Keepin’ It Spicy

Alright y’all.  My girl Paula has gone and done it again.  Remember when I recently had a week full of recipes from my most favorite chef herself?!  Well, here’s one of the MANY winners from that week.  MY.WORD.  This is a "must-make-again.SOON” recipe, for sure!!  I can’t cook for two people to save my life so we always have A TON of leftovers.  I started taking my leftovers to one of the sweet girls on my team who loves spicy food as much as I do.  I’m tellin’ y’all, we are a match made in spicy-lovin’ heaven.  She LOVED this dish just as much as I did and raved about it for a few days after.  This is definitely a keeper.  Oh, sweet Paula…you really know how to keep things spicy ;)

SPICY SHRIMP AND PASTA CASSEROLE

via Paula Deen

2 lbs. shrimp, cleaned, peeled, & deveined {I used frozen shrimp because I take shortcuts like that ;)}

16 oz. jar of salsa {I used my favorite, World Table Salsa Casera :)}

9 oz. angel hair pasta {I used about 3/4 of a box}

1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed

1 tsp. dried basil, crushed

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/3 cup freshly chopped parsley

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese

1 cup plain yogurt

1 1/2 cup half & half

2 eggs

1/2 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese

Alright now, here we go.  Can I just tell y’all how much I love having all my ingredients in one place when I start cooking?!  I mean, my kitchen still looks like the sad aftermath of a tornado when it’s all said and done, but I like starting out relatively organized.

First make sure you cook your pasta and then drain.  In a separate bowl, combine eggs, half & half, yogurt, swiss & feta cheeses, parsley, basil, and oregano.  Mix until well blended.  Set aside.

Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter and spread half the pasta over the bottom of the dish.

Now let’s get to layerin’.  I’m good at that.  Especially in the winter.  I layer A LOT to cover up muffin tops and saddlebags.  Don’t judge.  This time, however, I’m layering FOOD.  Let’s get to it.  Cover the pasta with salsa, put half the shrimp on top of the salsa, and then cover it with the monterrey jack. 

You’ll notice that my shrimp already look cooked.  Ummm…well…you’re *sorta* right.  I forgot to let the shrimp thaw out before I left for work, so I popped ‘em in the microwave to let them defrost.  I left them in a little too long and sorta cooked ‘em.  But I’m okay with that because the layerin’ gets a little thick and I was a little paranoid about biting into a raw shrimp.  I might suggest you do the same :)  Just sayin’.

Now go ‘head and add the remaining pasta and shrimp.

Now pour the egg mixture {remember the one we set aside earlier?!} right over the top of the pasta & shrimp.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.  Let it stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Holy feta, swiss, and monterrey jack. AH-mazing people!!!  I’m tellin’ you!!!!  Okay, so I went ahead and added the crushed red pepper to the dish…this wasn’t in the original recipe, but I thought it needed an extra little kick.  I knew the salsa wouldn’t make it spicy enough for our taste, so the red pepper totally did the trick. You can absolutely leave that out if you don’t want a little kick in the pants.

GET.IN.MY.BELLY.

OH friends.  OOOOHHHHHH, sweet friends.  Don’t skip this one.  For real.  Y’all know Paula doesn’t disappoint and this is definitely no exception.  This is a meal that delivers, so go ahead and deliver this one right to your dinner table.  I promise you’ll love it.

And you’ll love it even more when you eat it for leftovers the next day, too ;)