Exchange Gang Pasta with Shrimp

I have made several friends on the Recipe Exchange here. One of them posted a request asking other members to each suggest one ingredient and challenged me to make a dish out of only those ingredients, plus salt and pepper. After 15 minutes, she gave me the list. People had so much fun participating and I had a blast creating the dish. It turned out so good that my kids licked their plates! Everyone who participated deserves credit for creating the dish, so I have given their display names next to their ingredient. The recipe you see here is the result of that incredibly fun challenge.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 35 mins
• Calories: 512 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup half-and-half cream
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup white wine
• ½ pound spaghetti
• 1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup diced mushrooms
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
• 2 cups torn fresh spinach leaves

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the spaghetti, and return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked through, but still firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain; toss with 2 tablespoons of the butter.

Step 2

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the shallots and mushrooms until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the grape tomatoes and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook and stir until tomatoes are heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp, and cook until the shrimp just begins to turn pink, stirring occasionally.

Step 3

Stir in the white wine and lemon juice, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until shrimp are opaque, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach; once spinach has wilted, stir in the half-and-half and Parmesan cheese. Simmer until all ingredients are heated through and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve over the cooked spaghetti.