A YUMMY SHRIMP-PASTA TOSS

Allrecipes.com had a recipe for Fresh Tomato Shrimp Pasta, which I adapted for the ingredients I had on hand. The shrimp were in the freezer, but we caught them ourselves a few months ago. Instead of fettucini, I used thin spaghetti: you can use whatever pasta suits you. The thin spaghetti worked very well with this recipe, especially with the additions of Smart Balance, cream and parsley. For the sauce, I added mushrooms, white wine and some heavy cream. Luckily, my oregano has survived the freezes we've had, so I was able to harvest enough for this recipe, and IMHO, it made the dish superb. Of course, you can use dried oregano, but be sure it's a fresh jar of good-quality oregano, and only use about 1/4 of the amount listed, since dried herbs are more concentrated.

This dish was exquisite -- one that I'll definitely make again. We both liked it. And here's a real bonus for small eaters like us: this recipe made enough for 2 meals. So we had two dinners out of it. It was every bit as good when reheated, two nights later. How's that for efficiency?

Since there is a bit of chopping to do, you can prep all the veggies in the AM, then when you're ready to start dinner, it's a breeze to finish.

Pasta with Shrimp Sauce

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta: 8 oz. dry thin spaghetti, or other pasta of choice

1 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread or butter

1 Tbsp. heavy cream

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Shrimp Sauce: 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided use

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, patted dry with paper towels

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms

4 tsp. chopped fresh garlic

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves (or 1 tsp. dried crushed oregano)

1/2 tsp. crushed dried basil

1/4 cup drinking-quality dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste (taste before using -- I used about 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper)

3/4 cup canned, diced tomatoes in juice

1 cup chicken broth

2-3 cups chopped fresh spinach (I used 2 cups baby spinach)

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. oil till very hot. Add shrimp and quickly par-cook on both sides, but don't cook through. Remove shrimp to a dish and keep warm.

Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to pan with onions and mushrooms and saute over medium heat till soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and basil and cook for another minute, stirring as needed. Pour the wine over the veggies and let it bubble for about 30 seconds while scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper, tomatoes and broth and bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, uncovered, till mixture reduces. Cover pan and continue to cook sauce on low heat.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook per package directions, until tender.

When pasta is almost done cooking,

stir in the spinach, par-cooked shrimp, and cream, cooking just till heated through.

Drain the pasta and toss with Smart Balance, cream and parsley.

Place in serving bowls and spoon shrimp sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top of shrimp sauce. Enjoy! Yield: 2-4 servings