A delicious use of leftovers

I am terrible about buying produce and only using part of it. There are usually a half dozen red peppers, bunches of green onions and packets of herbs that I've used a bit of for one recipe and just leave the remainder to rot in my refrigerator - eventually making their way to the compost bin when I muster up the desire to clean out the fridge (or to be more honest, when my husband insists I clean the fridge).

This recipe is a great way to use up produce in your fridge because almost anything is good in it and you don't need a certain amount of any one ingredient. I have made this a hundred different ways and it's always good because the base is a creamy garlic sauce - and who doesn't love a creamy garlic sauce? Below is how I made the dish last night, but feel free to add in different fresh herbs and vegetables depending on what you have on hand.

Creamy Shrimp Pasta

Servings: 4

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 red pepper, cut into 1" or so pieces
2 large cloves garlic, minced
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup cream (half-n-half or 2% milk would work, too)
1/2 cup white wine (I use Chardonnay but anything dry should work)
1 cup chicken stock or broth
pinch cayenne and/or red pepper flakes
2-3 tablespoons flour
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (any size shrimp works, I typically just buy what is on sale, you can also use scallops, chicken works too)
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 a fresh lemon, cut in wedges
1 bag egg noodles (any pasta works, I just use whatever I have on hand)
salt & pepper to taste
*this is also great topped with a bit of feta cheese, but I didn't have any on hand yesterday so I omitted it and it was still delicious

Directions:
In a large saute pan heat oil over medium heat (about a 5 on most stove nobs). Saute onion, red pepper, mushrooms and garlic for about 5-10 minutes or until onion starts to become translucent. Add in cayenne and/or red pepper flakes, cream, wine and broth and bring to a boil. Toss peeled shrimp in the flour and add to pot. Cook shrimp in cream sauce for about 5 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through. If sauce isn't think enough, whisk in a tablespoon of cornstarch and continue to cook for a five minutes or so. Serve over warm noodles. Top with a bit of parsley and a spritz of lemon. Serve with crusty bread for sopping up the sauce.

Enjoy!