(Paleo) Creamy Shrimp Diavolo

Saturday night... why not cook something new and exciting?  Well to be honest, I have done a lot of cooking new and exciting meals, I just have not been keeping up with my blig posts.  BUT, this is 2014, a new year, with a new mission.  This will be blog post 4/54 planned for the year.  I think I am doing pretty good so far.

Just before Christmas I picked up a new cookbook at Costco (my favorite place to score on Paleo cookbooks) "Quick and Easy Paleo Comfort Foods"  The book contains 100+ delicious Gluten-free recipes with 30 minute meal ideas.  It was the 30 minute meal ideas that got me.  The forward is written by Robb Wolf (The Paleo Solution), so if he is endorsing the book you can be sure that all the recipes are paleo friendly!

Anyways, I flipped through the book several times before Christmas, but never got down to trying out a new recipe.  Things were just too hectic.  Yesterday as I was flipping through all my cook books for some meal ideas, the Creamy Shrimp Diavolo caught my eye.  The ingredients are pretty much staples in our kitchen, so that was an added bonus!

The recipe is pretty straight forward and easy to follow (as always, I will include my modifications in red - I always make some).  I think the meal was a hit too.  Avery won't touch shrimp with a 10 foot pole (yet), but my husband and I both really enjoyed it.  He would have preferred it without the onions, he hates onions.  I served mine with a side of spaghetti squash and riced cauliflower.  Delish!

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb - extra-large shrimp (16-20 count), peeled and deveined - I used 25-30 count - i buy the 2lb frozen bags at costco - i would use more shrimp next time
2. 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes - I used a lot more than 2 teaspoons
3. pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper - Whats a pinch? I just added what I though looked good ;-)
4. 2 tablespoon of olive oil or cooking oil of choice - coconut oil
5. 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced - add as much onion as you like - this did seem like a lot compared to the amount of shrimp
6. 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced - i diced up about 7 cloves with my slap chop
7. one 14-1/2 ounce can diced or crused tomatoes - i used diced tomatoes
8. 1/2 cut dry white wine (optional) - I skipped this
9. 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
10. 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil - I didn't have basil so I skipped this too

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the shrimp, red pepper flakes and salt & pepper
2. heat the oil over a medium-high heat in a large skillet that is already hot. Add the shrimp (being careful not to overcrowd the skillet) and saute for about 2-3 minutes, or until just barely cooked through.  If the skillet is too crowded cook your shrimp in 2 batches.  With tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp to a clean plate and set aside
3. Add the onions and garlic to the skillet in which the shrimp were cooked, and saute, stirring until the onions are tanclucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. I cooked my onions longer - cook them to the consistency that you like the.  Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, wine and coconut milk, and then reduce the heat to a medium and cook for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.It looks really runny at first, but the sauce thickens quite nicely.
4. Add the shrimp (an any accumulated shrimp juices) and the basil to the skillet and stir to blend all the flavors together
5. remove the shrimp from the heat and serve at once

Pretty Easy, and pretty delicious.  The amount of red pepper flakes you use will depend on how spicy you like your food.  I like mine hot, then I like to cool my  mouth with a side of guacamole!

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Happy Cooking!!
JoJo