PW's Penne a la Betsy

Yep, I am still alive and I even manage to cook once in a while! This is one I have been wanting to make ever since I first read the recipe in The Pioneer Woman Cooks but I put it off for whatever reason. Then, on her Food Network show recently, she cooked it in 20 minutes! I am totally down for something that fast and delicious. So I bought some shrimp and gave it a whirl :)

The Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound penne pasta, uncooked
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
1 (14.5) oz can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped parsley
6 basil leaves cut in chiffonade
salt and pepper to taste

Now, I did not get this done in 20 minutes. Mainly because the pasta. If the water had already been boiling when I started the timer, I would have made it though. So, start a pot of water for the pasta. Then get your dicing, mincing, chopping and chiffonading out of the way. What is "chiffonade"? Easy peasy! Lay the 6 basil leaves on top of each other and roll them up lengthwise into a long tube. Then cut the roll in very thin sections like a loaf of bread. You will end up with long-ish thin strips of basil.
Now get cooking! Heat 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add in the shrimp and cook them until they turn pink. It happens pretty fast no matter how big your shrimp are, but the smaller, the faster so don't walk away. 

When the shrimp are pink, remove them to a bowl or plate. Add the remaining bitter and oil and get the skillet nice and warm again. Then add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Again, it won't take but a few minutes.

Pour in the wine! Cook and stir while the alcohol evaporates, less than a minute.

Add the tomato sauce.

And the cream.

Reduce to a simmer and let it thicken up some. You are the best judge if it is too thin, stir occasionally while you wait. Also while you wait, run a knife through the cooked shrimp to make bite-sized pieces.

Hopefully by now your penne is cooked so add in the shrimp...

...and the herbs...

...and stir it to combine. Grab the drained pasta and add it to the sauce.

A final stir to combine gives you this lovely mess. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve and enjoy! We all had seconds! Even Pattie who decided she didn't like shrimp at the last minute. The pieces were big enough for her to eat around them though. Absolutely delicious!!

Shrimp Scampi

This recipe is a great one to wow company with. It is super easy, fairly fast and sinfully rich. I made it for my in-laws last week and they were very impressed! I got the recipe from my mom who got it from the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Cookbook

The Ingredients

2 pounds shrimp
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp steak sauce
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp hot sauce
Hot cooked noodles, I used linguine
Fresh parsley, if desired for garnish

Saute onion and garlic in butter until translucent.

Add lemon juice, tarragon and sauces.

Bring to a boil, then add the shrimp.

Cook, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Add to cooked pasta and toss.

Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese, if desired. So good!

Jambalaya Skillet

Although my mother is from Louisiana, she is from Shreveport, way up in the northwestern corner. That means I did not grow up with any cajun cooking. Now Mom does make some seriously delicious shrimp gumbo, but that's about it. And please don't ask me what the difference is between gumbo, jambalaya and etouffee. I know there's a difference but I haven't the foggiest idea what it is. They are all delicious though! In any case, I came across this recipe in a daily e-mail from a local grocery store. It looked easy, so I gave it a shot with a couple minor modifications. Here it is:
The Ingredients

1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 Tbsp oil
1 lb chicken breast, cut into strips
2 Tbsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, divided
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 pound cleaned shrimp
2 cups brown rice

Saute your trinity vegetables in hot oil until crisp-tender.

Toss the chicken with 1 Tbsp of the seasoning, then add the chicken to the skillet and cook until done.

I put the seasoning and chicken in a ziploc and mashed it around

Add remaining ingredients, except for the rice, and bring to a boil.

Add in the rice, cover and simmer for 5 minutes until heated through.

Remove from heat, let stand for another 5 minutes. Serve with bread.

The original recipe said to use instant brown rice but I used some cooked brown rice I made. It was a little soupier than I think it was supposed to be but it tasted great. Enjoy!