Blackened Shrimp Alfredo

Yesterday I went to do my weekly grocery shopping. I have been trying hard to plan our meals out for the week on Sunday and do my shopping Monday after work. This week I had some really awesome, healthy, and unique dishes planned. However, Wal-Mart had a different plan. While I LOVE shopping at Publix ( a very nice grocery chain in the south), they are rather expensive, so I do my big shopping at Wal-Mart grocery. Usually, they have everything I need, but not yesterday. It looked like looters came through and ransacked the place, it was ridiculous. Granted, some of the ingredients I needed were a bit more unique, aka green curry powder and fish sauce, many of my basic items were not there or so picked over I didn't want them. What the hell Wal-Mart! I swear every time I go they are stocking, so what did they do this weekend? Is the world coming to an end and I just don't know about it? Needless to say, at least one or two staple ingredients for each recipe were not able to be found and after doing an hour kickboxing class, I really didn't want to go somewhere else. What to make now?

The boyfriend suggested spaghetti because it is quick and easy, but I wasn't really feeling that. Yes, pasta sounded good, but not with red sauce or meat. After literally walking around like a clueless blond for 20 minutes, I decided to make a shrimp with cream sauce pasta dish. I know what you are thinking, you worked out for an hour and your going to waste it on carbs and cream sauce? Well, its all in the prep my friends. Since I'm on the WW again (weight watchers, lol) I made sure to check the points for each of my ingredients. Pasta on WW really isn't that bad at 5 points a serving, combine that with 1/2 the fat pre-made Alfredo sauce, shrimp, and veggies, the whole dish was 11 points! The blackened season mix that coats the shrimp and a touch of sherry cooking wine made this dish outstanding and fast to make! If you are watching your carbs, this could easily been served without pasta as more of a fancy shrimp dish.

Blackened Shrimp Alfredo

• 1 pound medium shrimp, cleaned 
• 8 oz pasta, I used fettuccine
• 2 tsp blackened seasoning
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp GrillMates Garlic, Herb and Wine seasoning
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1 zucchini, cut into quartered pieces
• 1 1/4 cup light Alfredo sauce
• 1/3 cooking sherry
• 2 tbs fresh basil
• 1/4 tsp lemon juice or one wedge lemon

1. Start a large pot of water to cook pasta. Once boiling, cook according to package directions.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet on medium-high heat.
3. Combine blackened, Italian, and GrillMates seasoning in a ziploack bag.
4. Put shrimp in bag and shake to coat.
5. Place shrimp in skillet ensuring that none are touching.
6. Cook shrimp for 2 minutes on one side, flip then cook for another two. Remove.
7. Place peppers, onions, and zuccini in skillet and cover; cook for 4 minutes until veggies are softened.
8. Add Alfredo sauce, sherry, and basil. Cook for 3 minutes.
9. Add shrimp back to skillet and cook for a minute until all flavors are combined. Add lemon juice right before serving and stir to incorporate.
10. Either add pasta to skillet or serve sauce over pasta.

Tips and Tricks

• Use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Good way to sneak in those healthy eats.
• Don't have cooking Sherry? No problem, use a little white wine, marsala, or chicken stock/broth.
• Feel free to use a homemade Alfredo sauce, but beware, the points will not be the same.