Simple Eats: Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta & Grilled Shrimp

One rule that applies to clean eating is simply: keeping it simple.  Simple meaning: using a few fresh ingredients and spices to create a healthy and flavorful dish.  I did just that on Tuesday for our 8th anniversary dinner. :) It was quite delicious and completely satisfying.  Remember when whole wheat pasta got such a bad rap? I do, but boy has that changed.  I actually prefer the nuttiness and texture of whole grain pasta over the regular. 

Ingredients:
1 box of whole wheat angel hair pasta
Shrimp amount and size of your choice, peeled and deveined {we used about a pound}
1 small bunch of fresh broccoli
3 green onion stems {aka scallions}
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 lemon
About 1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Old Bay, Salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste.

Here's what I did:

First! Before you begin, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil for the pasta.  Make sure your water is nice and salty.  You want to have a flavorful pasta.

{Make shrimp skewers using peeled and deveined shrimp. Once you have them skewered, generously coat with olive oil and season with Old Bay, garlic powder and onion powder.  Having them lined up on skewers makes it easier to grill them up.  Grill the shrimp for a couple minutes on each side until they are pink {done!}}

{Set your seasoned, grilled shrimp aside, keeping them on the warm stove.}

{Next, gather your green things. :) I used chopped fresh broccoli florets, green onions and fresh parsley, coarsely chopped.}

{Quick tip when working with raw broccoli: let it sit in hot tap water for a few minutes to soften them a bit.}

{To a skillet over medium heat, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and start to saute the green onions.  Let them cook for about a minute.}

{Next add your drained broccoli.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.  Let this continue to cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.}

{As this cooks, cut a lemon in half.}

{Add your cooked and drained pasta to the pot with the broccoli and green onions.  Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of the lemon over the pasta and mix well to coat.}

{Add in 1/2 cup of fresh Parmesan Cheese.}

{Add the chopped parsley. Mix well to get the pasta evenly coated.}

{Taste for seasoning and see if you need more oil.  I drizzled a bit more. :)  Mine needed salt and plenty of black pepper, too! Season accordingly and mix again.}

{Plate up the pasta and veggies and serve with the grilled shrimp skewers!}

 I cannot explain to you how simple yet tasty this meal was.  There was something about the texture of the pasta with the oil and cheese coating that was just so completely satisfying.  

Even better, I enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day.  I ate it cold and drizzled a tiny bit of balsamic vinaigrette over the bowl. YUM!

 {iPhone pic}

I hope you try this, let me know if you do. :)

xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