Shrimp Pesto Alfredo with Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes

Italian food makes me happy! So this Sunday, I decided to try a recipe I came up with a while back with a few changes. This recipe is made from scratch and is so incredibly easy and delicious. The prep work is what takes the longest for this dish. I made sure to have all of my ingredients ready, because once you start cooking, it goes pretty quickly. This Pesto Alfredo features sautéed shrimp, mushrooms, and yummy cherry tomatoes on a bed of angel hair pasta. I even made my pesto from scratch. (By force) I was going to buy pesto from the store, but I completely forgot the key ingredient due to trusting my memory... It was surprisingly easy to make but a jar of store bought pesto would work as well. I even decided to add sun-dried tomatoes to it and it was a hit!

1-2 lb shrimp

2 tbsp olive oil

1.5 stick of butter

1 head of garlic minced

1 10 oz tub of cherry tomatoes sliced in half

1 8 oz. box of whole mushrooms sliced

1 jar of pesto or I also listed a recipe below to make your own

1.5 pint of heavy whipping cream

2 heaping cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (some like it cheesy)

red pepper

black pepper

salt

garlic powder

onion powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

1 lb of angel hair pasta

For the pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

4 garlic cloves

1/4 cup of olive oil

3-5 sun-dried tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients for pesto together in a blender or food processor and blend until it makes a paste. That’s it! If you use a blender, you’ll most likely have to add a little water to mix.

For the sauce:

Pour a glass of wine if you wish. Then, prep all ingredients and have them ready and close by.
If your shrimp are frozen, thaw them out beforehand by running them under cool water. Season shrimp with red pepper, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder to your liking. Make sure to remove water from shrimp as best as you can because I find that too much water keeps them from browning/sautéing well.
Add 3 tbsp of olive oil to your pot on a medium/high heat. When pot is hot, add shrimp and sauté both sides of shrimp for about 3 minutes flipping once in between. Remove shrimp from pot and set aside.
Melt 1 stick of butter in the same pot that you sautéed your shrimp in over a medium heat. Add 1 head of garlic minced. Cook for about 1-2 minutes then add remaining half stick of butter. Next, add in sliced mushrooms and sliced cherry tomatoes. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until cherry tomatoes are slightly wilted or to your liking.
Add pesto then 1.5 pints of heavy whipping cream. Once this mixture starts bubbling, add your Parmesan. You can lower your heat to a low heat setting as it melts down stirring frequently until all is melted together and you’re satisfied with the thickness.
Add 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.
Add shrimp back to sauce and garnish with about 1/2 cup of parsley and turn down heat to simmer.
Boil pasta per package instructions. Either top cooked pasta with your sauce or mix noodles in the same pot as your sauce based on your preference.
Enjoy!