Want a REALLY easy and quick ‘fancy’ meal? This is your ticket. If you’re making a vegetarian or non seafood-lover happy, just take out the shrimp and it is still quite an excellent meal.

Do you want to know the biggest secret of all??? Almost every ingredient in this meal are things you can having in your freezer/pantry and save them for a rainy day. The shrimp and green beans were from the freezer and the olive oil, gnocchi and pine nuts were from the pantry! The onion, garlic, and Parmesan cheese stay good for quite a while in on your counter/refrigerator. All you have to really worry about purchasing for this meal are the portabella mushrooms and (if you don’t have a basil plant growing either in your kitchen or back yard) fresh basil! Easy, I tell you! Try it…it’s a crowd pleaser!

Shrimp and Veggie Pesto Gnocchi

adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
• 16 oz gnocchi
• 12 oz green beans
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 1/2 cup fresh basil
• 2 large portabella mushrooms (sliced)
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbs water
• olive oil (approximately 2 1/2 tbs)

How-To

1. In a large sauce pan, sauté onion in olive oil until almost tender.
2. In the meantime, cook the gnocchi.
3. Once the onions are tender, add the mushrooms, shrimp, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, stirring occasionally.
4. Next, prepare the pesto by use either a blender or food processor and blend the basil, pine nuts, parmesan, water. Add enough olive oil to make it a pesto consistancy while blending.
5. Add the pesto, green beans and cooked gnocchi to the shrimp mixture.
6. Serve and enjoy with your favorite glass of wine.

Servings: 4