Pasta and Shrimp Dinner

Sometimes, the Fridays of Lent can be tough on the "almost all beef all of the time" family. So, after a quick search on The Pioneer Woman, I decided to try Shrimp Pasta in a Foil Package.

Now, some of you may know that I'm highly allergic to seafood. Why, then, would I decide to make shrimp? One, Travis loves shrimp and just because I can't eat it doesn't mean that I shouldn't make it for him from time to time. Two, this recipe is just as delicious and easy to make without the seafood. Three, my brother, Matt, came into town today on his way further South and I wanted to make something impressive.

All of that being said, let's get started! I did make a few changes to the recipe. I used chicken broth instead of white wine, I used two quarts of home canned tomatoes instead of three 14.5 oz cans, and I didn't have any Linguine on hand, so I used what I did have, which was 8 oz of Fettuccine and 8 oz of Spaghetti.

You'll need olive oil, chicken broth, canned tomatoes, pasta, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, parsley, and shrimp.

Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Add four large cloves of minced garlic and saute for a minute.

Add the tomatoes and the juice.

Add the chicken broth.

I used my potato masher to break up some of the whole tomatoes. In the end, I was glad I did this because I would not want a bunch of whole tomatoes swimming around in my pasta. The smaller pieces were much better.

Add salt, pepper, and some red pepper flakes to taste. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil your pasta for half of the recommended time. This meal will go into the oven to finish cooking, so you want your pasta nice and firm.

I varied a little here from the original recipe, too, because I made half of the meal without shrimp! Add the pasta and toss to combine. Here, I took part of the pasta and sauce out and put it into my foil packet before adding the shrimp for the other packet.

Add the peeled shrimp and toss to combine. The object here is to just get the shrimp coated in all of the goodness. They'll actually cook in the oven.

Add parsley.

Pour into a foil "boat" and seal it up tightly. Shrimp is on the left, sans shrimp is on the right. Place in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, open up the packets and serve!

I apologize for my plates being so messy! I should have wiped the splatters up before I shot the picture, but there were hungry boys in the house! I sprinkled a little extra parsley on top and added a splash of lemon juice to my plate.

And here's with shrimp, again with a little extra fresh parsley on top.


It was really a delicious pasta meal. I didn't even miss the meat...that much! Travis really liked it and Matt thought it was "pretty good", too! Good enough for me! I'll plan on making this at least one more time before Easter.

Here's the recipe I used. If you want the original recipe, click on the link at the beginning of the post.

Pasta with or without Shrimp

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 quarts of canned whole tomatoes (roughly equivalent to 3 14.5 oz cans)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1.5 pounds shrimp, peeled (de-vein if you have time)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 pound pasta, I used half Fettuccine and half Spaghetti

Cook pasta for half the recommended cooking time. Pasta should still be very firm.

In a large skillet or pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Stir mixture and then season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Allow to cook for 10 minutes.

While that's cooking, make one or two "boats" of tin foil to put the mixture in to put into the oven. I actually had to wrap the one with shrimp a couple of times to stop the oozing of juice!

Throw the drained pasta on top of the tomato/garlic mixture and toss. Take out some of the pasta mixture and put into one of the "boats" if you want some without shrimp.

Throw the shrimp on top of the rest of the pasta mixture and toss to combine. Pour into the remaining "boat".

Seal the "boats" and place in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with extra parsley and a splash of lemon juice, if desired.

Dig in! You'll love it so much you'll blog about it! :)