What To Do With Frozen Pre-Cooked Shrimp

[zoogirl]

I've never cooked shrimp before but have a bag of pre-cooked in my freezer. What's something simple that can I make with it tonight? I also have brown rice which I've never made either!

[Jestgar]

Cook the brown rice with chicken stock. Saute some eggs, veggies, the shrimp with some soy sauce or sumpin'. Serve on the rice.

[Darn210]

I saute some mushrooms in olive oil or butter with onion and garlic (and whatever spice looks good), throw in some shrimp and leftover pasta and heat through. One of my favorite meals and I only cook it when I'm on my own . . . I'm the only one in the family that will eat shrimp or mushrooms.

[tarnalberry]

Toss the rice in a pot of (ample) water with a bag of frozen veggies (or any chopped veggies of your choice). When the rice is done, add the shrimp and cook until hot. Add some boullion and spices, and voila, the lazy (wo)man's soup.

[sa1937]

Using a skillet, lightly saute some minced garlic in butter (or butter/olive oil combo). Toss in the thawed shimp for a few minutes, add a bit of lemon juice and minced parsley. Season to taste. Tada! Scampi

Serve over rice.

[burdee]

Make Spanish Rice with shrimp. (I didn't indicate amounts, because I don't know how much rice you have or what proportion of rice to shrimp to vegies you prefer.) Here's how I make that:

Cook the rice. While that's cooking slice and saute in large pan 1 large chopped onion, some chopped celery, some chopped pepper and minced garlic. When those are done add a can of chopped tomatoes and/or a jar of spaghetti sauce. Add 1 can mushrooms and herbs like basil and oregano. Season to taste with garlic or onion salt. Add frozen shrimp and stir to thaw. Add cooked rice and stir well to blend.

Serve with a white zinfandel wine (Ariel and/or Sutter Home make nonalcoholic varieties) and parmesan cheese (dairy free versions with soy ingredients are available) or grated mozarrella cheese (for those who are dairy/soy free Daiya makes the best grated mozarrella cheese)

Enjoy!

[zoogirl]

Wow! You guys rock! Those all sound good and like I could actually make them. Thanks!

[luvs2eat]

Using a skillet, lightly saute some minced garlic in butter (or butter/olive oil combo). Toss in the thawed shimp for a few minutes, add a bit of lemon juice and minced parsley. Season to taste. Tada! Scampi

Serve over rice.

This is exactly what we do... because we find the precooked shrimp to be just a little underdone for our tastes. We don't like shrimp cooked like all the TV chefs say it should be cooked. We like it cooked a little longer, so the extra saute w/ butter and garlic does it up just right. We love it on pasta too!

[sa1937]

Damn, now I'm hungry for shrimp, which I always have in my freezer. I find the precooked shrimp to be somewhat underdone for my taste, too.

Another thing I like is shrimp curry, which I haven't made since going gluten-free.

[Nor-TX]

I use this type of shrimp often. I love the taste and convenience. I do notice that the shrimp tastes differently depending on where you buy it. Walmart brand is yucky. I have a Tom Thumb and Albertsons and watch for the sales - very good product.

I use this shrimp in lots of ways. Sometimes DH will pick up Orange Chicken and rice at Panda Express and bring me a container of rice. In that case I warm up the rice with the shrimp and make my own drizzling sauce from soy sauce, water, powdered ginger, sesame oil and seasoned rice vinegar. Yummo.

I also chop the shrimp and mix with any type of rice and maybe some mushrooms if I feel well enough, and roll in softened rice wrappers. Dip into the sauce I described above. I can even crisp them up in a pan sprayed with butter Crisco spray. It changes the consistency of the wrappers and they become crispy.

These shrimp are mild flavored and so adaptable. Try cooking some of the new gluten-free Heartland rice pasta carried at Walmart and toss with warmed shrimp and some dairy free margarine and spices.. Very good and totally normal food.

So many ideas and choices.. one absolutely versatile food which is a staple in my home.

[BethJ]

Shrimp cocktails! Mmmmmmm. I keep frozen cooked shrimp on hand all the time.

I use them in anything where raw shrimp are used but don't cook them again. Put them in at the last minute just so they heat through or cook a moment more to your liking.

Be sure to read where the shrimp come from. Those farm-raised in China, Vietnam and Asia can be full of pollutants from the filthy water. They also are loaded with antibiotics as are the tilapia they raise. Just be careful when you buy them.

[zoogirl]

Ooh - thanks for the tips about the WalMart brand and where they're farmead! I did get this bac at WalMart, although I don't think its their store brand (not sure) so if I don't like them I'll try them from somewhere else.

Do they re-heat well for leftovers? Or is it better to just make what yo're going to eat at that meal?

zoogirl

[love2travel]

My personal preference is to buy raw unpeeled shrimp (the larger the better - you can tell this by the number on the bottom of the package. The lower the number the larger they are. The number means how the number of shrimp per pound.) The texture is better plus you can grill them shell on! I love them barely cooked through so they remain succulent and plump. Sort of like steak that is medium rare - so much better than well done!

However, pre-cooked are definitely not a waste! Lightly poaching in coconut milk, lemongrass and lime is nice. You can roast them in the oven with butter and herbs. Or en papillote which means steaming inside paper (cool presentation, too) with herbs, a touch of white wine and butter). Or as suggested shrimp cocktail which is the best preparation for pre-cooked. You can serve cold with homemade aioli, pesto or dips. Some like to add shrimp to risotto. They can be chopped and used as a filling or stuffing in other things such as gluten-free pasta. They can also be used in a bisque.