Shrimp & Mushroom Linguine

Tonight we tried a recipe from AllRecipes for Shrimp & Mushroom Linguine with Creamy Cheese Herb Sauce. I have a bunch of cream cheese (neuchatel, actually... the 1/3 less fat stuff) to use up (bought it on sale for something and can't remember what now). So I'd done a search on AllRecipes and this sounded pretty good. It was, indeed. We all loved it. This was Carson's first taste of shrimp and he loved it! I only gave him one shrimp total, just in case. We don't have any history of shellfish allergies, but you never know. But he handled it totally fine, no reactions. So now we can have shrimp more often - yay! This is a very quick and easy recipe to throw together - perfect for a work night for us!

Shrimp and Mushroom Linguine with Creamy Cheese Herb Sauce

1 (8 ounce) package linguine pasta (I used a spinach-chive linguine from Trader Joe's)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup butter (I only used 1/4 cup and even that seemed like a LOT)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese (I used the entire 8-oz package by recommendation of those that had rated it on allrecipes)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
2/3 cup boiling water
1/2 pound cooked shrimp
(I also added about a cup of frozen peas)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine, and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook and stir until tender. Transfer to a plate.

In the same pan, melt 1/2 cup butter with the minced garlic. Stir in the cream cheese, breaking it up with a spoon as it melts. Stir in the parsley and basil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in boiling water until sauce is smooth. Stir in cooked shrimp and mushrooms, and heat through.

Toss linguine with shrimp sauce, and serve.