Home Cooking with Jess – Shrimp & Broccoli Alfredo

Sometimes you plan out your weeks’ worth of cooking, including decadent fresh ingredients.  And then sometimes you run from work to the baseball field and pull things out of your freezer at 8 p.m. 

Frozen shrimp and frozen broccoli clean up pretty nicely with this sauce, though I’ll be honest in saying that I would have just settled for doctoring up a jarred sauce if I had it on hand at the end of a long day.

Lucky for me, I keep a pretty stocked freezer and pantry, and I ALWAYS have cream cheese on hand.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo was one of my favorite dishes once upon a time. My Alfredo is way thicker than an Alfredo made with a rue and I prefer shrimp now, but as always, feel free to thin it out with more liquid or add chicken instead of shrimp.

I put some of the pasta sauce together for the kids and I was so happy when they each took a few bites. Alas, that was all they ate. There is no “back to the drawing board” with these kids. I’ve spent my life at the drawing board. 

I, however, cleaned my plate.

I have a black truffle salt that I love adding to cream dishes and I love it with this Alfredo. It’s pricey, but it lasts me a year and that (and its incredible flavor) is how I justify the price. 

The Ingredients:

• 12-18 frozen shrimp
• 1 bag of frozen broccoli
• 1 brick of cream cheese
• 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 box of pasta of your choice

Instructions:

1. Boil water and add pasta according to directions.
2. Place the frozen shrimp in a bowl of luke warm water to thaw.
3. Microwave broccoli according to directions for tender-firm broccoli. (I do 5 minutes)
4. In a medium pan, 1 tbsp of butter with 1 tsp of garlic.
5. Add cream cheese and heavy whipping cream until combined.
6. Add 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese.
7. In a separate pan on medium heat, add remaining butter, garlic and all of the shrimp.
8. Cook for 1 minute and flip shrimp and cook until no longer translucent.
9. Add cooked broccoli, shrimp and pasta to sauce and stir.
10. Add salt and pepper to taste.