Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp with Asparagus

Pastor Ryan did a guest post on Pioneer Woman Cooks with his Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp recipe.

With only a few ingredients...

3/4 cup orange juice
3 cloves garlic
3 T butter
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

...and some shrimp, I just had to make it.

Be sure to check out Pastor Ryan's recipe here. I made a few adaptations to use what I had in the fridge and cupboard, so here's my version.
It's asparagus. I chopped a bunch into pieces and simmered them until they were just tender. Don't overcook them, because we'll be heating them through again later and you don't want them mushy. Drain them and save them for later.

Okay, I'm a live and let live kind of gal... if you want them mushy; if you like them mushy; if you crave them mushy... just keep them on the fire a little longer. You're the boss. And I mean that. You are.

Pour the orange juice (I used a cup because I wanted it more saucy... you'll see why later) into a bowl and added 3 cloves garlic, pressed, 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper. I also added some dried parsley because I like being green.I used frozen shrimp... thawed, with shells removed. Melt a couplatablespoons butter in a pan. Awww, look at the cute little heart in that butter. I (heart) butter.

When the butter sizzles, add the shrimp and cook just a minute or so until they just start to turn pink. You don't want to cook them through at this point. (There I go again - trying to tell you what to do. Shoot... if you want to cook them through at this point, who am I to say...)

Remove the shrimp to a bowl.

Put the orange juice mixture into the pan and let it boil up and reduce a little.

Add the asparagus and cook for a minute or two...

Add the shrimp and cook until done.... just another minute or so.

Serve over plain ol' white rice. This stuff is great!

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

My gardener and I went looking for a new gas stove yesterday. As a result, we went into a few stores that we hadn't yet visited in HAVRE, MONTANA.

One of the stores was just up my alley. They had all sorts of kitchen gadgets and utensils, spices, seasoning packets, and lots of different shapes of pasta.

I could live in that store. I found this Shrimp Scampi Gourmet Pasta Sauce Blend "Because pasta without our sauce is just noodles!" TM.

My gardener loves shrimp. I love my gardener. What to fix for dinner was a no brainer! The recipe calls for mushrooms, green onions, the seasoning mix, 1 cup water, and 1 cup wine. Pretty simple. Melt some butter in a pan. While the butter was melting, I went outside to take some pictures of Big Sky Country. A storm was brewing...The wind came up, the sky turned black...And it snowed!
Not a lot of snow... just a few flakes fluttering by. About 8 minutes later, the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Back to the stove! When the butter has melted, add the shrimp. Cook just until they turn pink. You don't want to overcook them! Remove the shrimp from the pan and add the seasoning mix. Add the water and wine. Add the mushrooms. Give it a stir and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced a little. Put the shrimp back in the pan and add the green onions. Cook for just a minute or two more. Serve over angel hair pasta. This was really, really good. If you want to give this a try, you can find the seasoning packet here.