Pasta Night!

With the holidays fast approaching I have been focusing much of my cooking and baking around holiday-themed recipes. So, for at least this article, I am taking a break from the holidays to share some of my favorite recipes for pasta night!

Easy Shrimp Scampi Recipe

I made this delicious recipe just last night! Thanks to https://www.spendwithpennies.com/easy-shrimp-scampi-recipe/ and added some tweaks as well!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoon butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 /2 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste (we add 1 tablespoon)
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Add olive oil and butter to a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Stir in the garlic and red pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add shrimp to the pan and toss to coat. Cook the shrimp until bright pink and no longer translucent, approximately 2-3 minutes.
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate and keep warm.
5. Add the wine to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
6. Return the shrimp to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce. Sprinkle with the parsley. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes from the recipe creator

*If you prefer a less spicy dish, you may want to start with less red pepper flakes.

Recipe Notes from me

• I made the mistake of using pre-cooked shrimp and following the recipe as it is. What I should have done is thrown my shrimp in long enough to heat through but not overcook. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the adjustment and my shrimp were overcooked and tough to eat.
• The other note I have about this recipe is that depending on your taste you may require much more seasoning and more butter than is listed. I used garlic cloves in the making of the sauce but didn’t taste it once it was done. So I ended up adding a great deal of garlic powder and even some garlic salt because it lacked salt for my palate as well. I also added several squirts of lemon juice, because it definitely needed that level of flavor and a little acidity. Finally, I had to add a whole stick of butter at the end when I was mixing the sauce, shrimp, and pasta together.

Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta

I love the simplicity of this recipe thanks to https://www.wifemamafoodie.com/fresh-tomato-and-basil-pasta/

 Ingredients

• 8–10 ounces thin spaghetti or other pasta of choice (use gluten-free pasta, if needed)
• ¼ cup olive or avocado oil
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, I cut the larger ones in half
• 3–4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• ¼ – ½ cup basil, chopped or thinly sliced
• grated parmesan, optional

Instructions

Cook the Noodles:

• Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook noodles just shy of al dente, a minute or two less than package instructions; they will cook more in the pan. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water from the pot and drain the noodles when done.

To Make the Sauce:

• While the noodles are cooking, begin making the sauce. In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and stir around for a bit to cook, then add tomatoes. Cook together until tomatoes soften, about 4–5 minutes, pressing on a few of the tomatoes to release their juices and thicken the sauce. Careful not to cook overheat too high or the garlic can burn and add a bitter taste to the dish. Remove pan from heat until ready to add the cooked noodles.

Finishing the Dish:

• Place the pan of cooked tomatoes back over medium-high heat and add the hot noodles to the pan, along with the chopped basil. Toss to coat, adding the reserved pasta water as needed to bring the sauce together. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Top with freshly grated parmesan, if desired. Serves 3–4