Creamy Fettuccine with Shrimp and Bacon

Andrea do you like shrimp? For some reason this recipe made me think of you!

1 pound uncooked fettuccine
2 bacon slices
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 garlic clove, minced
1.5 cups frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup shredded carrot
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided


Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well; keep warm.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until crips. Remove bacon from the pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon, set aside.

Add shrimp and garlic to pan; saute over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Add peas and carro; cook 2 minutes or just until shrimp are done. Transfer shrimp mixture to a large bowl; keep warm.

Combine milk, flour, salt, and pepper, stirring with a shisk. Add milk mixture to pan; cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until thckened and bubbly, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove pan from heat; add cheese, stirring until blended. Add milk mixture to shrimp mixture; stir until combined. Add pasta and 1/4 cup parsley, tossing gently to coat. Transfer pasta mixture to a platter, or divide evenly among each of 8 plates; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup parsley and crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.

Jamie's Tips:

- I used frozen shrimp but didn't thaw them before putting them in the pan. It caused a lot of excess liquid, so try to thaw the shrimp before hand. (Or add the shrimp before the garlic, and drain some of the excess liquid once the shrimp are thawed.)
- Also on the shrimp topic, we used medium sized shrimp instead of large. We find that we like smaller shrimp in pasta cuz it's more bite-sized.
- Extra carrots wouldn't hurt

It's very good! Many steps, but pretty simple overall. The recipes suggests pairing it with chardonnay :)

Stuffed Bell Peppers

For some reason, I have always considered stuffed peppers "out of my league." They have always seemed "fancier" than my usual taste in food. After coming across a few random stuffed pepper recipes the past couple weeks, I decided to go for it. They took about 45 minutes to make (ok ok, maybe an hour and a half, I didn't really pay attention, but the cookbook only said 45 minutes!) and I felt like the final result should win an award for appearance! Perfectly upright peppers, stuffed to the top and topped with JUST the right ammount of sauce and cheese to not run over the edges and give it a pretty little look.

Matt and I sat down with our peppers on our plates... and looked at it, poked at it... and realized we had no idea how to go about eating it. We can fake cooking out of our league, but can't fake eating out of our league! Eventually we decided a knife would be useful and we dug in. Amazingly FILLING meal. The stuffing was made out of rice, ground beef, some onion, diced tomatoes, pepper jack cheese and parsley... honestly the flavors were a little bland. After going back to some of the other stuffed pepper recipes I came across, I think I have a good idea of some different herbs and spices I am going to throw in next time we attempt stuffed peppers. Once it's really delicious, I'll be sure to post the recipe. :)

After we managed to figure out how to eat our stuffed peppers, we learned that for a "light main dish" they are quite filling. So we ended up throwing the two extras away. Such a waste, but they wouldn't have kept well. It wasn't too upsetting because they were fun to make and tasted pretty good! Recipe soon to come :)

I'd like to dedicate this one to Kari... :)

Well, I am back from my long absence...mostly due to not cooking over the summer! This little treat is courtesy of Wegman's, but you don't have to use the specific Wegman's ingredients if there isn't one of these stores near you. This recipe was given really good reviews and I enjoyed it when I made it!

Cheese Tortellini with Spinach, Roasted Cauliflower and Vodka Blush Sauce

Serves 8

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

1 head cauliflower
Salt and pepper to taste
3 T basting oil
5 oz. baby spinach
24 oz. Vodka blush sauce, warmed
20 oz. cheese tortellini
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Toss cauliflower with basting oil in large bowl. Arrange on baking sheet in a single layer; season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast 25-30 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Transfer to large bowl; set aside.

2. Toss baby spinach with cauliflower until wilted; season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Toss veggie mixture with warmed sauce and cooked pasta; sprinkle with cheese.

This is a really good fall dinner.