Shrimp Pasta with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

It had been way too long since I'd tried out a new pasta recipe, and I honestly didn't have very high hopes for this one. But MAN it was good!! Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups cavatappi pasta
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE TOMATO BASIL CREAM SAUCE

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegetable broth, or more, as needed
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, or more, as needed
• 1/3 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
3. Place shrimp onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste, and gently toss to combine. Place into oven and roast just until pink, firm and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes; set aside.
4. To make the tomato basil cream sauce, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
5. Gradually whisk in vegetable broth and basil. Cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more heavy cream as needed; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in spinach until it begins to wilt, about 2 minutes.
6. Stir in pasta and shrimp, and gently toss to combine.
7. Serve immediately.

I think I may have used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, but I honestly can't remember. I think either would be good. I also just used some mini macaroni pasta that I had in my pantry instead of the cavatappi pasta, since I couldn't find cavatappi pasta at the store and I'm honestly not sure what that is anyway. ;-) Oh, and I used shrimp that was already cooked and just put it in the oven to warm it up. I am all about making my life easy! But seriously - this pasta is delicious!!! So much flavor! I highly recommend it!