Pasta with shrimp and feta cheese

Do you find that Saturday is the shortest day of the week? It certainly seems that way for me. I have all these things I hope to accomplish on Saturdays, but the day seems to end before I even make a dent in my list.

One Saturday was a good example. I wanted to mow the lawn, repair the railing on my deck, trim the bushes, turn the garden over, and that was just the outside part of my list. There is also the laundry, cleaning the kitchen, and re-organizing my closet for the warmer weather. Well, if I look at the bright side, at least I didn't have to come up with a list for the next Saturday, that’s for sure.

I started out, bright and early, getting up at 6:00. I made coffee, started the dishwasher and then fed the dogs. Next, I poured a cup of coffee and started on my morning newsletter. That usually takes me a couple of hours, but on Saturdays, I spend a little longer because I have more time. 

I finished my fifth cup of coffee and my newsletter around 9:00 and then showered and dressed for the day. I then dilly dallied around and before I knew what happened, it is already after noon and I haven’t even started my list. Not a good sign.

Well, I did fix the railing on the deck, and, um, ok, I found myself in a comfortable chair in the backyard reading the next novel in David Weber’s Honor Harrington series. Oh well, so much for my list. About the only other thing I accomplished was that I worked up an appetite. 

It was about this time that I remembered that I had a pound of shrimp in the freezer. Then I remembered that I also had a block of feta cheese. Oh yes, I know what I’m having for dinner. 

You know, all those self-help books that I read, tell me that all I have to do, is list my priorities for the day and I’ll be amazed what I can accomplish. They’re right. Dinner was amazing!

Olive oil

1 Large onion, chopped

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

(actually I used 3 Puya chile peppers, crushed)

4 cloves garlic

1 lb. peeled tail-off uncooked shrimp

(I used frozen red shrimp from Argentina)

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 can Ro*Tel tomatoes

1/2 lb. feta cheese, broken up

1 tbs. fresh oregano, chopped

1/2 lb. cork screw pasta cooked al dente

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 400º. Heat a large oven proof skillet and liberally coat the bottom with olive oil. Add the onion and cook until softened. add the red pepper flakes and the garlic. Stir for a few minutes BUT don’t brown the garlic. Add the shrimp, stir and cook until almost pink. 

Add the chopped tomato and the can of Ro*Tel. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for one minute. Stir in the feta cheese and the oregano. Let it simmer one minute and then place the skillet in the oven for ten minutes.

Serving

Place the drained pasta in a large pasta bowl. Pour the shrimp sauce over the pasta. Dish this out and serve it along side a tossed crisp salad, a bowl of olives, fresh crusty bread (for dipping in the sauce) and pick out a bottle of Nero D’Avola wine from Sicily. 

Lock the doors, unplug the phone. You don’t want to be interrupted while you feast on this. You may not have completed much of your to-do list, but after this meal, who cares!