Mother's Day Dinner -- Mediterranean Shrimp Skillet and Basil Baked Tomatoes

For Mother's Day, I told my mom to pick out any recipe she'd like, and I would cook it. She chose the Mediterranean Shrimp Skillet meal from Taste of Home Magazine's "Weeknight Solutions" article in the Feb/March issue--her one substitution being goat cheese for feta.

The Basil Baked Tomatoes as the suggested side seemed too perfect to skip, so I made those as well. I felt like we needed one more veggie, so I took some asparagus and roasted them for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F with a sprinkle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then sprinkled half with more feta.

Dessert was Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Once you make chocolate chip cookies with brown butter, you won't ever make them any other way. For serious.

Mediterranean Shrimp Skillet with Basil Baked Tomatoes

For the Pasta:

• 1 box angel hair pasta
• 1.5 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (frozen, cooked shrimp was on sale, so I used that. Shrimp is expensive, jeesh!)
• 1.5 tsp olive oil, plus more if needed
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (I used 5, because I love garlic)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1.5 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 4 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 3 tbs plus 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
• 2 tbs butter (optional, can be subbed for olive oil)

-Cook pasta according to package. While pasta cooks, saute shrimp in olive oil until pink (if using cooked shrimp, wait until the very end to add them, so they don't get tough). Add garlic, salt, and pepper, cook until garlic is browned. Remove from skillet.

-In same skillet, heat 1 cup of the chicken broth, 3 tbs basil, and lemon juice. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with remaining broth and whisk until smooth. Stir into the pan and bring to a boil. Stir until thickened. Stir in spinach and shrimp, cook until spinach is soft.

-Drain pasta, toss with butter or olive oil. Serve with shrimp and sauce. Sprinkle with goat cheese and fresh basil.

For the Tomatoes

• 4 large tomatoes, sliced in half
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 4 tsp crumbled feta cheese
• 4 tbs chopped olives
• 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
• sprinkle of fresh basil
• sprinkle of salt and pepper

-Scoop out the tomatoes and arrange on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then fill with olives and feta. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add bread crumbs. Once combined, scoop out onto the top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle fresh basil over tops of tomatoes, then bake at 325 degrees F until tomatoes are soft.