Shrimp Scampi

Okay - I know - two recipes in one week! Gasp! But Beth is at my mom and dad's house at "camp" so I'm left with only Sarah (and Bob, of course) and lots of time to dwell over recipes I've been wanting to make for a long time, yet just don't have the time or energy at the end of the day with TWO kids running around. So this week I've been trying some new things. I knew Beth would have no part of this new recipe, although now I'm thinking she MIGHT! It was super delicious! I made it and served it atop cous-cous because the 12-15 minutes it takes this dish to bake wasn't enough time for me to get water boiling and pasta made, but next time, I'll DEFINITELY make angel hair pasta to go with it! Seafood seems very initmidating to me, and shrimp even more so, but I'm not sure why. I guess I'm worried I won't cook it thoroughly, thus giving us all a bad case of "stomach problems", but this was no fail. Granted, its not great for the waistline, but I did use "light" butter, if that counts for anything! Double this recipe if feeding more than two adults and one child!! I've also been known to double the sauce ingredients just because I really love the sauce! (i.e. 1 1/2 tsp doubled is 1 Tablespoon!)

Shrimp Scampi Bake
Serves 3

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 Tbsp prepared Dijon-style mustard
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 lb medium raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, with tails attached

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley.

When the butter melts completely, remove from heat. Arrange shrimp in a shallow baking dish.

Pour the butter mixture over the shrimp. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and opaque. Serve over Angel Hair pasta for the best results.

**Author's Note: To keep the sauce from separating, combine the sauce ingredients in a small glass bowl and microwave until the butter is just melted.