Penne a la Delicious..I mean, Betsy!

One look at this deliciousness on Pioneer Woman's blog and I knew it was going to be heavenly...and in our tummies real soon. I love me some shrimp, that's for sure. I had been planning to make this for the last two weekends in a row and finally got around to it last night (I'm not sure what took me so long...I don't have kids, I don't work 2 jobs ...ok, whatever). I tend to get a little intimidated by recipes and I admit I was nervous about this one too. Boy was I surprised when I realized how easy and relatively quick it was to make. This dish has a lot of flavor and a lot of shrimp, but it is so light and oh so good. I really felt like it came right out of a restaurant...it did, Kelly's Deli...hehe. You must try this one out. It is so worth it. This is one of those meals to make for guests...I definitely think they would be impressed. Here is the original recipe with some of my changes too:

Penne a la Betsy

Ingredients:

¾ lb. penne pasta

3 tbsp. butter, divided (I used smart balance light)

3 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 lb. large shrimp (I used 1 lb of medium white shrimp) - I also added 1/4 lb of bay scallops...yum!

1 small white onion, finely chopped (I used a shallot)

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup white wine (or chicken broth) (I used Riesling)

1 (8 oz.) can plain tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream (I substituted with 3/4 of ff milk and 1/3 cup of melted butter)

1 tbsp. fresh parsley

chopped basil leaves, to taste (use a bunch!)

Directions:

Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, while water heats and pasta cooks, make the sauce. Melt 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes, until opaque. Remove to a plate to let cool. Heat 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. olive oil in the skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally. While the onion and garlic are cooking, chop the shrimp into small, bite-sized pieces. Add the wine (or chicken broth) to the pan and allow to reduce for a few minutes. Chiffonade the basil leaves and set aside. Stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Add shrimp back to the skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the parsley and basil and mix well.

Drain pasta and return to pot. Add the sauce to the pot and stir well to combine. Serve.

Thanks to Annie's Eats for the nice typed up version of the recipe that you see above!