Worms, Snails and Caterpillars

The other night I served a shrimp and pasta dish that was pretty good and super easy (added bonus points there). I posted the recipe below.
Jacob was eating the spaghetti, but not touching the shrimp, so Alan started calling the pasta 'worms' and the shrimp 'snails'. I used small shrimp even though the recipe calls for medium because they were on sale. Because of their small size, they did kinda look like snails. :P Jacob thought that was SO funny and gobbled all the shrimp up and then asked for more 'snails'. He wouldn't try his green beans either until I called them caterpillars. Then he thought they were great! I think we are going to have to start using this trick more often!

I also used less red pepper than the recipe calls for so it wasn't too spicy for the boys.


Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup pasta and about 1 1/4 cups sauce)

Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked linguine
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
Preparation
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; keep warm.

2. While pasta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic and shrimp; sauté or 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon garlic, pepper, basil, and oregano; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste and lemon juice; cook 1 minute or until slightly darkened. Stir in crushed tomatoes, salt, and diced tomatoes; cook 5 minutes or until thickened. Return shrimp to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve over pasta.
Cooking Light, JANUARY 2010