{Recipe} ~ Creamy Spinach Shrimp Pasta

Ryan and I stayed in last Friday night since we had to be up early for the football game. I have been wanting to try this recipe for awhile, so I scooped up all the ingredients on my weekly grocery store run.

This recipe was pretty quick and really good. You'd hardly know it was a "skinny" pasta dish, as the sauce is so creamy, it definitely tastes like alfredo sauces you get in restaurants. This would be great to make for a crowd or just for two, because the recipe can be easily halved or doubled! We both ate a full plate and still had leftovers! Serve with a crisp white wine and dinner is all set!

Shrimp Pasta with Homemade Cream Sauce
from The Realistic Nutritionist

Ingredients:

•  12 ounces shrimp, tails removed
• 8 ounces of pasta (I used whole-wheat thin spaghetti)
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 5 ounces light cream cheese
• 1/4 cup crisp wine
• 3/4 cup shrimp or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup light cream
• 1/3 cup parmesan
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Liberal dashes salt and pepper
• Lemon zest

Directions: 

1. Prepare pasta according to box. Rinse and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a medium size 3 quart pan over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and peppers and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add in wine, broth, cream, cream cheese and salt and pepper. Cook until mixture begins to thicken a bit, about 6 minutes. Stir in parmesan, lemon zest and additional salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer another 4 or 5 minutes to thicken up. Remove from heat.
3. In a small pan, heat remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Cook shrimp for about 2 – 4 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and add to cream sauce. Add spinach to the small pan and heat just until wilted, about 3 minutes. Toss spinach and shrimp with cream sauce.
4. Pour over pasta and enjoy!