“Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it….Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried…” – Pvt. Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue (Forrest Gump)

Like Bubba said, shrimp can be made in a multitude of delicious ways and today we’re going to start simple by making Shrimp Scampi.  This is one of my son’s absolute favorite dishes to not only eat but also prepare! 

Don’t be affraid of getting the kiddos involved in the kitchen. Getting them involved at a young age helps them understand different kinds of food and how it’s prepared. It also opens the door to that “try everything once” mantra that I believe everyone should live by! With this meal, my son gets to peel the shrimp, crush the garlic and add the lemon juice at the end. Granted it’s not much but it makes him feel helpful and proud of himself for making something delicious!

This dish can either be served alone with sides or you can serve over linguini or angel hair pasta or even zoodles (my personal favorite), making the most out of the yummy white wine butter sauce!
**QUICK TIP**

Add other seafood to the mix such as clams, mussels or scallops. You can also add fresh diced roma or cherry tomatoes and fresh sliced mushrooms for an extra flavor boost.
Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients

• 1 – 2 lbs raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 4 tbs unsalted butter 
• 3 – 4 cloves garlic 
• 1 small shallot, diced
• 1/2 cup white cooking wine
• 3 tbs finely diced parsley 
• 1 lemon or 4 tbs lemon juice 
• Salt & Pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. If have have fresh thawed shrimp, skip this and go to step 2. For frozen shrimp, place it in a strainer in the sink and run cold water over it until defrosted. The key here is *COLD* water, otherwise you risk cooking the shrimp.
2. Frozen shrimp: Peel off all remnants of the shells and discard.    Fresh shrimp: Make sure it’s deveined! You don’t want a Tommy Boy incident here 😞For instructions on how to clean/devein, check out this helpful link:   http://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/photos/how-to-peel-and-devein-shrimp
3. In a deep sauce pan, add the butter, garlic and shallots. Simmer on med-low until aromatic and the shallots start to turn opaque. Keep the heat relatively low as the garlic can quickly burn.
4. Add the shrimp and stir well to make sure it’s coated in the buttery blend.
5. At this point you can increase the heat to med/med-high to cook the shrimp. Right as the shrimp is starting to get a little pink, add the white cooking wine. Cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes. 
6. Remove the lid and squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the shrimp. Stir well and let simmer a few more minutes. 
7. Add pepper and parsley. Take a spoon and taste a little of the butter sauce & add salt if desired. 

All done! Enjoy 😊