In mid-December, I find my fridge getting bare and my ideas of what to throw together with the random items in my panty slim. Do you feel like that? I create main courses and fun appetizers for parties, but when I get home from work, I have no clue around the holidays!

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw earlier this week I only had frozen meat (chicken and shrimp) and items that could potentially create a shrimp scampi- even though I didn’t have lemon juice or parmesan cheese, which happen to be two big components of shrimp scampi. Stay with me though! This recipe was super quick and ended up being a hit with the family and I had it for lunch the following day- and dropped it on the floor on accident, but that’s another story.

My husband hates shrimp, so that’s where the frozen chicken comes in here. I know I know, what a mess. Okay, let’s get moving.

Here’s my weekday, thrown together “semi” shrimp scampi.

Ingredients

• spaghetti noodles (however much you’re serving)
• frozen shrimp or frozen Tyson chicken tenders (already cooked) (quantity based on how many people you’re serving)
• 2 tsp salt
• spoonful of salsa verde (I used this as a citrus spice replacement since I didn’t have lemon)
• 2 tsp oregano
• 3 tsp pesto
• 2 tbs minced garlic
• spoonful of coconut oil
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 3 tbs butter
• 2 tbs cajun seasoning
• 2 tbs flour (I used this as a thickener because the chicken broth made the dish liquid-y, but I wanted the flavor)

Recipe

• cook noodles according to box in a pot of water, drain once done
• heat butter, coconut oil and garlic in a skillet on medium heat until melted
• add frozen shrimp to the skillet and begin cooking and flipping as necessary
• once the shrimp is thawed and beginning to soap up in the mixture of butter, garlic and oil, add in salt, salsa verde, oregano, pesto, chicken broth and cajun seasoning
• after that begins bubbling and cooking for a few minutes, add in the flour because the mixture will be a little liquid-y. Slowly add in an amount to make it a LITTLE thicker, but still saucy enough to mix with noodles. You may not use all of the flour I have listed above
• once the shrimp is completely cooked, incorporate the noodles into the skillet and use tongs to fold it all together and cook on low-medium heat for a few minutes
• remove from heat and enjoy!
• if you’re using chicken, I thawed the chicken in the microwave since it was already precooked Tyson chicken tenders (not breaded), sliced them into small pieces and cooked them in the same way as I explained above for the shrimp

Please tell me that I’m not alone out there with these thrown together meals! Tag me on Instagram if you try this out.

XO, Rachel