WC #3 Update - Spicy Shrimp and Asparagus Stir Fry Review

Here's the recipe for our supper last night. Chris gets weekly emails from work with healthy living tips and recipes. This was one of the recipes from a few weeks ago.

Spicy Shrimp and Asparagus Stir-Fry

1/2 cup instant brown rice (measured dry)
1 tsp. canola or other cooking oil
1/2 onion chopped
1 cup chopped bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 cup chopped raw asparagus
8 oz. frozen shrimp, defrosted
1 T. low-sodium soy sauce
Hot sauce
Salt and black pepper

Cook the rice according to package directions. Add the oil to a large skillet or wok and place over high heat. When the oil is smoking, add the onion, bell peppers, garlic and asparagus. Stir-fry for five minutes until the vegetables have browned slightly. Stir in the shrimp, soy sauce and hot sauce to taste; cook for an additional three minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve half of it over the brown rice.

Serves two

Per serving: 592 calories, 11 grams fat (2 saturated), 36 grams protein, 88 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams fiber

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I doubled the recipe and it was plenty for us for supper with some left over for lunch today. This was a really good recipe and very easy to make. I don't follow measurements when I'm using vegetables. I used 2 bell peppers (green and yellow), about 20 spears of asparagus, 1/4 white onion, and 3 or 4 scallions.

Review:

Ease: This recipe was super easy to make! It took me about 25 minutes total to prep and cook. That also included a brief intermission to clean up after the dog. Chopping up the vegetables was the most labor-intensive part.

Cost: When I first found this recipe, I didn't know if I would try it because shrimp can be kind of expensive. Thankfully, I found it on sale last week for less than $5 for a 16 oz bag. Asparagus has also been on sale lately. I can't remember how much I paid for it, but I think it was around $2.50 for big bundle and I only used 1/2. The peppers were cheap from Sam's and everything else I already had on hand.

Taste: This was really good! I wasn't sure at first because I'm not a huge fan of soy sauce. But, the 2 tablespoons isn't too overwhelming. I didn't have any hot sauce, but I did add some black pepper and cayenne while the vegetables were cooking. I was hesitant to add salt, because I didn't have low sodium soy sauce. After it was done cooking and I tasted it, I did add a little salt to it.

The taste wasn't overwhelming, but it was good. The vegetables were cooked enough, but still had a good crunch to them. I didn't serve it with anything (other than the brown rice), but I wished I had some fresh pineapple and some strawberries to go on the side.

Nutrition: If I had used low sodium soy sauce and didn't add the extra salt, this would have been a very healthy meal. Even with the salt content, I feel like it was very nutritious. Protein, whole grain, fresh vegetables....doesn't get much better than that! I have a hard time understanding how each serving has 592 calories, but maybe that's right.

Overall: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars...We really enjoyed this meal, but it isn't something that I would crave. I would definitely make it again and enjoy it!