I’m a busy mom. Our weeknights are spent running to and from a variety of activities, events and lessons. I’m plain tired when it comes time to prepare dinner and sometimes we barely have time to fit it in.

On the nights when we do have down time or don’t need to be somewhere, I always plan these ridiculously elaborate meals. Why? Because I have somehow in my messed up busy mom brain, equated that elaborate means something more to my family than it does. It doesn’t.

My family doesn’t care how long it took me to make the meal, or about how many ingredients I used or even what it’s called. They care about how good it tastes and that they got to enjoy it with me. So why shouldn’t I make quicker meals, which eventually translates to more time to do the things I love, like being with my family?

If mom is always in the kitchen cooking, how is she spending time with the family?

Answer: She’s not. Or at least she wasn’t until recently.

Lately, I have been back on a quest to come up with delicious meals that are easy, and come together quickly. This helps me out throughout the entire week, including weekends.

Enter Land O Lakes® Sauté Express® Sauté Starters. Land O Lakes® had the solution I was looking for, an easy, delicious solution to both my weeknight dinner dilemma as well as my need to fix quicker dinners on the weekends, when busy mom’s would rather be spending time with their families.

The new Sauté Express® Sauté Starter combines butter, olive oil and a variety of herbs and spices into one convenient little wrapped square. You simply toss a Sauté Express® Square into your sauté pan and heat until it begins to bubble and sizzle. The sound is pure joy and music to my ears.

Then it get’s fun – you simply add your fish, shrimp, chicken or pork and sauté in less than 30 minutes for a fast and delicious meal. It seriously cannot get much better than that, and the flavor is unbelievable! Busy mom’s everywhere are sighing in relief. Trust me, I know I was.

This quick Italian Herb Shrimp Pilaf I created, was packed with flavor and came together in under 15 minutes. That is what I’m talking about. I simply paired it with this easy Zucchini and Tomato Salad and I was good to go. My family was happy, we enjoyed time together and most importantly, we enjoyed a delicious meal, that took less time to cook that it took to eat!

Easy Italian Herb Shrimp Pilaf

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Land O Lakes® Sauté Express® Sauté Starter's make it easy to get a meal on the table in minutes. A delicious shrimp pilaf is enhanced with the delicious squares.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound of shrimp - peeled
• 2 squares of Land O Lakes® Italian Herb Sauté Express® Sauté Starter
• 1 medium onion
• 1 garlic clove, cut in 2 halves
• 1-2 cups cooked rice, hot
• 1 square of Land O Lakes® Italian Herb Sauté Express® Sauté Starter

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, melt 2 squares of Land O Lakes® Italian Herb Sauté Express® Sauté Starter.
2. When you see it bubble and hear it sizzle, add the garlic and onion. Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add the shrimp and saute 5 minutes over medium heat.
4. In another pot, prepare the rice, drain extra water.
5. Melt another square of Land O Lakes® Italian Herb Sauté Express® Sauté Starter into the rice.
6. Pour the rice into a serving bowl. Pour the contents of the shrimp pan over the rice.
7. Serve!

Disclosure: The author received a full-value coupon redeemable for Sauté Express® Sauté Starter for recipe development and review purposes. All opinions are my own.

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