Shrimp Diablo

After getting all the fixings for my tomato meat sauce, I realized that I forgot an important component - the meat. So, I checked the freezer, noticed some leftover shrimp from the baked coconut shrimp I made awhile back. My adventurous side took over and I began experimenting with one of the hubby's favorite dishes to order out.
Every time we have dinner with John's family at Merdian Hills (where our wonderful wedding was!) I know what John will order: Shrimp Diablo. As the title would suggest, this pasta dish is spicy, and, has shrimp in it. The pasta and shrimp are tossed in a spicy (heartburn alert!) tomato cream sauce that leaves you with a satisfying bite.

This dish turned out so, so well, and was not nearly as difficult as I'd thought. In fact, I pretty much used my normal marinara recipe, except I added more garlic, more crushed red pepper flakes and some heavy cream. John loved it so much that he, a) had three helpings the first night, b) came home from school the next day to eat the remaining two servings for lunch, and c) asked me to make it again a mere 4 days later. I'd say that equals a successful dish. :)

Shrimp Diablo
Recipe by Call Me Mrs. Rapp
Serves 2-4, depending on portions
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Ingredients:
*4 cloves garlic (or three very large cloves, minced (for sauce); plus 2 cloves, minced (for shrimp)
*5 good pinches crushed red pepper flakes (for sauce); plus 3 good pinches (for shrimp)
*2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
*1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
*5-10 leaves fresh basil, roughly cut or torn
*2 tablespoons brown sugar
*Italian seasoning to taste (dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary)
*1/3-1/2 cup heavy cream (depending on how creamy you want it)
*several grape tomatoes, some whole some halved
*cooked shrimp (I dethawed and used around 20 from a frozen bag)
*whole wheat penne pasta

Preparation:

*Set a big pot of water over heat (for your pasta). When it boils, add salt, noodles, and olive oil (the oil helps keep the noodles from sticking together). Cook according to pacakge directions.

*Combine olive oil, 4 cloves minced garlic and 5 pinches of red pepper flakes in a saucepan. When the garlic sizzles add the tomatoes, basil, brown sugar and Italian seasoning as desired. Bring the ingredients to a bubble, then reduce heat and allow the sauce to simmer while you work on the shrimp.

*After shrimp is dethawed, remove tails. Drizzle olive oil on a skillet and cook shrimp over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes while cooking, for extra heat. Once shrimp is done, remove from skillet.

*Add more olive oil to the skillet, then place tomatoes, 2 cloves minced garlic and 3 pinches red pepper flakes in the skillet. Cook until tomatoes are softened (1-2 minutes) then throw shrimp back in and keep over low heat.

*Once the shrimp and tomatoes are done, whisk the cream into your tomato sauce.

*Remove 1-2 cups of the pasta and place aside. Combine remaining pasta with shrimp and tomato cream sauce. Decide if you need more pasta to your dish (keep in mind that the sauce will thicken as it stands). I prefer my pasta dishes to be a bit...saucier? Something like that.

*Serve with shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese for some extra yumminess!

Putting the shrimp and tomatoes into the spicy tomato cream sauce

All mixed up with some shredded cheese on top, a nice indulgence :)

Sooo good! And reheats great!