Perfect Shrimp Cocktail

Ah skrimp...its my fav. I totally dig it, but I don't buy it often because its not cheap and I will eat very bit of it. We went grocery shopping today though and Red was all, "OOOOH Shrimp Mommy! Let's get some SHRIMP!" over and over and over again as though it were the treat of a lifetime. He even threw in the"I'll be your best friend!?" line. So I got some.

Oh yeah and don't hate on the WT (white trash) ghettotastic tator tots in the pic...you know they are good. You know you like them! You know you do. We don't ever buy the things-but you know every once in awhile you gotta be bad...and this was another kid request. Yeah, he wanted shrimp and tator tots for dinner...I almost caved and got some frozen fishsticks. Oh yes, that's right! Frozen mystery fish type stuff smooshed together and breaded...I was able to overcome the urge though and pass them by.

Hey, don't be mad at me. Nobody ever claimed this was a food snob blog. We drink Arbor Mist round here too.

Anyway-my favorite way to eat shrimp is basic shrimp cocktail over ice with cocktail sauce and lemon. I love it fried or scampi style or tossed with pasts-but my absolute fav is shrimp cocktail.

Some people will just thaw and rinse some frozen shrimp and serve it and I just think that is nasty. It has a fishy taste then that ruins it for me.

I have an easy peasy fo'sheezy way to make perfect shrimp cocktail.

Here's what you need:

1 14 oz package frozen shrimp, deveined-tail on, thawed

1 lemon

1 large bowl of lukewarm water

celery salt or old bay seasoning

Here's what you do:

-slice up lemon and place lemon slices into bowl of lukewarm water.

-let lemon water set for about an hour.

-put shrimp into colander and rinse under cool water

-add celery salt and/or old bay seasoning to bowl of lemon water

-add shrimp to bowl and let sit for about 15 minutes

-dump bowl into colander and discard liquid

-place shrimp in the fridge for a few minutes to chill

I like to serve mine over some crushed ice (to keep them very cold) with lemon slices and cocktail sauce.

Flounder Packets with Lemon and Tomatoes

This is a recipe from cookinglight.com. I will use more ginger next time I make it and make sure my fish isn't so waterlogged. I used thawed frozen flounder and I should have let it dry on some paper towels a bit before I baked it in the parchment paper packets.

The flavor is nice though-I love the lemon and ginger and tomatoes with the light fish. Nice and light and easy to throw together-pretty presentation.

Flounder Packets with Lemon and Tomatoes

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet, about 2 tablespoons tomatoes, and about 2 tablespoons green onions)

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) flounder fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 large lemon, thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.
Cut a (36-inch-long) piece of parchment paper. Fold in half crosswise; open. Place fillets, slightly overlapping, in the center of right half of paper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with ginger, lemon, tomatoes, and onions.
Fold paper; seal edges with narrow folds. Slide packet onto a baking sheet; lightly coat packet with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until browned. Place on a platter; cut open.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 171 (12% from fat)
Fat: 2.2g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.4g,poly 0.6g)
Protein: 32.9g
Carbohydrate: 3.7g
Fiber: 1.2g
Cholesterol: 82mg
Iron: 1.2mg
Sodium: 439mg
Calcium: 56mg