Creamy Shrimp & Fettuccine

Talk about a turn around! This recipe came out of thin air, which often times ends in a total dinner mishap, but tonight it turned out surprisingly good. The impetus for the concoction, if you can call it that, it's rather basic really, was that I needed to use some frozen shrimp (cooked, ugh!). I prefer frozen shrimp that are uncooked so I can add the flavor of the particular dish I am cooking to them, but this is what I had. 

I grabbed some vegetable fettuccine out of the pantry and got it boiling (this stuff is fabulous by the way, it is pasta that is in part made with vegetables so it has one serving of vegetables per 4 oz. serving of cooked pasta!). Hmmm, how to bind pasta and frozen cooked shrimp (well, I did thaw them first, but I'm just underscoring my distaste for this little variety!)? Something creamy...maybe alfredo'esque? Sure!

I found some cream cheese in the refrigerator, grabbed the milk and a few other basics and gathered them around my empty skillet to see what I could come up with:

Creamy Shrimp & Fettuccine

1 lb. vegetable fettuccine pasta (you can use regular fettuccine if that is all you have on hand)

3 T butter

3 cloves of garlic, minced 

Splash of white wine

4 oz. cream cheese

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 lb. frozen cooked shrimp, thawed

Salt and pepper to taste

water or skim milk, to thin out the sauce if need be

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, add minced garlic and sautee until garlic is fragrant (about 30 seconds to a minute; don't burn it). Add a splash or two of white wine and reduce the heat to low. Add the cream cheese (which melts easier if you add it in little chunks instead of one 4 oz block), and dried basil. Stir well until cream cheese is melted. Add the shrimp and coat well. 

Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain well and toss in the skillet with the creamy shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it out a bit with a few ounces of water or skim milk. Serve immediately. 

Admittedly, when I do have a dinner mishap I can read the perfunctory smile on my husband's face as he lifts his fork to his mouth, but not tonight! This simple dish received requests for additional showings in the near future :).