Rule Breakin' Cajun Shrimp Alfredo w/Vegetable Sauté

Hello, my friends! Today I broke a rule. The rule is generally that on grocery day, there is no cooking. Anyone who shops at 3 stores for a family of 4 or more can surely understand this rule, right? I mean, we spend all day buying food...and then when you get home you have no desire to put the stuff away, let alone actually cook any of it! Well, seeing as how cooking is a pretty therapeutic activity for me, I decided to break the mold today and cook up some dinner. That, and I couldn't fit everything in the freezer. :p

I decided to make Cajun shrimp Alfredo for a couple of reasons: 1. I have been craving Alfredo for at least 2 weeks, and 2. I couldn't fit the shrimp in the freezer. Also, I had gotten some really beautiful sweet peppers today that were begging to be eaten.

Okay so let's get the downside out of this right out of the gate, k? You will have a ridiculous amount of dishes for this one, folks. I don't have a dishwasher, so this is a major thumbs down for me, but it was most definitely worth the elbow grease in the end. Apart from that, your family and your taste buds will be forever thankful that you came across this little recipe; promise.

What You Need

For the Alfredo
Pasta of your choice (penne was mine)
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick of butter
2 cups milk
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

For the shrimp:
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled & deveined, tail OFF
Cajun seasoning of your choice (I used Tony Chachere's Original Creole). It's like Frank's Red Hot: I put that shit on everything)
Garlic salt
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 head of garlic, minced
Old Bay Seasoning

For the veggies:
Veggies of choice (1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 1 onion)
2(ish) Tbs olive oil
Cajun seasoning to taste
1/2 head of garlic, minced
1/2 stick of butter

What You Do

Prep:
For the veggies, I sliced the peppers and onions thinly and then tossed them in some olive oil to coat them evenly. Then add the Cajun seasoning to taste. I had to go super light on this because my girls don't like too much spice.
For the shrimp, make sure your shrimp doesn't have tails, please! Rinse them off, and then toss them in a nice mix of Old Bay, Cajun spice, and garlic salt. Let the veggies and the shrimp "marinate" for about an hour while you take care of children, do laundry, feed animals, and maybe run the vacuum. Or play Candy Crush. Whichever works for you ;)

When you're ready to do the cooking, start with boiling the water for the pasta. Cook as directed.

While that's going, melt the cream cheese and the butter for the Alfredo in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk it together until it's nice and smooth, then add the milk. Once that mixture is hot (not boiling though), add the parmesan cheese and whisk again until it's smooth. Pop it on the back burner on low heat while you get down to business with the shrimp.

In a saute pan, melt 1/2 stick of butter and then toss in half the garlic. Cook that until it becomes really aromatic on med/high heat, and add the shrimp. DO NOT overcook the shrimp! You want them to be pink on both sides, but depending on the size, it'll take about 5 minutes to cook them. Take them out as they are done and put them in a bowl to the side and cover it to keep them warm. Now, same pan, add another 1/2 stick of butter, the other half of the minced garlic. Same story, cook it until it's aromatic, and then add your veggies. Cook them on med/high to high heat for a few minutes until they are a nice texture but not overcooked. And that's IT!

I served everything a la carte, but you can certainly mix it all together as well. And then add additional Cajun seasoning if you went mild for the kids of the house ;) Also, I would have loved to have had a green pepper and/or some mushrooms in that mix of veggies, but my little monsters don't dig the mushrooms so much, and that yellow pepper was just calling my name! And a final note is that I use that Alfredo sauce as a STAPLE. Do NOT keep buying that jarred crap. I feel like I've posted the recipe somewhere else in this blog, but it wasn't readily accessible, so it's here again (or here for the first time if I'm having a Mommy Brain moment).

Bon apetit!

Til next time,
XoXo Xile