Spaghetti a la Betsy

With apologies to The Pioneer Woman, I have modified her Penne A La Betsy and used spaghetti! Since I had leftover heavy cream, I decided to try this recipe since it's been in my Google reader forever. It was quite tasty. It reminds me of a recipe that I have made with sausage but instead of tomato sauce, it's 1 can of diced tomatoes.

Penne A La Betsy

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog

¾ pound penne pasta (I used thin spaghetti)

3 tablespoons butter, divided

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound large shrimp

1 small white onion, finely chopped (I also added mushrooms)

2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3)

½ cup white wine

1 (8-ounce) can plain tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon fresh parsley (I omitted)

5 chopped basil leaves, chiffonaded

salt & pepper to taste

Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, while water heats and pasta cooks, make the sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes, until opaque.

Remove to a plate to let cool. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally.

While the onion and garlic are cooking, chop the shrimp into small, bite-sized pieces.

Add the wine to the pan and allow to reduce for a few minutes.

Stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Add shrimp back to the skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the parsley and basil and mix well.

Drain pasta and return to pot. Add the sauce to the pot and stir well to combine. Serve.

Apple Spice Bars

These bars are seriously some of the best ever! The recipe is from Katie's blog, Good Things Catered. I know that anytime I make a recipe of hers, it will come out delicious! I made these once before, but my husband got to them before I could take a picture.

Apple Spice Cookie Bars

from Good Things Catered

2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg (I used more like 1/4 tsp)

1/8 tsp allspice (I used more like 1/4 tsp)

small pinch ground cloves (I omitted since I didn't have any)

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 apples, cored and diced (a little less than 2 c.) (I used 3 small Honeycrisp apples)

cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9x13 pan with foil and baking spray.

-In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.

-Whisk to combine well and set aside.

-In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

-Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine.

-Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.

-Turn mixer on slow and fold in flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.

-Fold in apples.

-Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously with cinnamon sugar.

-Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30 minutes.

-Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving. (bars will be very soft)