Fresh + Local = Yum!

“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.” 

-Julia Child

    As says the above quote, good food isn't always the healthiest for us. I feel there are certain times to splurge on unhealthier fare and one of them is to eat your favorite dish in the case that your favorite dish isn't a salad (which doesn't always equal health anyways.) 

    The dish I made tonight is Chad's favorite. I make it every so often, usually on occasions with some particular meaning to him, such as his birthday or his first day back to work for the school year, (the reason I made it tonight.) Every time I mention making it I get people asking me for the recipe. I always forget to follow through on that so I thought the easiest way to share it at once would be here. Maybe some others of you may find yourself a new favorite dish, too!

    The dish I will be showing you how to prepare is Blackened Shrimp Alfredo. I got this recipe from one of those in store cooking demos they do at Publix, brought it home, and made a few changes to suit our liking. Let me warn you ahead of time that blackened means Cajun seasoning which means spicy. You can control the spice, however, by limiting the amount of Blackening Seasoning you add. I like it a little on the spicier side so that is how I prepare it. 

    As I have stated in previous posts, a major benefit of going to the St. Andrews Waterfront Farmers Market on Saturday mornings is the fresh produce available. In this recipe I get to show another great product from the market. As a bonus to the produce, I get to use fresh Gulf shrimp purchased straight off the shrimp boat docked in St. Andrews Bay at the market! Is there anything fresher than seafood off the boat and produce straight from the farm? Excited yet? You should be. It's that good!

    Blackened Shrimp Alfredo

   So here's the plan:

  Go to your local Farmers Market this weekend and pick up these ingredients:

• 1 lb. Fresh Jumbo Shrimp (If you're lucky enough to have fresh shrimp near you. If not, 1 lb. of frozen shrimp, thawed, will do.)
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil
• 2 Bell Peppers, sliced, whichever color you prefer
• 1 Onion, sliced, whichever kind you prefer
• Handful of Mushrooms, sliced (If you like them. Chad isn't a fan so I leave them out.)

 And from your pantry:

• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 2 teaspoons Blackening Seasoning (less if you don't like spice)
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 8 oz. Fettucine Pasta
• 1/3 Cup Cream Sherry
• 1 Cup Alfredo Sauce

 

 Instructions:

1. Put water on to boil for pasta.

2. Prepare shrimp. Peel, devein and pull off heads and tails as necessary.

3. Preheat large saute pan on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. 

4. Place shrimp in ziptop bag or sealable container and add Italian seasoning and Blackening seasoning; Shake to coat.

5.Place Olive Oil in pan, then arrange shrimp in a single layer; cook 2 minutes without turning.

 

6. Cook fettucine according to package instructions.

 (I use Garden Delight fettucine to sneak in extra veggies on Lily. It's made with tomato, carrot and spinach but tastes the same. She loves the colors!)

7. Add vegetables to shrimp. Rotate shrimp to top and cover; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

 8. While the shrimp and veggies are steaming, chop your basil. The easiest way I have found to do this is to stack the leaves, roll them into a cylinder and slice them. Then rough chop the slices.

9. Add all remaining ingredients to shrimp and veggies. Reduce heat to medium-low, cook and stir for an additional 1-2 minutes or until sauce is heated through. Add drained pasta to sauce and stir to combine.

And Voila, (or wa-la as my husband says...),  you're ready to eat!

    If you're like me and cooking for little ones as well, I suggest pulling some of the drained fettucine aside and adding some plain alfredo sauce. This way they get to eat like mommy and daddy but avoid the spice! 

Adult's and Child's finished products:

    Besides the alfredo sauce, this recipe isn't too far over on the unhealthy scale so you shouldn't feel bad serving this on special occasions like we do. There's rarely any leftovers of this meal at our house and, despite the spice, Lily always turns into a "shrimp-napper." I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do as it's easy to prepare and delicious to eat; and I also hope this motivates you to buy fresh and buy local! We'll meet you at the market this weekend!

Visit www.waterfrontmarkets.org for more info on the Panama City Area Waterfront Markets.