(A note about “Spotlight Ingredients”… Sunday is my favorite day of the week to cook. I’ll grill, broil, saute or bake the entire spotlight ingredient. That means that I could have a pork roast in the slow cooker or I could be frying a large quantity of pork chops. Whatever it may be, I will cook it all at once and then immediately reserve portions for the next two nights. To some people it may sound like leftovers, but it really is not when you consider you’ve just cooked the base for making three entirely different recipes in the following days.)
Shrimp Stir Fry. Shrimp Tacos. Spring Rolls. Or just roasted shrimp along side a crisp vegetable and a baked potato for dinner. Shrimp is easy to cook and quick to serve. You can buy it frozen in the large packages, just check to see if the shrimp has been peeled and deveined. It’s usually a little more expensive if it has been peeled and deveined, but I think it is worth it. When you are cooking a lot of shrimp, who has time to peel each one?
Something that took me awhile to understand about shrimp is when there are numbers used to describe the size of the shrimp. I know what medium, large, jumbo and colossal are, but 16/20 or 21/25? What does that mean? Well it means that there are 16-20 shrimp per pound or 21/25 per pound. The bigger the number, the smaller the shrimp. I usually buy the frozen bag of 16-20 shrimp and stock up when it’s on sale.
To roast the shrimp: mix 5 lbs of thawed, deveined and shelled large shrimp with olive oil, salt and pepper. (This is a lot, I know. But the idea is you cook it once and then use it in many different ways.) Lay the shrimp flat on a cookie sheet and place in a pre-heated 425 degree oven. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the shrimp starts to curl and become pink.