Sometimes, it's okay to cheat.

Like when you've been battling a viral infection for a week, and you have little to no energy. Making meals for myself has been a real challenge. Besides being exhausted all the time, I hardly have any appetite, which doesn't really help me in the motivation department. The only thing that keeps me shoving food into my face is the knowledge that my body needs fuel in order to help itself get better and fight these monsters inside of me.

For tonight's dinner, I knew I needed to bring out the big guns: garlic and onions. These things are heavy hitters in the Foods That Heal bracket, and I happened to have a bit of a jar of alfredo sauce in the fridge. Pre-made sauce equals less prep time for me, and that's a huge plus in my current state. And so a simple meal idea was born: garlicky shrimp and broccoli alfredo.

All measurements are approximate. This recipe made enough for two large servings. I hope you like it as much as I did. Feel free to adjust the levels of garlic to your liking.

Ingredients

Some large, flat noodles (either fettucini or linguine will work)

4 cloves garlic

1/2 of a medium Vidalia onion

1/2 of a head of broccoli

3/4 cup shrimp, thawed

1/3 of a jar of Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo sauce

Salt and Pepper

Method

Start some water boiling for your pasta. If you're short on time, a trick I like to use is to fill up my electric kettle with hot water from the tap and set it to boil. Once it's popped, pour the whole thing into a pot you have ready on the stove. Turn the dial to high, and blammo--you will have a pot of boiling water in less than half the time it would have taken if you just poured a bunch of lukewarm water into a pot and waited for it to boil the traditional way. ANYWAYS.

In a large frying pan, heat some oil or butter over medium-low heat until hot. Cut up some garlic and onions and toss them in the pan. Cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Rinse your shrimp, blot them with some paper towels, and toss them into the pan as well (you don't want too much liquid in the pan or the shrimp get all rubbery). Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes, turning often. Dump the contents of your jar of sauce into the pan and let it simmer, stir often. Feel free to adjust the amount of sauce depending on the amount of pasta you're cooking. Heat everything all together over low heat for a few minutes, or until your pasta is done.

Meanwhile, your pasta should be nearing completion. During the last few minutes of cooking, dump your broccoli pieces into the boiling water right along with the pasta. The time the broccoli takes to cook depends on the size of the pieces you cut and how tender you like your broccoli bits to be. Adjust cooking times accordingly.

Drain your pasta and broccoli thoroughly, then dump it into the frying pan with the sauce. Toss everything all together; stuff into face. Remember that cheating is a perfectly normal and acceptable thing... sometimes.