Shrimp can be fresh, frozen raw, or frozen cooked. For fresh shrimp, peel, devein, and remove the tails, heat a non stick pan with a tablespoon or two of butter or olive oil, when hot add the shrimp, stir them around and turn them, cook until pink, remove from the pan. For frozen raw, thaw them and saute them as you would fresh. For frozen cooked, thaw them and check for any shell still attached. Now the shrimp is ready.
Squid will normally be fresh, pull off the head end, remove the skin, the clear bone (called a pen), and insides. you can turn them inside out to facilitate cleaning the inside. Slice the body into ½ inch rings. Cut the tentacles off past the beak, discard the head. Heat a non stick pan with a tablespoon or two of butter or olive oil, when hot add the shrimp, stir them around and turn them, cook for about 2-3 minutes, season with salt and pepper as desired. Remove from the pan. Now the squid is cooked.
Mussels can be frozen cooked, or fresh raw. For frozen, simply thaw, check for and remove any beards. For fresh, clean the shells, remove visible beards outside of the shell, and discard any open or cracked shells, steam the mussels until the shells open, about 6-8 minutes, allow to cool to handle, discard any shells that did not open, remove the mussel meat from each shell, and again, check for and remove any beards. Now the mussels are read.
Crab can be canned, frozen, or imitation. For canned crab meat, just drain and check for any shell fragments. For frozen, thaw and check for any shell fragments. For imitation, simply unwrap the crab sticks and slice at an angle, about ¼ inch slices. Now the crab is ready.