Another episode of making dinner magic out of whatever is at hand.

I checked the pantry and selected a box of Barilla pasta.

I had a newish bag of broccoli in the refrigerator and jumbo shrimp in the freezer.

I cooked the mini shells for 14 minutes in heavily salted water and saved 1 cup of pasta water.

I sliced the broccoli spears into small pieces and removed the stem.

I then sautéed them in a tablespoon of butter, freshly ground pepper, pinch of kosher salt for 5 minutes rendering them bright green and al dente.

I dried the defrosted shrimp, refrigerated and left them out 30 minutes before sautéing.

I pat dried the shrimp once again and seared in a dry skillet for 3 minutes on each side adding a sliver of butter on top of each shrimp.

I combined 2 cups of pasta and 3 tablespoons of pasta water to the broccoli and then tossed in the shrimp, cooking/stirring  for 3-4 minutes.

I topped with Meyer lemon zest and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Easy, inexpensive and delicious.