Cilantro shrimp and herb orzo

Happy Friday!  This week has just flown by...it's that time of year for me, the crazy conference time.  We have about 2 weeks until our freight truck leaves, and less than 3 weeks before we all head to New Orleans! It's crunch time!

This recipe was so delicious, I wanted to share it with you - I haven't posted a recipe in a while.  I found this while poking around on the Skinny Taste blog - she's one of my new found favorites.

One of our friends stopped by to visit for a little while on Wednesday and I insisted that he stay for dinner.  This came together so quickly, and was really easy.  I added some orzo to the meal since we had company, but you could totally eat it without it.

Put the pot of water on the stove for the orzo.  While it's heating up, get everything else out and ready...start chopping the herbs, drain the shrimp (I used a bag of unthawed shrimp that needed to be drained and rinsed).  Put a cup of orzo in the pot of boiling water, and turn on the skillet with a little olive oil.  Once that's hot, put in the shrimp, in 2 minutes flip and add the crushed garlic.  The orzo takes about 8-9 minutes and the shrimp 5 or so.

Drain the orzo, then mix in some lemon juice, olive oil, chopped parsley and cilantro.  Stir in lime juice and cilantro with the shrimp, and serve!  It's really that easy!  I threw a bag of steamer vegetables into the microwave, too, and it was a well rounded meal.

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Cilantro Lime Shrimp
2 tsp olive oil
2 lb shrimp, shelled and deviened
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime
salt and pepper

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan, when hot add shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. When the shrimp is cooked on one side, about 2 minutes, turn over and add garlic. Sauté another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook. Remove from heat. Squeeze lime all over shrimp and toss with cilantro. Serve hot.

Lemon Herb Orzo

1 cup of orzo

1 tbsp olive oil

A couple tablespoons lemon juice, to taste

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

In a medium pot of boiling salted water, cook orzo according to package directions (about 9 minutes). Drain pasta and transfer to a bowl.  Mix in remaining ingredients and serve.

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Enjoy, and have a great weekend friends!