Yesterday was chaotic. In a ‘I’m covered in paperwork up to my ears’ type of way. Between chasing The Zohan and trying to get my scanner to actually oh I don’t know.. SCAN. I didn’t get through my paperwork until about 3 in the afternoon. Then I had emails to forward and answer. So basically 'Hi, I am Brittany and I can meet all of your clerical needs.' Which doesn’t bother me, except for the fact I didn’t pull anything out to thaw for dinner. At about 4 PM my husband called to tell me one of his guys split their head open and he was driving them to the hospital. So, I didn’t anticipate them being done before 6PM. Boy was I wrong! I forget how fast hospitals work here to get you out of their waiting rooms.
I got a 20 minute warning text at about 5pm. Great. So I quickly pulled together what could have been the most epic meal I have ever thrown together in about 45 minutes to an hour. With a storm brewing on the horizon.
I got a 20 minute warning text at about 5pm. Great. So I quickly pulled together what could have been the most epic meal I have ever thrown together in about 45 minutes to an hour. With a storm brewing on the horizon.
5 minutes later...
I wanted a fall type meal.
So we got:
Main dish:
8 oz of angel hair pasta
1 cup of Ricotta cheese
1 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of milk
1lb package of frozen medium precooked deveined tail off shrimp
5 tbsp of butter
Sauce:
1 cup of milk plus 1 tbsp of melted butter ( I didn’t have half and half this is the best substitute for that)
2 tbsp of crushed garlic
1 zucchini chopped
3 oz of cream cheese
and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Side:
1 whole acorn squash
1 stick of butter sliced up into tbsp sections ( see butter wrapping to know where to cut)
and ¼ -1/2 a cup of brown sugar.
I am sorry I don’t have step by step photos this time, I literally made this recipe on the fly.. and I don’t do step by step processes unless I know its going to be a hit.
Start by boiling your pasta in salted water. Add about 2 tbsp of butter to hot water after you have put in your pasta. This helps keep the pasta from sticking together and it also gives your pasta a rich flavor.
Cut the acorn squash in half and gut it. Easier said than done with a raw squash. Once that is all done.. put about 1/3-1/4 of a cup of water in the pits and put it in the oven which should be heated to 455F for fast steaming convenience. Itll take about 20-30 minutes for it to steam enough that you can slice up and peel the squash no problem.
In a sauce pan, sauté crushed garlic and zucchini til its all nice and toasty. Next add in your cream cheese and let it melt a little bit. Once it starts to look like the cream cheese is curdled ( Its not trust me!) add in your milk and butter. And let it simmer a while.
In a separate bowl combine ricotta cheese, milk, and sour cream. You can also add a little Italian seasoning to give it flavor. Now the pasta should be done, so drain it carefully, and return it to the pot. Add in the rest of the butter, no sticky pasta and it tastes rich and creamy! Pour in the ricotta mixture and mix it well with the pasta. Then pour the pasta into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, cover the pasta in the sauce. Add your shrimp on top, you can drizzle a little bit of melted butter over the top to help give the shrimp flavor. I opted to sprinkle it with paprika because I thought it needed color! Set aside and take a deep breath. Me? I took a swig of my margarita. Okay it was a huge gulp, I got brain freeze and paid for it dearly.
Once your squash is well… squashy.. you should be able to cut it with ease. So I opted to slice mine like a watermelon, and peel it. Then I cut the rest of the meat of the squash into cubes and in an even layer in another 9x13 baking pan. Glob globs of butter on top of the squash.. then crumble the brown sugar.. put both pans in the oven that is still on 455F for about 10 minutes. And your finished product is amazing and magnificent! My husband ate the whole pan of pasta.. I ate the whole pan of squash.
So we got:
Main dish:
8 oz of angel hair pasta
1 cup of Ricotta cheese
1 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of milk
1lb package of frozen medium precooked deveined tail off shrimp
5 tbsp of butter
Sauce:
1 cup of milk plus 1 tbsp of melted butter ( I didn’t have half and half this is the best substitute for that)
2 tbsp of crushed garlic
1 zucchini chopped
3 oz of cream cheese
and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Side:
1 whole acorn squash
1 stick of butter sliced up into tbsp sections ( see butter wrapping to know where to cut)
and ¼ -1/2 a cup of brown sugar.
I am sorry I don’t have step by step photos this time, I literally made this recipe on the fly.. and I don’t do step by step processes unless I know its going to be a hit.
Start by boiling your pasta in salted water. Add about 2 tbsp of butter to hot water after you have put in your pasta. This helps keep the pasta from sticking together and it also gives your pasta a rich flavor.
Cut the acorn squash in half and gut it. Easier said than done with a raw squash. Once that is all done.. put about 1/3-1/4 of a cup of water in the pits and put it in the oven which should be heated to 455F for fast steaming convenience. Itll take about 20-30 minutes for it to steam enough that you can slice up and peel the squash no problem.
In a sauce pan, sauté crushed garlic and zucchini til its all nice and toasty. Next add in your cream cheese and let it melt a little bit. Once it starts to look like the cream cheese is curdled ( Its not trust me!) add in your milk and butter. And let it simmer a while.
In a separate bowl combine ricotta cheese, milk, and sour cream. You can also add a little Italian seasoning to give it flavor. Now the pasta should be done, so drain it carefully, and return it to the pot. Add in the rest of the butter, no sticky pasta and it tastes rich and creamy! Pour in the ricotta mixture and mix it well with the pasta. Then pour the pasta into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, cover the pasta in the sauce. Add your shrimp on top, you can drizzle a little bit of melted butter over the top to help give the shrimp flavor. I opted to sprinkle it with paprika because I thought it needed color! Set aside and take a deep breath. Me? I took a swig of my margarita. Okay it was a huge gulp, I got brain freeze and paid for it dearly.
Once your squash is well… squashy.. you should be able to cut it with ease. So I opted to slice mine like a watermelon, and peel it. Then I cut the rest of the meat of the squash into cubes and in an even layer in another 9x13 baking pan. Glob globs of butter on top of the squash.. then crumble the brown sugar.. put both pans in the oven that is still on 455F for about 10 minutes. And your finished product is amazing and magnificent! My husband ate the whole pan of pasta.. I ate the whole pan of squash.
And now if you’ll excuse me, I must go do the stair master as I have an extremely cute Ball Dress to squeeze into!
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