More of the sick....and some shrimp!

Really? When does this sickness stop?  Is this life with a child forever as I know it? Will it get better?  Ugh...I feel so bad for my little girl and at this point, all three of us would benefit from about a week's worth of straight sleep.  Needless to say, it's hard to concentrate on work...with the sleep deprivation, crabby baby with a cold and all. 

Back to cooking.  I did have a chance to cook a little in the last few days.  This one is from Ellie's cookbook...again.  It was a good one.  Maybe the best one I've made from it so far.  This recipe is the exact reason why I love cooking like Ellie Krieger and Ina Garten.  Fresh ingredients, not alot of prep or cook time, put together in a simple way for a DELICIOUS meal.  Here's the thing...I'm not a fan of cooking "technique." I am not good at butchering meat (I really don't even know how to cut a whole chicken that well) and I don't enjoy long, complicated processes to cook something.  Although, I do enjoy a really nice slow roasted piece of BBQ... 

But again, here's the other thing...I also don't like to take short cuts with fancy kitchen gadgets.  I like to chop an onion with a butcher knife...not a fancy onion chopper thing.  I just want a set of really good knives (that I now have thanks to my awesome mother-in-law), a cutting board and raw, fresh food. 

So, maybe that sounds a little contrary, but that's how I like to cook.

Okay, onto the meal.  This is Garlic Basil Shrimp.  I followed this recipe almost to a "T"...I seasoned the shrimp a little more with some Old Bay and it didn't really call for that. I also added a little butter to the orzo before I added the shrimp...but other than that, followed the recipe perfectly.

Next time, I'm getting better quality shrimp...but that's hard to find in January in North Texas.  The tomatoes on the other hand, were beautiful! Not as good as the ones I am going to grow this summer, though. Stay tuned for that!