Veggies, Shrimp, and Parmesan Cream Pasta...Oh My?

Oh my indeed. And, if any of you know me well, you'll understand that putting "veggies" at the beginning of my title is a pretty big deal.

Warning: the recipe that follows is not exact and does not always entail "proper" ingredients. Cans and things that provide convenience are welcome in these parts of cyberspace. Most of the time, I also think that brands are silly, so don't include the names. Substitute as you will.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bag of tri-colored rotini

• Light Cream

• Butter/Margarine/Whatever version of this you feel like using

• A few tablespoons of olive oil

• Half a cup or so of grated parmesan cheese

• About a tablespoon of minced garlic (I used a garlic paste)

• Veggies: I used yellow squash, zucchini, diced plum tomatoes, onion, shredded carrots, and a few leaves of fresh basil

• Half a bag of frozen tail off pre-cooked shrimp

Recipe Drumroll...................yea okay okay enough.

I didn't plan ahead too well for this, just sort of threw it together after making similar things a few times, so here goes:

1. Make the pasta

• (nuff said)

2. Make the Veggies/Shrimp

• Put a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a large frying pan with the garlic and onion, let heat up for a bit

• Cut up a zucchini, yellow squash, plum tomato (usually use canned diced, but was out), about 3 basil leaves from my plant, a handful or two of shredded carrots and throw in the pan

• Toss in the shrimp after dethawing (just run some water over them in a strainer for a bit)

• Cook all that up until you feel they are just about the right consistency

3. Make sauce

• Put about a tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of garlic paste into the bottom of a saucepan and heat for a bit

• Pour in light cream (I used about half of a small container, but probably could've used the whole thing to definitely have enough for all the pasta...also, heavy cream works too but you might puke or have a heart attack)

• Put a few tablespoons of butter/margarine/whatever in

• Add about half a cup of parmesan or more

• Salt/black pepper/white pepper to taste

• Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat until desired consistency is reached

*Hint: Here's the thing. As long as you're including cream, butter, and parmesan cheese in a sauce, the exact proportions really don't matter, it's bound to be good. Just test it out as you go if you want to add more or less of something.

4. Combining Part 1

• Pour the sauce over the vegetables/shrimp and mix

• Put on about medium heat for a few minutes, until vegetables are at desired firmness

• Toss in some basil when you're done and mix

5. Plate that Business

• Combine however much pasta and however much sauce you want into a bowl

*Hint: I usually keep the pasta and sauce separate as I create each plate, that way if there is more pasta than sauce left over, it's not a big deal

6. Enjoy!

• Check