Creamy Garlic Creole Shrimp and White Rice with Pesto

I have been on this kick the last few weeks wanting to try new recipes and concoctions for our meals. Tonight, was no different and I have Shrimp in mind...

When we bought groceries a few weeks back, we bought 2 lbs. of Shrimp and froze it. Earlier this week, I thought about how I wanted to cook it. In the past we have grilled it, lemon peppered it, steamed it, fried it and I wanted to do something different. 

I had been thinking back to many years ago about a meal some people in our church cooked after church one night when they had several of us over for food, fun, and games.  The dish consisted of Red, Yellow and Green Bell Peppers, Garlic Cloves, a sauce of some kind, White Rice and Shrimp. The Shrimp was placed in the sauce was spooned over the rice. It was delicious!!! Remembering this meal, I wanted to see if I could duplicate it tonight for supper. 

Earlier in the day, I had scoured the internet to see if I could find a recipe of some kind that was like that meal I shared with my friends. I found a Creamy Garlic Shrimp and White Rice recipe. It was similar to what I remembered, but not quite. It did not have any peppers, onions, or cheese in it. 

I moved away from the recipe and decided to wing it myself and create something that would be hearty, delicious, and filling. 

I started the White Rice about 45 minutes before I began cooking everything else. It was cooking in my Rice cooker.  While the rice was cooking, I began to cut up a Red and Yellow Bell Pepper. I placed the diced-up Peppers in the skillet with a tablespoon of sweet cream butter and a tablespoon of Olive Oil. To that, I added 6 cloves of Garlic. I pressed them in my Garlic Press from Pampered Chef. 

I chopped up a medium-sized onion and added it to the skillet along with the Peppers and Garlic. I had these on low heat until they began to sweat. Stirring it all from time to time. 

I sautéed all of this for about 20 minutes. Once this mixture felt softened just a bit, I added the raw shrimp and turned up the heat to medium. Once the shrimp started cooking, I began mixing it gently into the pepper, onion, and garlic mixture. I used 2 lbs. of tail off, peeled, deveined raw shrimp from Kroger. 

As the shrimp cooked through, I stirred the mixture gently every few minutes. This ensured the shrimps were cooked evenly throughout. During this time, I sprinkled 2 heaping splashes of Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning into the skillet and mixed it throughout the cooking ingredients. 

Turning the skillet down now, I let the shrimp and vegetables simmer for a few more minutes. (I was timing everything to be finished about the time the rice finished). The smell in the house is wonderful...garlic, bell peppers, onions, and Creole Seasoning. YUM...

While this simmered, I went outside and plucked a handful of fresh Basil out of my Herb planter. You guessed it! I am going to make fresh Pesto. (a handful of Basil, 1/4 cup of Pine Nuts, Olive Oil (it actually came from Italy - it was a gift from my youngest daughter from their 2019 trip), a little bit of salt, and shredded Parmesan Cheese. Mix this all together in a food processer. I use a mini food chopper for this as I am the only one who eats Pesto in my family). I will be putting this over 2 cups of spiral pasta. 

Back to my skillet now...oh it smells so good. I wish you could have smelled it cooking. Anyway, the next thing I did was added 2 cups of Heavy Cream and stirred it gently. Once this was mixed in good, I added 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese and let it melt as I mixed it all together. I ended up adding a little bit more cream and parmesan cheese. (This will be completely up to you!). 

Doesn't this look yummy? 

You know what I did?  I added some of the Pesto I made into the skillet to give it a little bit Basil taste. (It tasted awesome!) 

While this was finishing up, I prepared a small salad to finish out the meal. For this, my husband stopped by the store after work and picked up a package of Dole Chopped Bacon Caesar salad. 

It is time to eat now...

This was delicious and I did not even use a recipe. I created it all in my head. I think next time though, I will make the sauce just a little bit thicker. 

Recipe: 

CREAMY GARLIC CREOLE SHRIMP, SERVED OVER WHITE RICE WITH PESTO

1 Red Bell Pepper - diced

1 Yellow Bell Pepper - diced

1 medium onion - chopped

*6 garlic cloves (peeled and chopped - or pressed)

1 Tbs. Sweet Cream Butter

1 Tbs. Olive Oil

2 lbs. raw, tail-off, peeled, deveined Shrimp

2 heaping splashes of Creole Seasoning

2 1/2 c. Heavy Cream

1 1/2 c. Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Sweat all the vegetables together in the butter and olive oil. Once they start to feel soft, add the shrimp. Let this cook for approximately 15 - 20 minutes on low to medium heat. 

Add cream and cheese, stir gently - mixing it in well. Turn heat down and let it simmer on low until the cheese melts. 

In the meantime, cook your rice. I used 2 cups of rice that was cooked in my rice cooker. You can use Minute Rice or Boil-A-Bag rice too. (Your preference)

*you could also leave the garlic cloves whole if you prefer. 

Once the rice has finished cooking, put some onto a plate or into a bowl, and spoon the Shrimp mixture with sauce over the top of the rice. 

Enjoy!!! 

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