Garden Pasta with Crispy Shrimp and Catch-Up

I made a delicious, garden-fresh dish last night. No, it didn't include Ketchup, because anyone who knows me, knows that I do not like that condiment. But since it was clever, I thought I would also include a catch-up in this post. One of the many things I learned from my dad, who is a fantastic chef, is that in the kitchen, timing is crucial. Because of that, I have put these steps in order, and I just couldn't pick up my camera during some of the steps.

I started with these...

Cut them up like this...

Sauteed them in EVOO and a pinch of kosher salt, then I added these...

And about half a can of this...

Then, while that was simmering, I mixed up some flour, medium ground corn meal, parmesan cheese, Walter's shake, and a pinch of Kosher salt.

Then I tossed about a pound of deveined, peeled and cleaned shrimp in the mixture and coated them well.

Before cooking the shrimp, I put a large pot of water on to boil on the back burner. Then I got a large skillet really hot with EVOO and a pat of butter. You want it hot enough to get the shrimp crispy, but not too hot to burn the oil and butter.

Now before you cook your shrimp, add your basil, asparagus and the juice from a whole lemon to your pepper and tomato sauce. And add your pasta to your boiling water.

wow. I forgot to tell you that I don't measure. I never have, I just wing it- got that from my daddy, too.

Now, get your shrimp cooking. Place them in the hot oil and turn them once. You don't want to overcook them, but you want them done... A good way to tell that they are done is when they turn light pink and curl up a bit. When they are done, put them on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Drain your pasta. I added a teaspoon of the flour mixture to the pepper sauce to thicken it a bit and then bring the heat up to cook off any potential raw shrimp juice.

Plate it up, baby! Pasta, Sauce and a few shrimp with a basil embellishment and a dash of shredded parmesan.

Then, instead of sitting down and eating, clean up the millions of pieces of shredded tissue paper that they tore up while you were cooking-

So you can save her from 30 minutes of boredom in the exersaucer and put her on the floor to crawl around and eat leftover tissue paper.

Serve with Catch-Up. Which for us, looks like this-

Our new favorite game is called Camera Tag. Basically, I chase the kids around the yard and tag them by taking pictures. When I show them the digital pic, then they are "unfrozen." See?

We spent another fun weekend in College Station celebrating a plethora of birthdays. Beth turned 30!!! We also celebrated Rachel's birthday and my niece, Jaycee's birthday. Happy Birthday- we love y'all!