Pasta with Shrimp and Mushrooms

I made this recipe a few nights ago. I knew I wanted shrimp for dinner, but I also knew that the mushrooms were going to go bad if I didn’t use them ASAP. Pasta with shrimp and mushrooms seemed to be the perfect solution. The sauce is indeed creamy but it is still pretty light, not as heavy as some alfredo sauces. Yes there is a lot of butter in this recipe. So no this is not a low cal diet friendly recipe. But it’s good and quick to make. Best of all you don’t need to defrost the shrimp hours in advance (as you do with meat or chicken) so you can really decide to make this the minute you get home from work and have it on the table in 30 minutes.

Pasta with Shrimp and Mushrooms

Recipe Adapted from What’s Cookin, Chicago?

Serves: 3-4

Start to Finish: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

8 oz linguine (or fettuccine)

10 tablespoons butter, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 shallots, diced

8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced

1/3 cup white wine

1/3 cup chicken broth

2-3 ounces cream cheese

1/8-1/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1 pound shrimp, peeled

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium -high heat. Add garlic, shallots and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes (until mushrooms soft and shallots have started to caramelize).

3. To this pan add white wine and chicken broth. Add cream cheese, breaking it up with a spoon and milk. Stir until smooth, and add basil, 8 tablespoons butter, Parmesan and shrimp. Cook until shrimp is cooked through and mixture has slightly thickened. (If you want the sauce to be thicker add some cornstarch and mix well).

4. Add pasta to the pan and toss to combine.