Back Porch Scampi: An Easy 20-minute Meal

I’ve talked about feta cheese, shrimp, and pasta before on the blog when I shared my dad Grover’s recipe with you last summer.  I love those flavors together.  But today’s recipe for “Let’s Eat Y’all”, even though it has some common ingredients, is deliciously different.

This Greek Scampi can easily be prepared in 20 minutes. 

It also got a thumb’s up from an elementary school-aged kid, who is as fickle as the wind.  He loves one meal and detests the next one, even though it was a meal that I swear he loved two weeks before.    

Keeping in line with my new motto of simplicity in the kitchen, you can get this meal on the table in about 20 minutes or less.  It’s the perfect busy weeknight meal.  Whether you eat it on the back porch is up to you, but most of our evenings end up there, and we eat out there on a lot of spring nights.  If we don’t dine al fresco, then we at least dance al fresco.

Some al fresco dancing

Without further adieu…

Back Porch Scampi

 Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced (I used a tablespoon of prepared minced garlic)

2 14.5-ounce cans of diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregnano, slightly drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used a dash of dried parsley in the pantry)

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined ( I used frozen cooked shrimp, thawed)

4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

1 9-ounce package of angel hair pasta

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Saute garlic briefly before adding tomatoes and 1/4 cup of parsley ( I omitted the parsley here since I did not have fresh, and chose to add it later as a garnish).  Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 10 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook 5 minutes if your shrimp is fresh.  I used frozen cooked shrimp so I tossed them in the pan to heat.  Pour shrimp mixture into 9 X 13-inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with feta cheese.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Cook pasta according to directions. Remove shrimp from oven.  Sprinkle with remaining parsley, lemon juice and pepper.  Serve over the angel hair pasta. 

And speaking of porches, if you live anywhere near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, then the Carolina Inn starts its Fridays on the Front Porch season today, April 27.  It will run through October 12.  I cannot wait to attend one of these casual, fun evenings with live music on the Inn’s beautiful, historic front porch and lawn.  You already know their food is divine from my post on their Spring Menu in March. For more information, visit: http://carolinainn.esitetoolbox.com/product/fridays-on-the-front-porch

Have a great weekend! 

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