Frozen Wild Argentinian Red Shrimp – Review and Recipe

While looking for an alternative to fresh shrimp, I came across these Argentine Wild-Caught Frozen Shrimp. It’s important for me to have wild-caught shrimp as they are more flavorful, tend to have less bacteria than farm-raised shrimp (Consumer Reports “Special Report: Shrimp Safety“), and shrimp farms can have large negative impacts on the environment. Of course, purchasing wild-caught means you pay a premium over farm-raised shrimp. Fortunately, you’re covered with TJ’s Frozen Wild Uncooked Argentinian Red Shrimp. It’s not too expensive and a bag of this in the freezer means you’re ready to go anytime a seafood craving strikes. Since they’re uncooked, you can easily incorporate them into your favorite recipe – pasta, stir-fry, soup, etc.

*UPDATE: Jan 2016 — Lately, I’ve had a difficult time finding these shrimp in the two TJ’s locations closest to me so if you come across some, I suggest you stock up (And let me know where you found them!)

*UPDATE: June 2016 — I’ve seen it in stock in two TJ’s I’ve visited recently. Get it while the getting’s good!

Rating: 4 out of 5 Hawaiian Shirts – Not as flavorful as fresh shrimp. Undeniably the next best thing.

RECIPE SUGGESTION: Stir-Fried Shrimp with Garlic Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of TJ’s Argentine Wild-Caught Red Shrimp
• Olive oil
• Old Bay Seasoning
• Fry the shrimp in a pan with the olive oil on medium heat. When they’re about half-way cooked, add the Old Bay Seasoning. Serve as soon as the shrimp are cooked all the way through.
• For the sauce: slowly melt 2 tablespoons of butter on a stove top in a sauce pan with finely diced garlic until it starts to brown. Then it’s ready to serve.

Fall Harvest Salsa

I’m big fan of chips and salsa. Luckily for me, Trader Joe’s has an abundance of choices. Today, I discovered this bounty has increased with TJ’s new Fall Harvest Salsa. The ingredients definitely live up to the salsa’s name; pumpkin, apples, and butternut squash. All of these are complimented nicely by bell peppers, jalapeños, and even some honey. This salsa is more sweet than spicy but not as sweet as some of TJ’s other offerings like their Cowboy Caviar.

Serving suggestion: I scooped this salsa onto TJ’s Organic Corn Chip Dippers and found it to be an excellent combination of mildly sweet and salty. You’d probably do best to keep your chips or crackers on the simple side (next time, I’ll try them on some blue corn chips) so that the complex flavor of the salsa can shine through.

3 out of 5 Hawaiian Shirts – Delicious but not spicy enough for my taste.