Apparently veggie prices are going to skyrocket for a few months.  It was quite shocking to see lettuce AND celery at $2 a bunch. But, luckily, Winco and my local Mexican market seemed to counteract the high veggie prices with some great meat and seafood deals. Sounds good to me. Shrimp and Andouille? Hmmm. Screams cajun pasta to me! How about you? Oh, and if you like it super spicy (like me and my hubby), top with a dash of cayenne. Yummo!

Creamy Cajun Rigatoni:

1/2 to 3/4 bag of rigatoni pasta (or your preferred pasta) cooked as directed – $.75
1/2 lb Shrimp (41-50 count) – $2.49 (on sale this week for $4.99/lb)
1 or two andouille (sliced on bias) – $.99 (on sale this week. I used one, should have used 2)
1 green pepper, diced – $.77
1/2 onion, diced – $.25
1 large Roma Tomato, diced – $.35
2 cups half and half – $1.75
1 small can of drained, mushrooms – $.79
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated – $.50
1 cup milk – fridge
3 Tbsps butter (olive oil for more heart healthy) – $.40
2 Tbsp flour – pantry
3 Tbsps Cajun or Soul Seasoning – pantry
1/2 tsp salt – pantry
1 tsp minced garlic – pantry
1/2 pepper – pantry

COST: $9.04

Place shrimp in bowl and season with 1 tablespoon Soul Seasoning. Toss till coated and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté andouille in butter or olive oil until cooked, then add shrimp. Cook a few mins on each side (till pink), then remove shrimp and andouille. Shell shrimp while continuing to cook cream sauce.

In the same pan, sauté onion, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic. Cook for about 2-3 mins, then add diced tomato and sprinkle remainder of soul or cajun seasoning over veggies. Mix and continue cooking on medium heat. Add flour and stir. Whisk in milk and stir till thick and mixture comes to simmer. Add parmesan cheese and stir. Add half and half, as well as sausage and shrimp to milk/roux mixture. Bring back up to simmer and immediately turn off.

Pour sauce over cooked and well drained rigatoni or linguine and toss. Top with more Parmesan cheese and serve with salad or garlic bread.

We served with some fresh cut french bread. The loaf price at our local fresh market is $1.29, but we only used half, so add I added .$.65 cents.

GRAND TOTAL: $9.69 (Pasta and French bread)