Shrimp & Orzo

T minus 15 minutes: Put water on to boil in medium pot over the "power boil" burner.

T minus 14 minutes: Put frozen uncooked shrimp under a small trickle of cold water to thaw, per directions on bag.

T minus 13 minutes: Peel some garlic.

T minus 12 minutes: Put sautee pan on medium heat, add about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil. Note: extra virgin olive oil is sort of wasted at this step because of the breakdown it experiences during cooking. Best to add the good stuff later, after it comes off the heat.

T minus 11 minutes: Add orzo and big pinch of salt into boiling water and lower to normal high setting. Love the power boil. Stir every so often.

T minus 10 minute: Peel shrimp.

T minus 7 minutes: Press garlic through garlic press (er, redundant) into warming oil. Add a sprinkle of red pepper. Pop open some anchovies and plop some in.

T minus 6 minutes: Add shrimp and big pinch salt.

T minus 5 minutes: Chop some parsley and basil, while keeping the shrimp moving in the pan.

T minus 4 minutes: Add a little white wine into the shrimp if you want.

T minus 3 minutes: Take orzo off heat and drain. Dump into shrimp.

T minus 2 minute: Add julienned sundried tomatoes (preserved in olive oil) into shrimp & orzo mixture. Also plop in some frozen sweet peas and a spoonful of capers. I put in some of the caper juice too to add a little brightness. I like capers so I add a lot. Toss around over heat.

Remove from heat when peas seem warmed up and serve with chopped basil, parsley, and some cheese grated directly onto bowl/plate over shrimp & orzo. I also added a glug of some super awesome extra virgin olive oil. Between the last step and eating, I had time to wash my orzo pot and the strainer, so after dinner, all I had to clean up was the sautee pan.

The best part of the meal is that I was just using leftover ingredients that we had lying around in our pantry and in the fridge.