Accidental Great Simple Dinner

Forced to think of what the heck to make for dinner tonight after 40 years of dinner-making...was thinking of skipping dinner altogether and going for melba and hummus and a little white wine, I came across Linguine with Garlic Shrimp and Basil on a scrap cut out of a Bon Appetite magazine, which likely came from St. Vincent de Paul second hand.

I looked in the upper cupboard to find the linguine and decided that I did not want or need the carbs. I don't know...whole wheat linguine just wasn't going to sit well tonight. I remembered it takes over all other tastes on a plate...it is heavy.

So I took another turn with the dinner.

I prepared some parsnips, carrots and sweet potatoes cut in fingers and some butternut squash cubed which I decided to roast with a little oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt & fresh ground pepper. All of these veggies were languishing in my bin...it was a bin purge.

I made the shrimp, basil and garlic with the sauce recommended and decided that the roasted veggies would take the place of the linguine, but be on the side - all in a big soup bowl.

My adaptation follows:
1 tbsp of butter melted
1/2 lb of shrimp
3 green onions chopped largish
3 garlic cloves chopped roughly
1/4 cup white wine
1/8 oz bottle of clam juice
1/3 cup whipped cream
lemon zest which I didn't have, but I did have 1 tbsp of lemon juice (fresh juice I had left over from a few days ago...no fresh lemons in the fridge...forgot to buy them)
some fresh basil leaves rolled and chopped - again, waste not want not - barely hanging on after being used for a couple of other meals this past week

How to do this
Roast Veggies
toss in a little olive oil with S & P - spread out on a baking sheet in a single layer
pre-heated 425 for about 15 minutes turning over once

Shrimp etc.
melt butter in a frying pan on medium-high heat
add shrimp with S&P - 2 minutes until opaque - remove to a bowl
Add green onions and garlic to same skillet - saute 1 minute
Add wine and zest or juice - boil until reduced to a glaze - 2 minutes
Add clam juice and cream - boil until sauce thickens - 8 minutes -watch it
Return shrimp to sauce and add basil and S&P

2 people
2 bowls
about 10 shrimp each
lots of powerfully great garlicky, basily, creamy, lemony, winey sauce spooned over and shrimps and roasted veggies too

Yum Yum Yum