Thrity Menu: Scampi

Try finding a recipe for scampi that does not use lots of expensive ingredients, such as the white wine.  Specifically, what I wanted to find was a recipe that I could conjure up without having to buy anything special............sorta the "poor man's" version.

I realized that aside from the economical point, I also wanted a recipe that allowed me to continue to be very flexible and utilize what I already had on hand.  Living so close to a grocery store, I could walk over and buy any ingredient I did not have on hand already.

Food prices have shifted upward about 15%.  Most news reports are not showing this much of an increase, but I think the news tells the story for increases just in the product, not in the distribution.  I have kept a close eye on my regular food purchases, and I see at least a 10% increase across the board.

So, thrifty mom becomes even more thrifty.  I do not want to compromise my family's food choices.  We will have to cut back on the times we do eat out now, but I can be creative to make that happen without too much of a sacrifice.  Because I have always been very good at not throwing away a single thing, I thought I'd finally sit down and put some of these tips online for others who may be experiencing a bit of sticker shock at the grocery store.

Scampi

There are a couple of variations to shrimp scampi if you research "poor man's scampi" - using chicken, popcorn shrimp or imitation lobster chunks.  What I have on hand is some flaked imitation lobster left over from a seafood dip recipe.  I did look at shrimp at the store, but at $5 / pound for the smaller shrimp in the frozen section, it was not in my budget this week.  I have about half a pound of the flakes, so to stretch those out, I will make more of the sauce to cover the pasta.

1 cup butter / margarine
3 Tab garlic (minced, chopped, dry)
1 teas flour
1/4 teas red pepper
1 Tab basil
1 Tab parsley
1 Tab lemon juice
1/4 teas nutmeg
1/2 cup milk *

Melt butter / margarine over low heat;  add all remaining ingredients except milk.  Heat to simmering, stirring often to keep from sticking.  Gradually add milk, stirring consistently.  Add additional milk to achieve a thickness you want.  I wanted my sauce to be thicker.  Stir in imitation lobster flakes and simmer on low until heated through.

Serve over cooked pasta.