Monday, May 12, 2008

Gotta few bucks? You could have Orange Miso Shrimp and Oyster Mushrooms, too


Dollar Store Madness! I have had a box of Contessa Orange Shrimp in my freezer for quite a while. I need to clear that freezer out (it's always overstocked) and, I was in the mood for asian food, but not in the mood to order out or spend money. The frozen brick of pre-breaded shrimp and packaged orange sauce was a Dollar Store Find earlier this year.

So let's see how a one dollar box of shrimp ends up looking as tasty as this!


Step 1: Open your box of frozen Contessa Orange Shrimp. Pan saute until browned on each side. I'm impressed so far, the breading has held up nicely.

Step 2: Add the packet of sauce. I only added approximately 1/2 of the sauce bag -- it didn't need more of that orange sauce, although it was fairly decent tasting. I did kick it up a notch by adding a good dose of miso paste, for added flavor. Quickly saute, and remove the shrimp to await plating.

Step 3: Deglaze the pan by adding water (this is my idea, at this point) and toss in some baby spinach leaves and a handful of floppy, white, tender oyster mushrooms. The mushroom vendor at my Farmer's Market doesn't like to take her mushrooms home. I've learned if you walk by her table in the last hour of the market, she'll call out "Any bag, $1.00." That's shitake, oyster, crimini -- you name it. She's never "out" so I always get a pretty bag of shrooms for $1.00.

Step 4: Plate up the shrooms and spinach, and then reach for the orange shrimp. Dummy that I am, I set them aside in a deep bowl, where they steamed and clumped together. That was not smart. Oh well. Try to separate what used to be firm, crispy, glazed shrimp, and add to the veggies, and serve.

Verdict? This $2.00 meal was really, really tasty. I was VERY surprised, and I'm also surprised that the protein count outnumbered by the fat content by a wide margin. I decreased the sugar carbs significantly by only using half the sauce, as well. I'd actually buy this and make it again if I saw it on sale. Enlarge the last pic to see tasty mushroom goodness.

9 comments:

  1. Great way to dress up a dollar store frozen meal!

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  2. I like your blog, but I feel like it is kinda like Sandra Lee's concoctions on her Food Network show which I despise.

    Everyone on the blogs and at SeriousEats (where I am a Senior Adviser) knows that I have been after Sandra Lee for over three years. Actually, she may be fired any day now because of my campaign.

    As an example, go here (and scroll down to "Chiffonade") to see what I have written about her:

    http://blog.foodienyc.com/2006/07/ilsl_monthly_re.html

    What's my point? You just cannot buy crap and make good, wholesome, healthy meals for people like my boyfriend (yes, I am 50 years old and I still have boyfriends) "Big Bear".

    And after FOUR divorces, I do NOT intend to lose him. You can see why here:

    http://www.blogger.com/profile/06969188088059280636

    But I still like your blog, even if I am a former Professional Chef from Brooklyn, NY.

    ReplyDelete
  3. not bad for $2, although the dollar store shrimp does kinda weird me out.

    and i like your blog, even though i am a current non-professional chef from jersey city, nj.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Hey guys, I've finally made in the food blogging world! I received a comment from the infamous and rude "ChiffOnade" who, in my humble opinion, is one of the most obnoxious poster/commenters in the blogosphere.

    Insulting, egocentric, grammatically challenged ... the list goes on. How many times, on how many blogs, can she manage to insert her various titles, personal and professional relationships? The answer is apparently hundreds, based on what I've seen so far, each one equally rude.

    Chiff, I have no intention whatever of "going here" and "clicking there" on anything, anywhere, that you've written, and I hope none of my visitors do, either -- using blogs to promote yourself with such bravado is tacky.

    As for your insults, delivered in true "Marie Barone" fashion (i.e., thinking that prefacing an insult with a faux compliment actually neutralizes toxicity), I find Sandra Lee quite loathsome, and if you spent even one minute actually reading my very short blog, you'll see I've made everything from short ribs to grilled fish to home cooked basmati rice pudding to a one-dollar experiment from a freezer case.

    You visit and see ONE freezer meal, and you dump your toxic comments here?

    Stay off my blog with your weird crap.

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  6. WTF--?! What an ass-hat comment. Finding and fixing up ONE frozen meal by adding spinach and mushrooms does not a Semi-Ho make.

    Kate doesn't make the Semi-Ho method a lifestyle. Much like there is nothing wrong with occasionally having a McDonald's hamburger and french fries, there is nothing wrong with occasionally having a laugh and saying "I'm going to cook this frozen food find for a buck!" and sharing the results in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. The key is, don't make a habit out of it, and don't raise your kids on it, and mix in good food on a regular basis.

    Kate is no Sandra Lee, and you Chiffonade, are no --- well, honestly, I don't know WHAT you are except really rude, really obnoxious, and really, really, really ODD.

    Seriously, get back on your meds. Stat.

    Oh, and Minnie Pearl called. She wants her look back.

    ReplyDelete
  7. i'd much rather eat $1.00 frozen shrimp with mushrooms and spinach, and admit it online, than portray myself as a raving lunatic who has been divorced 4 times and USED to be a chef. those who can, do, those who can't, remind everyone of what they used to be able to do, and go around sounding like horses asses

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  8. Pay no attention to Chiffonade, ChiffOnade, GOnad, Gollum, whatever he/she is. I personally think its a shemale, but anyway, pay no attention to those obnoxious ramblings. HeShe is a blog troll of long duration. HeShe is cranky because an Orc shyts in HisHer granola every day. I should know, I'm the one that pays it to do that.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That person posting as Chiffonade is actually Charles Treuter ("DocChuck") and not the real Chiffonade.

    Treuter is the Tastespotting Stalker and ruins people's blogs by littering them with nonsense posting as the women he is stalking.

    Read about him here (scroll to "I don't own the dog): http://www.newsgroper.com/gordon-ramsay/2007/12/21/a-recipe-inspired-by-paula-deen?page=1

    And here: http://deepdishdreams.blogspot.com/2008/01/tastespotting-stalker.html

    ReplyDelete

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