Sunday Shrimp Sister Pasta

Sunday night dinners have always been an event at our house. My dad always makes something delicious that no one would want to tackle during the week, like stew or pot roast or chicken paprika. This past sunday, in honor of his birthday my sister and I took over sunday night dinner. My dad gave us a category of food (italian) and we made this decadent shrimp alfredo (although not as decadent as it could have been, some people use an entire stick of butter and heavy cream in the sauce). We sort of made it up as we went along and combined recipes and didn't measure anything, which explains why the recipe is not very exact, but it was fun to cook with my sister. This recipe is a good one to make with someone, I took care of the alfredo sauce while Caitlin was in charge of the shrimp and veggies. Next time we want to make a spanish dish with white wine and garlic and shrimp, yummy!

For the shrimp and veggie portion of the meal, heat up about a tablespoon of butter and a clove of chopped garlic in a big skillet. Add the red peppers, then the mushrooms.

Meanwhile, start a roux with about 2 tablespoons of butter and an equal amount of flour but also add some grated garlic, about half a clove.

Now it's time to add the cream, we used light cream because we are o so healthy here, clearly. Whisk the cream in slowly, it helps to have one person pour and one whisk, or to be less spastic than I am and able to do the two different things with two different hands. We ended up using about half a quart. Then cheese time, I love cheese. And wine, we added some of that too, just a bit from Caitlin's glass.

At this point, the veggies should be pretty tender and you can add the shrimp, and also start cooking the pasta. It looks like a lot of shrimp because it is, we used a lot, we happened to have a lot on hand, but you don't have to use quite that much.

When the shrimp is just about done add the spinach, an entire bag. Cook until it's nicely wilted down. There was a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pan, which we removed, wouldn't want shrimp/spinach juice diluting our sauce. Add the shrimp and veggie mix to the pasta.

Take the alfredo sauce, which at this point should be nice and thick and cheesy and salted and peppered.....

....and pour it over everything. Toss and enjoy.

Shrimp and Veggie Alfredo

1 1/2 cloves of garlic, one chopped, 1/2 grated

3 tablespoon butter, divided

about 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 red pepper, in small strips

1 lb. shrimp, peeled

1 bag of spinach

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 quart light cream

4 oz. parmesan cheese, grated

Splash white wine

Saute the clove of chopped garlic in a tablespoon of butter. Add the red pepper, then a few minutes later add the mushrooms. When tender, add the shrimp and cook until done, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach at the very end and let it cook, it will not take very long at all. Drain excess liquid.

Meanwhile, melt the rest of the butter and add the grated garlic. Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes until lightly golden. Whisk in the cream slowly to make a smooth sauce. Add a splash of white wine. Grate in the parmesan cheese, stopping to whisk it in occasionally, if your cheese is already grated, add it in several additions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook a box of fettuccine or linguine (although in a pinch you could use any pasta you have on hand). Top the pasta with the shrimp and veggie mixture and pour the alfredo over everything. Toss together and serve hot.