photo by: John Young

Bacon and shrimp penne with tomato cream sauce

Cooking weeknight dinners can be tricky when time is an issue. Often, meals get plugged in between sports practices, baths, homework and chores. In order to handle the “no time for dinner prep” evenings, it’s good to have a few stand-by ingredients on hand.

In my house, bacon and shrimp are two of those standards. They are great proteins because neither require hours of thawing time (excellent for those of us who struggle to plan ahead on busy days), they cook quickly and people love them.

I am also not afraid to open a jar of pasta sauce, though I vastly prefer homemade “Sunday gravy.” But let’s face it; simmering sauce on the stove for hours on a Wednesday night isn’t always possible. Permission to open a jar is a gift we give ourselves from time to time.

This meal can be pulled together in about 20 minutes, which makes it a spectacular weeknight feature. Also, everyone loves bacon.

Bacon and Shrimp Penne with Tomato Cream Sauce

For the sauce
2 cups marinara sauce (homemade or jar)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk or half and half
2 teaspoons basil
Pinch of salt

For the toppings
5 strips of bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound shrimp, thawed and peeled (I used 35-45 count medium-sized shrimp)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper

Penne pasta, boiled in salty water to al dente
Blue cheese crumbles for finishing

Directions
Set your water on to boil, and heat a skillet with the bacon pieces. Meanwhile, peel your shrimp and set aside until the bacon is about half-cooked.

Cook your pasta to al dente in salty water, about 12 minutes.

Warm the marinara over medium heat, and add the sour cream and milk (or half and half) along with the seasonings and simmer over low heat until ready to serve.

Pour all but a tablespoon of the bacon grease out of the pan and add the shrimp and seasonings to the skillet. Saute for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pan. Add the sauce and toss to coat. Serve pasta topped with the bacon/shrimp mix and dust with blue cheese crumbles.

Serve hot with crusty bread.