This weekend I celebrated a baby and a birthday!

My friend Stephanie (the one with the adorable bump of course) is having a baby in January. I went down to Long Island for her shower, and then Saturday night we celebrated my other college roommate Maura’s 25th birthday in the city.

My shower gift was a baby quilt! I did a rag quilt mostly using these instructions and I love how it turned out! It was a lot of cutting but I think it’s probably a good beginner quilt because you don’t have to be as precise when matching corners.

Between making this and making a dress for the shower (God forbid I buy something when I can make one for less than $9), I needed a quick dinner last week.

Hence, this shrimp! Less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

Shrimp Skillet w/ Garlic & Chive Butter

inspired by Jo Cooks

1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1 small bunch chives, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt & pepper, to taste

1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Make the compound butter- combine softened butter with the chopped chives, garlic, and salt and pepper. We want a pretty high chives to butter ratio- it should be green.

You could just stop here and slather this loveliness on some toast. Or get some shrimp!

Arrange the shrimp in a skillet or baking dish. Place small dollops (what a word) of the butter on  the shrimp, trying to get a little bit of the butter on each one.

Stick it in the oven until pink and opaque.

Top with freshly squeezed lemon juice and serve. With bread, obviously. How else would we mop up the extra BUTTER?

I ate the leftovers of this for 2 or 3 nights after, but I don’t recommend doing it that way. It doesn’t re-heat very well and the butter takes on an odd texture once it’s refrigerated. I would only cook one serving at a time, or cook it all if you’re feeding 3-4 people.

I whipped up a blanket and an outfit, but how many times did I touch the skillet handle while it was hot from the oven? Three. We all have our strengths.