Blackened Shrimp Alfredo
This is the tale of a family who was desperately craving pizza from a local shop. All day we dreamt about our order. Should we add cheesy bread? Do we want to add some hot wings to our order? By 5pm, we were planning to add EVERYTHING to our order. Hell, we might even add some salads! Much to our chagrin, our local pizza shop ran out of cheese and due to their cheese shortage, the shop was closed down. This hurt. I was hungry and really ready to sink my teeth on some ‘za.
Anyways, it was time to step into action. What do we have laying around to toss together a hearty meal that won’t compete with pizza, but could at least be a contender? I found a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer and got to work. These type of meals are one of the most satisfying to put together. It comes together quickly and people always think it requires so much work. My husband and I used to go to a local Cajun restaurant back in college where they made the best, spicy blackened chicken fettucini alfredo. It was spicy and creamy and we loved it! I decided to try and recreate that meal with what I had on hand. No chicken… so shrimp it is. We didn’t have any fettucini… so I’m using this “thin spaghetti” I found in the pantry. No fresh garlic…. ok, i’ll use garlic powder. It all came together well and was so good. I hope you give it a try! PS- I also found a bag of cheese stuffed ravioli that I decided to toss in and mix with the rest of the pasta…. why not!
Ingredients:
2 pounds medium deveined and peeled frozen shrimp (defrost in a bowl of warm water)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Blackening seasoning (1 tablespoons paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon basil or oregano, 1 tablespoon Tony Cahchere’s)
Bag of pasta (honestly, any pasta will work)
1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 and 1/2 cups half and half
1 and 1/2 cups grated parmesan
Directions:
Add the butter to a large skillet and melt. With the temperature on medium heat, add the shrimp and the blackening seasoning. Coat the shrimp evenly with the seasoning by stirring often with a wooden spoon. It should take about 3 minutes to fully cook the shrimp.
Begin boiling some water and add pasta. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packaging.
Once the shrimp are cooked, remove them from the skillet and place in a bowl. The saucepan should still have some liquid and seasoning from he shrimp. Leave it there. With the temperature still on medium heat, slowly add the cream and half and half. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly for about 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Sprinkle in the parmesan.
Drain the pasta, add the shrimp and alfredo sauce. Toss to combine. Ta da!
