What's Cookin'

Last night I tried out two new recipes and they were YUUUUUMMMMMY!

First up, was a recipe from the Pioneer Woman herself. I took some pics of the ingredients used and the final product.

I am NOT a food photographer. Please don't judge ;)

You will need the following ingredients to make Penne Alla Betsy:

1 lb penne pasta

1 lb large shrimp

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)

***I did not have any on hand {shocker!} so I did without the wine***

1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

Milk (for thinning)

1/4 cup chopped parsley

6 basil leaves, chopped

salt

freshly ground pepper

This seems like a lot of steps but it's really not...I promise!

Step 1: Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil. Cook penne to al dente. Drain and set aside.

Step 2: Peel and devein shrimp, if needed. I bought mine already peeled and deveined so all I had to do was cook the shrimp. Rinse shrimp under cold water.

***Buy your shrimp raw....it is SO much better to just cook it yourself. Do not buy it already cooked...please promise me you'll do this! It makes such a difference.***

Step 3: In a small skillet over med-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

Step 4: When the pan is hot, add in shrimp. Stir and cook on both sides until it is just starting to turn opaque. About 2 minutes.

Step 5: Remove shrimp to a plate and cool.

Step 6: Finely chop the onion and garlic.

Step 7: In a large skillet over med heat, add in the remaining butter and olive oil.

Step 8: Add in garlic and onion. Stir to combine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. About 3 minutes.

Step 9: Sip your white wine ;)

Step 10: Pour in rest of wine into pan. Stir and allow to evaporate . About 45 seconds.

Step 11: Pour in tomato sauce and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low.

Step 12: Pour in cream....my favorite part!

Step 13: Stir well to combine. Reduce heat to simmer.

Step 14: Remove tails from shrimp and add into sauce. Stir gently to combine.

Step 15: Throw in the herbs and stir.

Step 16: Add in cooked, drained pasta

Step 17: Stir gently to coat. If the sauce is too thick this is where you can use the milk to thin it out, if necessary.

Stir 18: Enjoy!!

You can't have such a delicious pasta dinner without bread.

I got this recipe from my girl Ina aka The Barefoot Contessa.

I mean...let's face it....that gal can cook!

You will need the following ingredients to make Garlic Ciabatta Bread:

6 garlic cloves

1/4 cup fresh parsley

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 lg ciabatta bread

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step 2: Place the parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until finely minced.

Step 3: Heat olive oil in a med pan over low heat. Add garlic and herb mixture and cook for 3 minutes. Garlic should be tender but not brown! Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 4: Cut ciabatta bread in half, horizontally.

Step 5: Spoon garlic and herb mixture onto the bottom half and spread butter on the top half. Place together.

Step 6: Wrap bread in aluminum foil and place on sheet pan.

Step 7: Bake the bread for 5 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes.

Step 8: Slice crosswise and serve warm :)

Not the best pics...mainly because I forgot to take a pic of the final product ( I was ready to eat)!

When I did go back to snap a quick pic, most of the bread was gone. Hmmmm.....B seemed to REALLY like it.

It's a lot of food but it's great to have on hand for leftovers throughout the week.

I'm headed to go grab a lil' bowl for lunch right now.

Enjoy ladies!