I had no plans on sharing this idea when I started cooking it, but once I took a taste I thought, "Let me see if the family likes it. If they do I'll write it up."

So I snapped some photos and then served.

They LOVED IT!

Even the kids!!

At first, the-3-Year-Old wasn't impressed when I put it on the table.

He was excited for "noodles" and all those yucky shrimp were in his way. He came around and even ate some of those yucky shrimp after a little coaxing!

The whole dish was just something I made with that I had on hand. I like to keep a bag or two of shrimp in the freezer to mix up dinner. The fresh basil was from my garden and everything else is a basic pantry item for me.

Here's what I did...

Ingredients

8oz uncooked whole wheat thin spaghetti
2 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
10g fresh basil leaves, chopped, plus extra for garnish
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
juice of 1 lemon, plus some of the zest
Healthy pinch of salt
1 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and unshelled

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the package.

(Note: I only cook 4 servings of spaghetti because there are 4 of us, and if I made the whole pound I'd end up eating way more than I should. I have a feeling once the boys get older I won't have that problem. )

While waiting for the water to boil for the pasta, heat the oils in a medium pot over medium heat. I used a mix of olive oil and coconut oil because I like the sweetness the coconut oil brings. If you don't have it, just double up on the olive oil.

Add the garlic to the warm oil and just as it turns slightly brown add the basil. They will get a little crisp and help flavor the oil. Only cook for a few seconds before adding the tomatoes.

At this point I added a tablespoon of garlic powder because I only had 3 garlic cloves in the house and I wanted more garlic flavor.

Mix everything together and add a bit of the zest from the lemon before juicing it and adding it to the pot. Mix in the salt and cook everything for a few minutes allowing the flavors to blend.

By this time your water should be boiling so you can add the pasta.

At the same time add the shrimp to the tomato and oil mixture. As soon as the shrimp turn pink, lower the heat to simmer.

Once the pasta is cooked al dente, drain. Combine the shrimp-tomato mixture with the pasta and top with some fresh basil.

We served it with a side salad and a sprinkling of Parmesan.

I'm still shocked that both boys AND The Husband liked this. It was a really super simple dish!

Here's the nutritional information that I based on the total ingredients, but in all honesty, I don't think the fat is actually that high. Most of the liquid sinks to the bottom. I always count it all though. I'd rather overestimate than underestimate.

📖 Recipe