The spiciness in this recipe comes from crushed red pepper flakes—the freshness from both lemon peel and lemon juice. All the ingredients combine into an elegant, but oh, so-simple-to-prepare entrée

• 12 ounces frozen, peeled and deveined, raw medium shrimp
• 1 lemon
• 8 ounces whole grain fettuccine or linguine
• 3 cups fresh or frozen cut-up broccoli
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1. Thaw shrimp according to package directions. Pat dry with paper towels.

2. Rinse the lemon. Dry.

3. Optional step: If you have a grater, place a piece of wax paper on the counter. Working over wax paper, grate the outside of the lemon, allowing strands of peel to fall on paper. Turn lemon frequently and don’t remove any of the white portion of the peel. Place 1 teaspoon of the grated peel in a small bowl.

4. Cut the same lemon in half. Working over another small bowl, firmly squeeze lemon halves to make the juice run into the bowl. Remove and throw away any seeds that fall into bowl. Measure 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and add to the 1 teaspoon lemon peel, if you used a grater. Set aside.

5. Cook fettuccine or linguine according to package directions, except add broccoli to the boiling water during the last 2 minutes of cooking time.

6. Place colander in sink. Pour pasta and broccoli through colander to drain off water. Return pasta-broccoli mixture to the hot pan used for cooking. Cover to keep warm.

7. In large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Cook and stir for 30 seconds.

8. Add shrimp to skillet. Cook and stir for 2 to 4 minutes or until the internal temperature of the shrimp is at 145°F for 15 seconds*. The shrimp will be opaque (you can no longer partially see through them).

9. Stir lemon juice and grated peel (optional) into shrimp.

10. Pour the shrimp and cooking liquid from the skillet into the pasta-broccoli mixture. Gently toss until combined. Serve immediately.

* If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can purchase one from a supermarket or dollar store.