Penne a la Betsy

So, tonight I decided to make a large dinner. Typically, because I live alone, I make a huge meal on Thursday or Friday and then eat on it until I'm off again (which is the next Thursday.) I decided to try something new this week. I can really only make curry, fried rice, and grilled cheese sandwiches (I'll put those recipes up later), but I'm trying to expand my cooking horizons now. I'm super great at baking, I'm lacking at cooking. Anyway, this is what I cooked tonight:

Penne a la Betsy

Ingredients

• 3/4 pounds Penne Pasta
• 1 pound Shrimp
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 whole Onion (small)
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1/2 cup White Wine, Or To Taste
• 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 Oz)
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Fresh Parsley, to taste
• Fresh Basil - To Taste
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.

Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.

Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).

Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.

Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil, or if you’re feeling very proper, chiffonaded.

Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.

I highly recommend the Pioneer Woman blog. She actually takes you step by step through the recipes, which people like me that are cooking challenged need. When I made it I made it with whole grain penne, and I accidentally got a can of whole tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce. Yea, that's how bad I am at cooking. But I crushed up the whole tomatoes and it worked fine for the most part.

Look at me! I can make like four meal that are delicious. I'm nearly domesticated. Almost. Try this recipe, if I can do it, you can do it, trust me.

xoxo