Velvet Shrimp: Quick, Healthy & Delish

I love shrimp cooked almost any way. Breaded or naked (ha ha ha, I said 'naked'), fried, baked, boiled, steamed --- you name it and I'll devour it. The only time I don't particularly care for them are when they're over cooked, but other than that, I'm all in. While we don't eat them all too often, we still like to have some on hand in case we get a craving for seafood around here. Plus, it's quick to thaw.

As a staple appetizer when I was small, my grandma would put a block of room temperature cream cheese on a plate, douse it in cocktail sauce and throw 2 cans of small salad shrimp on top. I remember looking forward to this every year during the holidays. For some reason, I've never made that particular appetizer, but talking about it is makin' my mouth water. So simple, yet so, so tasty. Funny how 3 ingredients can be such a slam dunk!

Speaking of shrimp, I just went to check to see if I'd blogged about my shrimp 'za. I could have sworn I had, but apparently that was on my old, more personal blog. I'll have to pass that recipe on soon as it is wonderful! I know some of you might feel a lil' shady about a shrimp pizza, but fear not. Stay tuned for that upcoming recipe. Back to today's post though . . .

I found this recipe in a Light & Tasty magazine from Sept. 2006. Yes, folks, that's how long I've wanted to try this blasted recipe, about 3 years. How terrible is that? Oh well, Buppy and I had the night to ourselves a week or 2 ago and decided that it was time. The original name for the recipe is 'Makeover Velvet Shrimp', as in they took it and made it healthier than the original. While they didn't show the original recipe, I'm confident it couldn't have been any better than this was. So to sum up, not only is this recipe easy and divine, it's not too bad for you either!

Velvet Shrimp
Light & Tasty, Sept. 2006

12 oz. uncooked linguine
½ c. thinly sliced green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. seafood seasoning (we used Old Bay since that's what we had on hand and enjoy)
1 lb. uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 ½ c. half & half cream
¾ c. shredded part-skim mozzarella

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, cook onions and garlic in butter for 1 minute. Stir in seafood seasoning; cook 1 minute longer. Add shrimp; cook for 3-4 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Remove and keep warm.
Combine flour and cream until smooth; stir into skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese just until melted. Return shrimp to the pan and heat through. Drain linguine; top with shrimp mixture. Yields 6 servings.I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!Update: I'm submitting this to Life as Mom's ultimate recipe swap for this Thursday (1/7/10). Go check it out for more healthy meals!