Sweet & Spicy Shrimp

I am pausing in the middle of my Back To School Series and my self proclaimed honey phase, to post this recipe.  We have ben devouring it at our house.  And I do mean devour, with no conversation and just the sounds of lips smacking and forks hitting the plates echoing off the dining room walls.  My 18 month old polished off a plate the same size as mine.  I’m not going to promise you that your family will like it because it has a bit of a kick to it and I know that not all kiddos go in for that kind of thing.  However, the heat is easily controlled so you could absolutely make this with no spice at all.  But what the hay!  We all need a bit of zip in our lives, right?  No one wants to waste their time on food that is just…okay.  Our meals should be GREAT as often as we can make them that way!

The fact that this is fast, simple, and reliable is what deems this a shareable recipe on this blog.  Again, I will say that I don’t post anything here that I haven’t made several times myself and this one is now in our regular weeknight rotation.  The first time I threw it together, we all ate it so fast I didn’t even have time to think about what I had done!  It is not super sweet and also has a bit of tang.  The combo is so wonderfully appealing.  I would recommend this if you are looking to expand your family’s culinary horizons, but don’t want to serve something really unfamiliar.  If are cooking for just one or two, this reheats great but is good cold right from the fridge too.  You could make all your co-workers crazy jealous (and hungry!) by nuking this in the break room!
One Year Ago: Tangy Chicken Salad W/Avocado
Three Years Ago: Tator-Tot Hotdish

Sweet & Spicy Shrimp
This recipe is adapted from another source, but I have no idea what it is.  I have changed it quite a bit, but the original inspiration is not my own.  It IS however, great over brown rice, making it gluten-free.  This would also be fantastic made with chicken if you are not a fan of seafood.

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large carrots, scraped and cut into large matchsticks
1 sweet bell pepper-yellow, orange, or red, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T freshly grated ginger

1/2 lb cooked linguine noodles, soba noodles or 4 c cooked brown rice

Sauce:
1/3 c OJ
1/4 c apricot or peach preserves
3 T ketchup
2 T apple cider or red wine vinegar
1 T soy sauce
the zest of 1 orange
1 tsp red curry paste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (1/4 tsp if you are worried about the heat)

Combine all ingredients in a large measuring cup.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, quickly sauté the carrots and peppers in 1 T of olive oil over medium to med-high heat until crisp tender. Add the garlic, ginger, and shrimp and toss together quickly until the shrimp are just barely opaque, a minute to a minute and a half.  Pour the sauce in and let the whole mixture bubble together until hot, another 2 minutes or so.  Dump in the cooked noodles and toss together, or spoon over plates of rice.  Garnish with chopped scallions, chopped parsley, or both.