Whether you are out and about living your busy life, or you are stuck at home with your family in quarantine, getting dinner on the table can be a real challenge. As a parent, you work to find ingredients for healthy meals that your kids will like; but sometimes you just want something that is quick and easy. Few feelings rival the satisfaction that comes when you manage to check all the boxes: healthy, easy, no complaints.
One of the simplest ways to make sure you have everything you need for a healthy meal that’s ready to go in no time, is to make sure your kitchen is stocked with all the right foods.
Buy fresh fruits and vegetables that have a longer shelf life so you don’t have to go to the store as often. Apples, oranges, potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage will keep for a while in the refrigerator. Rice, dried beans, pasta, and canned vegetables are great to have on hand to round out any meal. Frozen shrimp, however, is quite possibly the star of any food you can keep on hand for a quick and delicious dinner.
Everything is easier when you can just pull shrimp out of the freezer to whip a meal together. You are sure to find a recipe that satisfies everyone in your family, whether it is hearty shrimp parmesan, a festive shrimp boil, zesty shrimp tacos, or simply shrimp and chips.
1. Shrimp Parmesan
Shrimp parmesan is the quintessential comfort food. Carby pasta, hearty tomato sauce, juicy shrimp with just the right amount of breading, gooey cheese. Your family may love spaghetti and meatballs; but once they try this, there is no going back. The shrimp parmesan recipe found at the link is super simple, takes five minutes to prepare, and can be on your plate just 18 minutes after it starts cooking. Using pre-cooked frozen shrimp shortens your prep time, and there is no messy thawing. All you have to do is open the bag, place the shrimp on a baking sheet, and stick it in the oven. Get all your other ingredients ready while it’s cooking and viola! Dinner is served.
2. Low Country Shrimp Boil
A Low Country shrimp boil is a classic southern dish that is easy to make and fun to eat. Fresh red potatoes, bright yellow corn, and delicious pink shrimp come together for a colorful meal that is certain to brighten any table. Use shrimp that has already been peeled and deveined for one of most low-maintenance dinners you can make. Add the buttery garlicky deliciousness of frozen shrimp scampi for an extra treat. The linked recipe offers the traditional shrimp boil recipe, as well as a baked recipe for a different take.
3. Shrimp Tacos
Shrimp tacos are so easy to make and fun to eat that this may be your new go-to meal. The variety of ways you can make them is nearly endless, too. The simplest way to make shrimp tacos is to pile fresh from the oven frozen shrimp onto a tortilla, add some cabbage slaw and sour cream, fold, and eat. You can go from there, jazzing them up in whatever way you like. Leave out the cabbage slaw, replace it with lettuce and grated carrots, and top with teriyaki sauce for an Asian twist. Go all out and create a taco bar for your family with whatever you pull out of the refrigerator. Encourage experimentation. Who knows? Someone may find a flavor combination no one ever thought of before.
4. Shrimp Salad
You could go with the classic Midwest version of a shrimp salad, mixing delicious cooked shrimp with a homemade dressing and adding it to your lettuce wraps; or you could go a little healthier and make an actual salad packed with greens, the shrimp on top. Either way, a shrimp salad dinner feels like a picnic. Add to the fun by spreading a blanket out on the living room floor and eat there. Make one of these classic picnic desserts ahead of time and play board games on the blanket to have a fun evening at home.
5. Shrimp and …
While all these recipes are super simple and satisfying, sometimes there is nothing quite as nice as pulling a couple of bags out of the freezer, dumping them onto a baking sheet, and sitting down to dinner 20 minutes later. There are few other food items that are as easy and versatile as pre-cooked shrimp, to facilitate a zero-effort dinner.
- Shrimp and Chips
Pull shrimp out of the freezer and cook with frozen french fries for an easy dinner with no silverware required.
- Shrimp and Redskins
Using redskins instead of french fries is more of a guiltless meal option that is just as simple.
- Shrimp and Mac & Cheese
Shrimp parmesan may be the quintessential comfort meal, but shrimp and mac & cheese has got to be a close second.
- Surf and Turf
This is for the carnivores out there. Nothing quite compares to steak and shrimp together on a Friday night.