Recipe: Shrimp and Artichoke Linguini with Crispy Breadcrumbs

Hey friends!! I'm back with an amazeballs recipe for you today! I found it in one of my Real Simple magazines (I had had a backlog of them and got caught up the other day as one of my guilty pleasures on my spring break), and the recipe looked super easy, healthy and right up my alley. Plus, I had almost everything needed for the recipe anyway!

For once, a picture of the food I made that actually closely resembles the professional picture of it!

Here's what you need:

• 3/4 pound linguini (we used whole wheat pasta to make it even healthier)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup pank bread crumbs
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp (I got a pound of cooked frozen shrimp with tails on for $7 and just thawed them under warm water before cooking)
• 12 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, drained and halved
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (we used 1/4 tsp and that gave it just a tiny hint of a kick, which was perfect. If you like things spicier, go with 1/2 tsp)

Get the pasta cooking according to the directions on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water then drain the pasta and return it to the pot (we added a tiny bit of olive oil to the water for the pasta when cooking).

While the pasta is cooking, heat 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat (you can use the same skillet for this and then for the shrimp later, so get whatever skillet will serve you best for the shrimp to save yourself some pans to wash). Add the bread crumbs and 1/4 tsp each of salt and black pepper; cook it, stirring until it's golden brown (about 3-4 minutes). Mix in the parsley and transfer it to a plate.

Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp (fresh or thawed) to the skillet and season with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper (I eyeballed this). Cook, tossing frequently until it's cooked through and opaque (4-6 minutes). Add the artichoke hearts and crushed red peppers and cook, tossing, until heated through 1-2 minutes.

Add the shrimp mixture to the pasta along with the reserved cooking water and cook over medium heat, tossing, until it's slightly thickened (about 1-2 minutes). Serve the pasta sprinkled with the bread crumb mixture. (According to the magazine article, you can sub the panko bread crumbs for crushed store bought croutons instead, but I assure you, the panko bread crumbs are worth the extra couple of minutes of work--they add an extra crunch that is really yum!)

And then sit there and enjoy how absolutely delicious and guilt-free this meal is!

It makes about 4 servings and the calorie count on this is 599 calories per serving, and that's without the whole wheat pasta option, so it might be even less. Not too shabby!

Seriously, it is SO good. MG went back for seconds and I was told several times throughout how "freaking awesome" it was :)  

Go make it....its really easy! Promise!

If I'm not around tomorrow, it's because I'm playing tour guide around DC with MG's family who are getting into town this afternoon, so try not to miss me too much! :)