Recipe Friday: Shrimp Alfredo with Asparagus

My husband got a deal on a two-pound bag of frozen shrimp, so I started looking for ideas for a meal. I found an easy alfredo recipe and the rest came together.

This is a really filling meal: shrimp is, itself, filling, then there’s the cream cheese and all the butter. The pictures look like skimpy servings, but it was really all we could do to eat it, with a side salad.

Filling as it is, this is a pretty healthy meal. Butter (even though it gets a bad rap in too many cooking and health articles) is one of the best types of cooking oils you can find, especially if you use the expensive, organic kind.

I used an eclectic mix of pasta: some spinach, some gluten-free (rice), and some semolina (regular kind). They were all spaghetti noodles. You could go fancy and use linguini pasta.

The alfredo sauce is so simple, just four ingredients. If it’s too thick, go ahead and add more milk – either while you’re cooking the sauce, or after you mix it into the pasta, shrimp, and asparagus.

Steamed broccoli florets would be a nice swap for the roasted asparagus.

This recipe makes four servings, give or take, depending on everyone’s appetite. A side salad and some garlic bread would go great with it.

Shrimp Alfredo with Asparagus

Servings: 4

Time: 45 minutes from start to serve

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh asparagus, washed clean, dry ends cut off

6 ounces dry spaghetti or linguine noodles (3 or 4 servings)

1 pound shrimp, pre-cooked or raw, but peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup milk

Extra olive oil and extra 2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Cut the asparagus into bite-size pieces. Oil a baking pan, and spread the asparagus in it. Drizzle with more oil, and sprinkle with salt. Bake in a hot oven (375°), stirring once, 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly roasted.

Boil pasta according to package directions.

In a small saucepan, gently heat the cream cheese and butter. Whisk together until melted and creamy. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, then the milk. Stir and heat until smooth. Turn off the heat.

In a medium-size frying pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Drain the shrimp, and sauté in the butter. When shrimp are 1 minute away from being done, stir in 1 tablespoon minced garlic. Cook and stir one minute, then remove from heat.

Drain the pasta, return to low heat. Pour in the cooked shrimp and garlic, along with all the cooking liquid and butter. Stir.

Add the roasted asparagus; stir.

Add the alfredo sauce. Stir well. Add more milk, if needed.

Serve in small portions.