Shrimp and Pasta Salad

'Morning!  I did some whirlwind cooking over the weekend, and came up with a couple of great summertime recipes.  Hurrah!

This one is a gussied-up version of a basic shrimp salad.  It was tasty straight from the recipe, but I amped it up by adding pasta and capers.  The pasta adds some carbs to balance things out, and is an inexpensive way to make the salad go further.  It would definitely be great with a whole wheat or gluten free pasta, so use whatever you like best!

Baked Coconut Shrimp

I'm so utterly pooped this week that I had no idea what I was going to make for you.  So, while I stood in the grocery store, trying to decide which ingredients might need to hop into my cart, an email from Allrecipes came through on my phone, showcasing this recipe.  Hmmmm.... The only ingredient I didn't have was shrimp, and they happened to be on sale.  Perfect!

What I love about these buggers is that they're not fried.  They're rich and flavorful, and would make the perfect snack or party food.  We tried them dipped in all kinds of sauces in our fridge, but our big favorite was just a mix of equal parts honey and dijon mustard (sound familiar??).  Bo love love loves these, and thanked me no fewer than 6 times during dinner.  I thought they were rich and definitely filling.  I might bust this recipe out again the next time we have people over for snacks.

Enjoy!

Baked Coconut Shrimp
adapted from Allrecipes.com

1lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 c. cornstarch (yes, 1/3 cup)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Old Bay Garlic & Herb seasoning
2 c. flaked sweetened coconut
3 egg whites, beaten until foamy

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Rinse and pat-dry shrimp with paper towels.  Mix cornstarch, cayenne, and Old Bay in a shallow bowl.  Pour coconut into a separate shallow bowl.  Working with one shrimp at a time, dredge it in the cornstarch mixture, dip it in the egg whites, and then lightly dredge it in the coconut.  Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining shrimp.  Bake 15-20 minutes until coconut is golden and shrimp are done, flipping over (carefully) halfway through baking.

It's easiest if you use 2 hands -

one for the cornstarch (dry) and one for the egg whites and coconut (wet).

Try to just lightly coat the shrimp with coconut.

The first time I made these, I coated them so thick that you couldn't 

see the shrimp for the coconut.  They were way, way too coconutty.

Zoomed in shrimpyness.

Chipotle Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:
1/4 vegetable oil
4 Tbs. white vinegar
1 Bottle of Saucy Mama Lime Chipotle Marinade
1 1/2 cups cooked corn, fresh, frozen or canned
2 1/2 cups shrimp, fresh or frozen (thawed), peeled and deveined
2 red bell peppers cut into slices
12 cups baby spinach

For the Dressing:
Whisk together vegetable oil, vinegar and 2 Tbs. Saucy Mama Lime Chipotle Marinade

For the Salad:
1.  Marinate the shrimp in the Saucy Mama Lime Chipotle Marinade for 15-20 minutes
2.  Heat grill to medium heat
3.  Spray grill basket with nonstick spray
4.  Place pepper strips in grill basket and grill for 10 minutes, turning occasionally
5.  Add shrimp to grill basket and cook approximately 2 minutes on each side (shrimp will turn orangey-pink when done)
6.  Let peppers cool and then dice.
7.  Divide spinach among 6 plates
8.  Top with shrimp, peppers and corn
9.  Drizzle with dressing

For another great recipe and a  chance to win a Saucy Mama product pack hop on over to  Life in the BAT Cave and find out how you can enter! 

Sweet and Salty Shrimp

I am not sure if it is the fact that I am watching a lot of cooking shows like Master Chef, Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen or the fact that I learned to cook by watching the food network...but this week I wanted to do something on my own. I came up with:

Sweet and Salty Shrimp Kabobs



I made a shrimp marinade of 5 Tablespoons of olive oil, 3 Tablespoons of honey, 3 Tablespoons of soy sauce and salt and pepper. Then marinaded the shrimp while I chopped up the pineapple and onion.

Thread shrimp, onion, cherry tomatoes and shrimp onto skewers. Drip extra marinade on shrimp skewers.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes and enjoy.

The good news: These turned out fairly good.

The bad news: They didn't really taste like either honey or soy sauce.

They did have a good flavor and of course tasted good with the pineapple, onion and tomato. Hubby and I thought that this might have been really good with garlic infused butter...the kids were getting ready for bed when I tried this - they were walking through the kitchen asking if they could stay up and try them...my kids love shrimp! :)

3 spoons...it's sad to say - but they weren't very spectacular...what would you have put on your shrimp?

Basil Shrimp

Guess what?  I made another recipe with lemon, ha!  Only a little bit though, if that's any kind of consolation.  I promise that next week's recipe will be completely lemon-free :)

We rated this recipe a 4 Spoons.  Pretty tastey, but not something we're dying to make again really soon.  I have another grilled shrimp recipe that I loved years ago, so I'm going to try that one again to see if it's worth sharing.  (Sidenote: Bo has already asked when we're having last week's bbq chicken next.)

