Sweet and Spicy Garlic Shrimp

It's summertime here in Virginia, which means the days are hot and packed full of activity, leaving little time (or energy) for cooking.  That's when a recipe like this is perfect - it's packed full of bold flavor and takes just minutes to make.  Seriously, it comes together so fast, I didn't have time to take photos along the way!         

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• large nonstick skillet https://amzn.to/42U96lj

• silicone tongs https://amzn.to/3GDKDWl

• microplane grater https://amzn.to/43UUx25

• sriracha https://amzn.to/3GBe23m

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Sweet and Spicy Garlic Shrimp

makes 4 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil

• 1 pound fresh or thawed shrimp, peeled and deveined (21/25 size)

• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger (or ginger paste)

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more!)

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons Sriracha

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

• 2 chopped scallions for garnish

Directions

1. Before you begin, have all your ingredients measured out and ready to go.

2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until it shimmers.

3. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and cook in hot oil for 1 minute per side; remove to a plate.

4. Lower heat to medium and use the same skillet to heat the sesame oil, minced garlic, ginger paste, and crushed red pepper flakes; stir constantly until fragrant (a minute or so).

5. Immediately add the water, dark brown sugar, sriracha, and soy sauce; stir well to combine.

6. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens (about 3 minutes).

7. Return shrimp to skillet and toss well until heated through. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve over a bed of rice.

Lemon Butter and Garlic Baked Shrimp

It's time for this month's Secret Recipe Club, where a group of food bloggers, choose a recipe from a fellow blogger, then we make and share our results.   It's a lot of fun and a great way to meet new bloggers.

This month I was assigned the blog Little Bit of Everything by Julie.  I absolutely loved perusing Julie's blog.  She has the neatest recipes, but what most intrigued me was her "My 50" list.  It's a list of 50 recipes she hadn't yet made, but wanted to try.  Isn't that a fabulous idea?  I think I need to do something like that too.  I have tons of recipes pinned on my Pinterest boards, but there are literally thousands and thousands - too many to make in a lifetime so coming up with a shorter "must make" list is such a great idea.  

Anyway, I digress.... back to this month's recipe.  I've been craving shrimp lately so I did a quick search and settled on Julie's Lemon Butter Baked Shrimp.  This is a grab a bunch of napkins because you'll have butter dripping down your chin, but it's so good you won't care kind of recipe.  Definitely a keeper. 

Note:  Julie's version called for chopped garlic and a packet of good seasons italian dressing mix.  I was only able to find the "garlic and herb" dressing mix - it's extra garlicky so I omitted the fresh garlic from the recipe.  

Alrighty - let me walk you through this recipe.  It's really easy.

Start with a stick of unsalted butter.  We'll need to melt it and then allow it to cool a bit.  

We're also going to need to slice a couple of lemons.  If you want to be fancy, you can use a channel knife to cut grooves on the side of the lemons like this.  It's completely unnecessary, but in the next photo I'll show you why I like to do it.

See?  Pretty.

After the lemons are sliced, the seeds are very easy to remove.  Nobody wants to bite down on a lemon seed.

Ok, we've got our shrimp, melted the butter, sliced the lemons, and measured the dressing mix, parsley, and black pepper.  Time to preheat the oven.

Lay those sliced lemons in a single layer on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Add the seasoning mix, parsley, and black pepper to the melted, cooled butter.

Whisk, whisk, whisk - I'm totally loving this flat whisk.

Now add all the shrimp - and toss in those strips we removed from the lemons too.  Mix them all together, getting that flavorful butter all over the shrimp.

Pour every bit of that shrimp/butter mix into the baking dish, right on top of the sliced lemons.  Arrange the shrimp so they're in a single layer.  

Pop them in the oven for 15 minutes exactly.  The baking time may be more or less depending on the size shrimp you use.  They're done when they are shaped like a "C".  If you cook them too long, they'll close up tighter and resemble more of an "O".  There's nothing more sad than overcooked shrimp so keep an eye on them.  Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• garlic and herb dressing mix https://amzn.to/3GkWk3W

• flat whisk https://amzn.to/32PAJD5

• 9x13 casserole https://amzn.to/3GmpKin

• channel knife https://amzn.to/3geoq6s

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Lemon Butter and Garlic Baked Shrimp

Makes 1 pound

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (21-25 count)

• 2 lemons, sliced (seeds removed)

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 1 packet good seasons garlic and herb salad dressing mix (.75oz)

• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Place lemon slices in a single layer on the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, dressing mix, parsley, and pepper.

4. Add the shrimp and lemon slices; toss well to coat.

5. Pour the shrimp/butter mixture over the lemon slices and arrange so the shrimp are in a single layer.

6. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

7. Remove from oven and serve over pasta or rice, or serve with a loaf of French bread to soak up all the yummy juices.

adapted from Little Bit of Everything