Creamy Pasta with Shrimp

I've done a dozen different variations of shrimp with pasta but this one was really tasty tonight. I've been really trying to focus on "clean eating" lately. Before Umstead, I focused on "the good carbs"and have continued that as a part of my recovery from the 100. However, Once or twice a week, I gotta have me something cheesy and high in carbs. Maybe your weakness is deep fried food, or ribs, or cake and cookies...Mine is my desire for a lot of "bad"carbs such as pasta or french baguette, number one, and heavy on the cheese, number two.  Well, I have one more weakness-ANYTHING CHOCOLATE.

1 1/2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and tails removed
1 lb of spaghetti
1/2 cup of heavy cream
the juice of one lemon (I used a Meyer lemon because I had it on hand)
1/4 cup of crumbled goat cheese and more for garnish
3/4 cup of dry white wine
1 cup of ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
3 tbs of olive oil, divided
1 full garlic bulb,peeled and thinly sliced (I like A LOT of garlic, feel free to use a little less)
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
a few tbs of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Get a large pot of water ready on the stove for the pasta. Try and time it where the pasta is finished when the sauce/shrimp is finished.

In a very large saute pan with 1 tbs of olive oil on high heat, saute the shrimp. Do not over cook. In fact, under cook in order to prevent dryness/rubberiness. Should take 2 minutes or less on each side. Remove the shrimp and place it on a plate. Cover the plate.

Turn the skillet down low, add 2 tbs olive oil, a few pepper flakes (to taste, I didn't use very much because of my son) and the garlic. Saute for about 4-5 minutes. Do not brown the garlic! Turn heat up and add the wine. The heat should be on medium or medium high in order to cook the alcohol out of it. After about 5 or so minutes, add the heavy cream, lemon juice, goat cheese, and ricotta cheese, Mix and lower the heat to low. Add back the shrimp.

When the pasta is al dente, add it in the pan and toss. Add the parsley and cover with tin foil for about 5 minutes with the heat on low.

Garnish with more goat cheese.

Feel free to use half and half or whole milk instead of heavy cream. I had heavy cream on hand because I was trying to make homemade ice cream this past week (disaster!). Also, whole wheat pasta would work just fine as well, although it may not look as pretty with a white sauce, LOL.

I used a little of the garlic and sauted some fresh spinach with some olive oil as a vegetable side dish. A salad was be a nice accompaniment as well.


***Message to my blog fans. Ha Ha. No seriously, I wanted to mention that my blog posts will be limited for awhile while I finish up my online real estate course. However,  if I make something absolutely delicious that I must share, I will certainly post it! Happy Cooking!