Dinner time is an important part of family togetherness. Make a skillet of this easy Bacon Shrimp Alfredo with your kids and watch everyone smile at the table.
Let's talk about our Alfredo sauce usage for just a minute.
Over the years we have relied on the jars from the grocery store for quick easy meals. They taste fine and can make a meal like this chicken Alfredo Gnocchi in minutes, right? But did you know that you can make a homemade sauce in about 10 minutes? You will be amazed at how delicious and easy this sauce is.
My hubby makes me a mean homemade Alfredo dish for my birthday dinner every year. It tastes so good, so I don't know why we wait to make this once a year! This week, I decided to up our dinner game plan and make a homemade Alfredo dish.
Alfredo sauce is just three ingredients. Butter, Parmesan cheese, and milk melted together to make a fantastic sauce. Now, I like to add a little mozzarella cheese to mine because we are a cheesy goodness family. Extra cheese is always a good idea!
I also wanted to amp up this meal, so I added roasted red peppers, bacon, and popcorn shrimp. Our kids are not huge seafood lovers, but giving them a delicious breaded version will make them as happy as clams.
Building family memories can be as easy as making dinner together while you catch up on the day's events. You can also plan a game night and stay at the table after dinner to enjoy a quick round of Uno or Phase 10.
Now that it is cooler outside, one of our favorite family activities after dinner is to sit around a bonfire roasting marshmallows and telling spooky stories.
Our kids love to get in the kitchen with us as we prepare dinner.
We love that they are learning life skills to be able to prepare dinners as they get older. Some studies have proven that kids who spend time in the kitchen helping with meals have better eating habits and also do better in school. Those are things I want to see in our children.
All three have developed quite a sweet tooth living with all the sweets that happen in our kitchen. So, any time we can talk about healthy eating and the right food choices, we do.
Sports activities here are ending, but we still have those last few games to finish. I need quick, easy meals that come together in minutes to feed my hungry athletes. We can have the noodles boiled, popcorn shrimp baked, and sauce made in 20 minutes. That leaves us more time to talk around the table before heading to the next event.
Place a pot of water on the stove and your frozen shrimp in a sheet pan. As soon as your noodles go in the boiling water, pop your baking sheet in the hot oven. The noodles and shrimp take about the same time to cook, so you want to make sure to do them simultaneously.
While those are cooking, start on the sauce. Melt the butter and stir in the garlic and Parmesan cheese. Then, slowly whisk in the half-and-half. Let it simmer for a few minutes as it gets thicker. A little bit of mozzarella cheese amplifies the cheese factor even more.
Now, you could stop here, and the dish would taste delicious, but we like our pasta with mix-ins. Today's dish has bacon and roasted red peppers added to the noodles.
Spoon it into bowls and top with the popcorn shrimp. It's an easy "shrimptastic" dinner that everyone will love!
Recipe
Bacon Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
Homemade Alfredo sauce with bacon and popcorn shrimp makes a fun kid friendly meal that everyone will enjoy.
Ingredients
- 1 package SeaPak Popcorn Shrimp
- 8 ounces pasta
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ cups half and half
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup diced roasted red pepper
- ½ cup crumbled cooked bacon
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the pasta and cook.
- Place the popcorn shrimp on a cookie sheet and bake according to the package directions.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and Parmesan cheese. Slowly whisk in the half and half. Stir and cook until thick. Then stir in the mozzarella cheese and stir until melted.
- Add the cooked pasta, red peppers, and bacon and stir until mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately in bowls topped with cooked shrimp. Makes 6 servings.
Michael Carreon
Oh WOW! I went by instructions with what I had on hand. For half & half I used 1/2 cup Heavy cream and 1 cup milk, no red bell pepper but substituted with diced tomato, and instead of bacon I used sliced ham sectioned into squares. Prior to draining bow tie pasta I dumped the ham in the hot water to get hot ham. Drained both at same time. Added the homemade sauce, which is outstanding with flavor. Dumped my tomatoes in and mixed. The shrimp came out of oven and a wonderful experience was had! Absolutely YUMMY! This will be my keeper, thank you for this recipe. Oop's I just noticed I forgot to add the mozzarella cheese, next time! AND I did not add any salt or pepper.
Jocelyn
You are very welcome! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, and the ham sounds like a great substitution. Great job!
Virginia
I made this with Barilla gluten free pasta since my boyfriend cannot have too much gluten without getting bloated and uncomfortable he says ? So this and changing the veggies to stir fry veggies with water crips made it better for him and came out so wonderful!!!! Thank you!!!!