Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

11/19/2014

My 15 year old daughter orders Alfredo almost every time that we go to an Italian restaurant. She loves it. With chicken, with shrimp - doesn't matter - if it has Alfredo on it - she will eat it. That is exactly why I was so excited to make this recipe from damndelicous.net for her - shrimp Alfredo pasta. (Everything that she loves - pasta and Alfredo and shrimp.)

So apparently, she only loves to eat Alfredo when she's not at home! I love that girl but she sure is a finicky eater. Ben and I thought this pasta was delicious. It's creamy and cheesy and I'm fairly certain that if this pasta had been served to Courtney while we were sitting in an Olive Garden restaurant - she would have gobbled it up. (It's all in the atmosphere.)

Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta
1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

For the Alfredo sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (5-ounce) can 2% evaporated milk
1 ounce light cream cheese
1/4 cup chicken broth, or more, to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To make the Alfredo sauce, melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.

Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes.

Stir in cream cheese and chicken broth until smooth, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add more chicken broth as needed until desired consistency is reached.

Heat oil in skillet. Add shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking dish with nonstick spray. In pot, combine shrimp, pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and alfredo sauce.

Add pasta mixture to prepared baking dish and top with Parmesan.