“It’s so e-easy but nothin’ seems to please me…” sorry, little meaningless digression to my early years of high school…I’m quite easy to please, actually.  On with my point.  My BFF has shared many recipes passed down from her New Orleans Nana with me…you may remember the positively delightful lemon squares.  This is another, it is simply delicious…and could not be easier! If you are unfamiliar with New Orleans fare, the name may be deceptive…BBQ Shrimp…it has absolutely nothing to do with barbeque sauce…and no grilling is involved.  This is old school New Orleans at its finest.

The original recipe I got calls for 3 pounds of shrimp…one of my favorite things about this is it can easily be divided into smaller batches (when it is just DH & I we eat 1 pound) and just as easily it can be doubled.  Gotta love versatility!  So, you need some shrimp…peels & tails on…

I hate peeling raw shrimp…so this instantly made me happy :).  Spread the shrimp out in a single layer on a sheet pan covered in foil (easy clean up!).  Now some lemons, let’s do 3 (1 per pound)…I like them fairly thinly sliced…lay the lemon slices on top of the layer of shrimpies.

Aren’t lemons simply beautiful?  Now for the punch of flavor…melt 2 sticks of butter in a sauce pan, add 1 cup of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of parsley, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoons pepper, 3/4 teaspoon oregano (you can sub an italian blend for the oregano & parsley if you need to), 1 tablespoon paprika, 3 tablespoons worchestershire and 5-6 cloves of minced garlic.  I like to let the flavors meld together for a few…like while the oven preheats.  Then pour over the top of the shrimp & lemons.

Now, mix it all up…I find my (clean) hands are best for this.  Then, I have to rearrange the lemons back on top…it probably doesn’t really matter, but isn’t this pretty???

This goes into a 425° degree oven for 15 minutes…

The shrimp are perfectly cooked every time!  The smell is heavenly!  The New Orleans’ way to serve this is with beautiful crusty bread, but we were livin’ la vida low carb…

I roasted the asparagus and the cauliflower at the same time as the shrimp. 

Today’s secret revealed…the first time Brandy served this for us, we had an extra baguette…we ate it for breakfast…with our coffee…dipping it in melted chocolate…topping that with strawberries and whipped cream…so sinfulicious!