Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Spaghetti Squash

In attempt to eat healthier, lighter meals, I am slowly making transitions. [This is hard people! But I welcome the challenge, and any of your ideas]. I used Spaghetti Squash instead of real spaghetti pasta. It was a good decision! Taylor and I both really liked it, which was surprising. So, that means we will be able to cut some pasta out of our meals using the spaghetti squash, and that's exciting. :) The Lemon Garlic Shrimp is a recipe from the Pioneer Woman. Oh my, is it good!!! And incredible on top of the squash.

Spaghetti Squash

There are many ways you can choose to cook this. We were pressed for time, so I took the quickest route. I boiled the squash and it turned out perfect. I plan on trying baking it next time to see if there is a big difference. Here are both options:

Boil
1. Bring salted water to a boil in a big pot.
2. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. [Kind of like a pumpkin :)]
3. Place the spaghetti squash in the pot [try to keep skin side up].
4. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until it's tender.
5. Carefully remove it from the pot onto a cutting board, let cool.

6. Using a fork, scrape the inside to get the strands of spaghetti out.

7. Drain to remove excess water.












Bake
1. Put fork holes all around the squash.
2. On a baking sheet, bake squash at 375 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
3. Remove it, let it cool, then begin using a fork to get the spaghetti strands out. 


Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Ingredients
2 pounds raw shrimp, deveined, shell off
2  sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup fresh parsley [I used 2 tsp dried parsley]
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 whole lemon, juiced
Half of lemon zest

1. Set oven to 375 degrees. Rinse frozen shrimp to separate, then place on baking sheet.



2. In a food processor, add cold butter, garlic, lemon juice and zest, salt, parsley, and red pepper.

Pulse until combined.

3. Sprinkle cold butter crumbles over the shrimp.

4. Bake until shrimp in opaque and butter is hot and bubbly.

5. Serve hot over spaghetti squash. [We didn't have bread with ours, but dipping the bread in the butter sauce is delicious too!!!]


ENJOY! :)