Pasta with Creamy Shrimp, Tomatoes and Peas

I’m not one to get very creative when it comes to “naming” dishes. I mean, look at the name of this one. I actually went back and forth deleting and rearranging the words a few times to make it sound better. But really, I’m more about the cooking than the naming. If it tastes good then who really cares what it’s called right?

I made this one night on a whim for my husband and his parents. It would be nice if my kids would eat stuff like this but when it comes to pasta and my kids, the simpler the better.  I grew up eating pasta with sauce and peas and I crave it like crazy every now and then. I was craving it this night, and I wanted to make it a little more interesting so I added shrimp and boursin cheese to it.

This is a quick throw together kind of pasta. If you don’t have shrimp, throw in some leftover cooked sliced chicken or sausage. I don’t always have boursin in my fridge, but it was BOGO recently and the GO was on the verge of expiration so I saved it from the trash by adding it to the tomato sauce. This pasta was a hit at our house, and I will definitely make it again.

Pasta with Creamy Shrimp, Tomatoes and Peas
Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

1 box whole wheat penne or spiral pasta
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 15 oz cans diced Italian or Fire Roasted tomatoes (I used one of each)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 round of Boursin cheese
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook while preparing sauce. Drain and set aside when done.

In a large non stick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Pat shrimp dry, season with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat on each side or until pink. Take out of pan and set aside, reserving some of the pasta water to add to sauce.

Add garlic and onion to same pan over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes or until onions soft and fragrant. Add diced tomatoes to pan and cook together for 5-7 minutes. Add cup of frozen peas to sauce and gently stir to combine. Add shrimp, cooked and drained pasta to tomatoes along with a little pasta water if needed (if tomatoes cook too long they may become dry, the pasta water will fix this). Lower heat and add Boursin cheese to pan and gently toss to combine until sauce is creamy. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve with red pepper flakes and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Tagged as: easy, Healthy, Pasta, Shrimp