May 28, 2012

Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus

It was very hot here this weekend. Almost 95 degrees with high humidity; all I can say is yuck. Thanks to all the very warm weather like it does every summer my kitchen has started its fast decent into a sauna. I try to minimize the amount of time I run my oven during the middle of the day and instead rely on my stove and crockpot to do the majority of my cooking. Additionally, I try to lighten up my menu. I use less heavy sauces and thick stews and more seafood and fresh vegetables. I learned this from my mom who insisted that the foods that you eat have a direct correlation to how hot you feel. I also vividly remember being given hot coffee when the weather was sweltering to cool me down. At the time I thought it was somewhat crazy, but I realized this weekend when I was drinking my hot coffee in the middle of the day, my mother seems to be ingrained in even the little slightly strange things that we now do alike. One of the other things that my mom and I had in common was our love of shrimp. Shrimp is one of my favorite things to prepare in the summer and I was drawn to a recipe in a recent issue of Eating Well magazine for Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus, which looked light and perfect for the hot summer months ahead.
This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. As I always do with seafood I had to go to the nicer grocery store in town to purchase non-farm raised shrimp. This to me is a deal breaker. I went to school with people who worked in the fisheries dept and the studies that they worked on with mercury levels and farm raised fish and seafood are disturbing. I have two young boys that don't need to be exposed to high mercury levels. Since the major super store in my area does not agree with my ideas I always have to go to the nicer suburban chain grocery store to buy seafood. I always seem to take forever to prep shrimp, so my prep time was longer than the recipe suggested. A pound of shrimp normally takes me approximately 15-20 minutes to peel and de-vein. I have been very pleased that I am now able to buy shallots by the pound. Previously 3 ounces cost 1.99 and now a whole pound is only 3.99, that is a substantial price difference. So I am very happy for this new bulk option. As I always do I made my own chicken stock, I don't salt my stock in order that I can control the amount of sodium in my family's diet. I was very happy to find great locally grown asparagus, I prefer to buy local as much as possible. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Both my husband and I were surprised that the gnocchi was the real winner in this recipe. Most of the time in shrimp dishes the shrimp is always the star. However, in this dish the shrimp was a little lacking in flavor, but the gnocchi was delicious. I think that the shrimp would have been better if it was seasoned more before going in with the other ingredients or even marinated before cooking. The asparagus was delicious and honestly this dish would be just as good (and a lot cheaper) if you left out the shrimp and made it vegetarian. My kids loved the recipe, so it was very family friendly.

For the recipe go to Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus.

12 comments:

  1. 95 degrees by the end of May is so hot! Hard to beleve when it is in the High 60s here in Pdx :) - I also stay away from Farm raised seafood and try to buy sustainable, local foods whenever I can.

    Your dish looks very Good - we love gnocchi as well :)

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    1. I talked to my dad this weekend and he said it's been cold in Seattle also. It's supposed to cool down to the 70's here this week, which makes me happy :) Gnocchi is the best!!

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  2. This sounds so good. I wish I put more time into cooking.


    Thanks for linking up with Mom's Monday Mingle!

    Jessica @ At Home Take 2
    http://www.athometake2.blogspot.com

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    1. The great part about this recipe is that it is very easy (I promise :). Thanks for hosting the hop!

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  3. That sounds yummy! Our kitchen is officially a sauna now too, so I'll need all the quick and easy recipes I can get my hands on :)

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    1. It's supposed to cool down this week, which I am so happy about :) This recipe really is very easy and the gnocchi was yummy!

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  4. This looks so delicious. I just wish I could find some gluten free gnocchi. We went to the beach (PDX) yesterday and it was 56 all day. Maybe we could mix our weather and come up with something more bearable.

    Be well.

    b

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    1. My aunt can't eat gluten and I know how hard it has been for her to find things.
      My dad lives in Seattle and he has talked about how cold it has been this spring. We had a really mild winter and now we're paying for it :) I agree that we need to mix our weather!

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  5. yuuuuuum this looks so good! Love asparagus and it might be on it's way out of season....thanks for the reminder I need to get my fill now!

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    1. I love asparagus also, it's yummy :) I definitely get my fill when it is in season!

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  6. Stopping by from the blog hop. This sounds delicious!!

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    1. Thanks, it was really easy too! Going to follow you back now :)

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