Orange Cinnamon Shrimp

Orange Cinnamon Shrimp - made May 3, 2013, recipe adapted from The Gracious Pantry

This is one of those dishes so easy to make that, on the one hand, you don't really need a recipe but on the other hand, without one, I don't know that I would've come up with this flavor combination on my own.  It's shrieks healthy, easy cooking with an undertone of summer citrus flavor.  Bonus that it takes about 5 minutes to prepare and is a perfect weeknight type of dish to make.  It's also really versatile in that you could serve it as a starter on a bed of greens, a side dish or build it as a main course.  I ate it as a salad for dinner on a warm night and it was perfect since it was too hot to turn on the oven or be over a stove for very long.  The only thing I would change in this recipe is after zesting the orange, I would squeeze the juice and add it to the stir fry to give it more orange flavor and a bit of sauce.

It's also good to have something light for dinner when it's hot since heat is a natural appetite suppressant.  I didn't want to be hungry, especially since I workout at night but I didn't want to eat anything heavy either.  Shrimp is a good answer to that situation.  Since I classify myself as a lazy cook, I usually buy one of those packs of raw shrimp with the tails on from Costco, strip the tails off the entire bag of shrimp, separate them into meal-size portions, and put them in quart-size freezer bags.  Whenever I want to cook something easy, I take a bag out of the freezer and throw together a quick stir fry of shrimp and spices.  I'm cutting back on rice (I know, I know, that goes against my Asian roots) so I'll usually eat the shrimp atop some salad greens.  No fatty dressings needed since the shrimp provides its own flavor.  And lest you think I'm being "so healthy", what a light dinner really means is I have room for dessert.

1 pound shrimp, tail off, raw
2 teaspoons olive oil
Zest of 1 large orange (plus the juice if desired)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)

1. Place all ingredients in a large skillet and sauté the shrimp just until pink.  Serve immediately.