shrimp scampi recipes. This is similar to all of them, but easier. And yes, even the kiddos love it! Now since shrimp scampi is not exactly the healthiest meal in the world, I suggest a green salad and a nice vegetable to complement the meal such as asparagus, broccoli or even a cucumber and tomato salad.

Linguini

1 lb shrimp (large, peeled and deveined or cooked and frozen is just fine)

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp Garlic paste or fresh garlic

Salt and pepper

Red pepper flakes

Garlic salt

1/4 can light beer for extra flavor- can be omitted

Fresh parsley or parsley flakes

2 tbsp Lemon juice

Cook your linguini al dente. I make 1 whole box of linguine but regular spaghetti or angel hair works well too. Set aside.

Thaw shrimp and remove any access liquid. Sprinkle thawed shrimp with salt and pepper, both sides. Place olive oil, butter, beer, dash of red pepper flakes (or more if you’d like) and garlic in large pan or wok. Melt down in medium heat and add shrimp. Cook shrimp on both sides. They’ll turn red. You can also use frozen cooked shrimp which work just as well.

Add your cooked pasta to your pan or wok and stir well to cover pasta with your sauce. Add, to your preference: garlic salt, additional red pepper flakes (we like 3 pinches for a little heat), 2-3 pinches of black pepper, salt and parsley and a couple dashes of lemon juice. We love a lot of flavor and use a lot of spices. I may recommend adding a little bit, taste and then add more spices as desired.

Stir all of this together and allow to cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Don’t worry, the alcohol in the beer cooks out.

Some tips to make this dish extra family friendly-

Add parm cheese! We all love our parmesan cheese and it really adds a lot to this dish.

Tonight I made popcorn shrimp for the kids. Just frozen breaded popcorn shrimp, easy enough. It was a side for them but allowed the meal to go a long way. Plus I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Anyway, hope that helps. Let me know how it turns out and if your family enjoys it as much as ours!