A fully stocked kitchen…complete with all the ingredients to prepare a delicious and healthy meal. A perfectly, delightful hour at 5pm, with no hungry children who ask every 5 minutes, “Is dinner ready yet?” A kitchen that is sparkling clean when you come home, giving you the motivation to pull out all your pots and pans needed to make dinner. A dishwasher, empty and ready to receive the evening’s dinner dishes. Whoa!! Hold on just a minute! Whose kitchen am I in? Not mine!
Well, maybe every once in a while I find myself living this dreamy evening 🙂 But, being a busy mom with an artist’s mentality (lack of organizational skills), I don’t always have a fully stocked kitchen. And, when I hear my children’s favorite question, “Mama, what’s for dinner?” I often don’t have a clue! Sometimes I don’t know what’s for dinner until I see what’s in the fridge and pantry. You know that dreaded feeling, when you realize, “If only I had… (fill in the blank with desired ingredient)”…it’s 5pm and you are not wanting to load everyone in the car for a quick trip to the store?
Hopefully, I’m not alone in saying that this happens to me on a regular basis, but I found myself in this predicament just last week. I came home with the girls after a busy day of homeschooling and working at our family owned music store. No plan for dinner. What was in the freezer? A handful of cooked shrimp and half a bag of frozen corn. In the fridge? One left over grilled sausage link, broccoli, carrots, some different kinds of cheese, and a little bit of cream. Fortunately, I did have some pasta shells and a can of chicken broth in the pantry. Do you see a yummy meal unfolding with these ingredients? Are you catching the vision? Here are the ingredients for Creamy Shrimp ‘n Shells!
Ingredients
- 2 TB butter
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 link of sliced sausage
- 10 large cooked shrimp (thawed)
- 1 cup of shell pasta
- For Creamy Sauce:
- 2 TB butter
- 2 TB flour
- 1 14 oz. can of chicken broth
- 3 TB cream cheese
- 1/4 cup of cream
Instructions
- Boil shell pasta on high heat until pasta is tender.
- While pasta is boiling, melt 2 TB butter in a medium skillet.
- Add shrimp, sausage and spices to skillet and cook on med-high heat for 3-5 minutes.
- Drain your pasta and add it to the skillet.
- Remove skillet from heat.
- Next, you need to make your creamy sauce. This is what makes the meal extra special 🙂
- In a medium sauce pan, melt 2 TB butter on high heat.
- Add 2 TB flour and stir until you have a thick paste.
- While still cooking on high, slowly add chicken broth and stir for 3 minutes.
- Reduce to low heat and stir in cream cheese and cream. Your sauce will thicken over the next 5-10 minutes.
- Pour creamy sauce in skillet with shrimp/sausage/pasta and stir the yummy goodness on low heat.
- Top with shredded Asiago cheese.
- Serve with your choice of vegetables.