No Meat March: Balsamic Penne with Shrimp

So today is March 2nd - yesterday I was excited because spring was on the way. Today, not so much! Only in Kansas can it be in the 70s one day and snowing the next. Either way I am confident more 70 degree days are around the corner and I can hardly wait! 

As I continue to think about things to write about on this blog, I have an ever growing list. I see something and it gives me an idea, someone requests a particular topic or I get inspiration by watching the food network, reading about something in a food magazine or on a fellow blogger's page. One idea I have played around with some is the thought of mini series. What I mean by that is, dedicating multiple posts to the same topic. Well, today is the start of my first mini series - No Meat March. All five posts this month, will be recipes not containing any meat - rather be seafood or veggie based.

The first recipe in this mini series is my Balsamic Penne with Shrimp. I know you may be thinking you don't want to eat pasta right now, because warmer weather is right around the corner and that means you can't hide behind winter clothes anymore. My response would be, there is a lot of research out there that says you should not withhold from carbohydrates completely, just simply make good choices about the types of carbohydrates and portion control. The star pasta in this dish is a whole wheat penne - which is a hollow tube shaped pasta. A recommended portion of pasta is 1-2 oz dry pasta. In my recipe, I am portioning 2 oz dried pasta per person, but feel free to make it 1 oz if you would prefer. Lastly, pasta can be not as calorie heavy if you choose to eliminate the creamy white or tomato based sauce. Actually, my favorite way to eat pasta is simply with a oil and vinegar drizzle, so that is what I did with this dish. Don't worry - just because we are having a lighter sauce, doesn't mean we are skimping on the flavor!

Balsamic Penne with Shrimp

Inspired by Noodles & Company Pasta Fresca 

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Penne pasta - 8 oz (most bags or boxes come 16oz - whole wheat is best)
Red Onion - ½ large onion
Garlic- 2 cloves
Tomatoes - 3 small
Spinach - 2 cups
Basil - 4 T chopped
Shrimp - 10-12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (you can buy it this way)
Balsamic vinegar, 2 T
Lemon, 1
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2-3 T
Feta cheese, ¼ c
Salt and Pepper

 

 

Boil and then salt a pot of water. Add pasta and cook according to directions on the package, usually approximately 10 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, chop onion into half moon slices. I like to keep the veggies the same general size of the pasta because it is easier to eat - in this case longer pieces.

 

 

Add onion to an oiled pan over medium heat. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Next, slice the tomatoes. I like to remove the flesh and just keep the skin for this dish.   

Add the tomatoes to the pan and saute for an additional minute or two. Lastly, add a couple of handfuls of spinach and the chopped garlic and cook until the spinach is wilted. In a separate small pan, cook shrimp in a little oil until pink throughout, approximately 3 minutes. Remove from pan and chop into bite size pieces. 

Once pasta is done cooking, drain and add to pan with the veggies. Add 1 tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and the juice of one lemon. Lastly, grind a little fresh pepper and stir. 

 

 
Spoon pasta mixture onto plates and top with chopped shrimp, feta cheese and chopped basil. 

 Enjoy!

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One exciting update I wanted to share with you about the blog. I have added a print button to each blog entry, which offers a lot of great features. You have the ability to email the blog entry, convert to a PDF (and save) or print. Prior to doing any of these things, there are some editing options, such as changing font size, removing all or some of the images and removing certain content. To remove all images, select that option on the top toolbar. To remove only certain images, simply click on whatever it is you want to remove. If you want to remove all of the paragraphs on the blog except the recipe, you can do that by hovering over what you want to delete and clicking on the yellow box that appears. I have found changing the font size to 9 or 10 and removing all images except the main food picture will probably give you the best printed result. Give it a try and get your recipe catalog started today!

~Ashley

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