Shrimp stir-fry

You might not be able to see it - but there IS a fair amount of shrimp in this stir-fry.

1st - Minute Rice. I am a HUGE fan of jasmine rice, but I was in a rush tonight and a 5 minute rice was sounding pretty good to me. I put the rice on and then fiddled around with the stir-fry and when that was done, so was the rice.

2nd - take a big handful of frozen, pre-cooked shrimp out of the freezer and put that in the strainer under running cold water to defrost. I love healthy convenience foods and this shrimp rates pretty high with me - it is also great on top of green salads... Maybe I do pay a little more for my food, but consider this - it is always cheaper than 1 pre-made frozen dinner and I get alot more usage out of my purchase!

3rd - I put some frozen stir-fry mixed vegetables in a bowl with some freshly chopped mushrooms and a handful of fresh bean sprouts - added about 2 tsp. of water, put saran wrap on top and microwaved them for 1 1/2 minute (this is a single portion - so if you are making more - microwave longer!).

4th - Heat stir-fry oil (or any oil for that matter, but I like flavored stir-fry oils) in my frying pan. Add the shrimp, a handful of unsalted peanuts and the left-over vegetables (green beans and onions) from the other night. After about 2 minutes - to get the shrimp warm - I added the other veggies that I already microwaved. Stir in some Hoison sauce and vegetable stir fry sauce to taste - hoison sauce tends to be sweet, so just a bit. If you aren't used to cooking with sauces - experiment, add slowly and taste as you go along. You can make your dish saltier by adding a bit of soy sauce. Or - a nice citrus flavor is a bit of orange juice. Play! Stir it all together and let simmer for about 1 minute.

All done and pretty tasty considering that it took me all of about 10 minutes total to make!

A side note - I go grocery shopping 2X a week. I usually shop for small portions and don't mind asking the butcher to break down big packages of meat into 1 portion. Also, when I buy mushrooms - I will buy just 6 or so at a time and bean sprouts - just a tiny handful. If you want ginger, you can break a bud off the entire stalk. Buying just a little tiny bit adds so much fresh flavor to your cooking and really only costs about twenty-five cents! However, there are some things that you can't just buy one piece of - like celery - so that is where the pre-packaged frozen veggie mixes come in very handy! I just add my fresh stuff into the mix. Shopping 2X a week is faster for me, gives me time to think about what I want to cook and what I need, and also, I feel that my veggies are fresher! By mid-week I am a bit tired of whatever veggie I got earlier in the week so it's nice to go back to the store for more variety!

Oh! And I am not always in a rush - it is just that my son and I have had lessons all this week and don't get home until 6 pm, which is very late to start dinner, considering we usually eat at 5:30 and he goes to bed at 8. I've been giving him a peanut butter sandwich and apple juice at 4:30 to tide him over!