Enjoy!



Basil Shrimp
adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, minced**
3 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper to taste

In a shallow dish, mix together all sauce ingredients. Add shrimp and toss to coat.  Cover and marinade for 20 minutes. Soak your bamboo skewers in water and preheat grill to high heat.

Remove shrimp from marinade and thread onto skewers.  Arrange skewers on preheated grill and cook for 4 minutes or until opaque, turning once.

 ** Note:  Because fresh basil is so expensive and because I can't keep a basil plant alive (I gave up after 4 attempts), I now purchase those tubes of herbs in the produce section.  They last a lot longer than bunch of fresh basil and cost about the same amount.

Ingredient lineup:

Mix the sauce ingredients in a shallow dish.

Add the shrimp and toss to coat.

Thread onto soaked skewers.

Grill on high.

Turning once, for approximately 4 minutes.

  

Garlic Lime Shrimp with Black Bean and Corn Salad

I found this recipe in kiwi magazine - it was a feature called Cooking with Kids - and while I had plans to make this with my oldest Jakob on the day that we were to do it - he also wanted to go to the park, splash pad and to have an ice cream.

So I did it myself really quickly.

The kids really loved the shrimp - there was not a single one left - Hubby and I thought that they were a little bland. So next time we are going to make a few changes...

Adding hot pepper sauce to the marinade and making sure to let the marinade set for hour.

Since I was in such a hurry - I didn't make sure to.

Garlic Lime Shrimp with Black Bean and Corn Salad
kiwi magazine June/July 2010
Aviva Goldfarb

Shrimp Marinade Ingredients:
1 lb large shrimp peeled and de-veined (thawed if frozen)
4-6 cloves of garlic (1 Tbsp minced)
1 - 1 1/2 limes
1/4 tsp salt


In a large bowl combine shrimp (I used teeny tiny little ones since my kids love them) with garlic, lime zest, 2 Tbsp lime juice and salt.

Refrigerate until ready to cook.





Ingredients for Black Bean and Corn Salad:

1 15oz can of black beans
1 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (or us the kernels off of 2-3 ears of corn)
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped

Drain and rinse the beans in a strainer. In a medium bowl combine everything.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.



With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp from the marinade to the skittle, spreading them evenly and reserving the marinade. Saute shrimp for 1 to 2 minutes per side, depending on the size of the shrimp, until it turns pink. After shrimp had cooked about halfway through on the second side, add the reserved marinade and continue cooking for about two more minutes until all the shrimp is cooked through.

Transfer the shrimp to a bowl and gently toss with 1/4 cup cilantro.

Serve the shrimp and salad with sour cream and hot pepper sauce if desired.

We ate every single bit of salad (Which my kids were really confused about. What? There's no lettuce in this?) and shrimp - the sour cream and hot sauce was a really good addition and even the kids loved it.

This is going into my dinner rotation - with the changes mentioned above.

We rate it a 4 spoons.

P.S. We did have a ton of summer fun:

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

It's been four long months since my last baja style food.  Oh, what I'd give for a few fish tacos from Rubio's right now...I saw this recipe in last month's Cuisine At Home magazine and instantly got a hankering for baja tacos.  Mmmmm...

I have to say - either I'm a shrimp taco snob or this recipe was less than stellar.  It just didn't have the oompf in it to satisfy my cravings.  It was good, but not Southern California Good.  We rated this a 3 Spoons, so I'll definitely keep looking for a baja style recipe that works for us. 

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

adapted from Cuisine At Home, issue no. 81

Tacos:

1/2 c. lime juice

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. chili powder (I used Cajun Seasoning)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

8 flour tortillas, 6" size

Chipotle Sauce:

1/2 c. mayo or sour cream

2 minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

1 1/2 tsp. honey

1 tsp. lime juice

salt to taste

Red Slaw:

4 c. shredded red cabbage

1/2 c. sliced scallions

1/2 c. cilantro

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

salt to taste

Whisk together lime juice, oil, garlic, and chili powder in a medium bowl.  Add shrimp, stir to coat, and chill until ready to skewer.  Preheat grill to medium-high.

Whisk together mayonnaise, chipotles, honey, and lime juice for the sauce.  Season with salt and chill until ready to serve.

Combine cabbage, scallions, cilantro, oil, and vinegar for the slaw.  Season with salt and chill until ready to serve, up to one hour.

Thread shrimp onto metal or soaked bamboo skewers and grill for 1-2 minutes per side.  Remove from skewers and serve on warmed tortillas with cabbage slaw and chipotle sauce.

Shrimp Creole

This is a favorite of mine (and hubby's).  It takes a little time to chop all the veggies but it smells so yummy when simmering on the stove.  I wish I could take credit for this  recipe but it comes courtesy of Betty Crocker.  (and I promise one of these days I'll learn to take better pics of my creations!)

Ingredients:
2 pounds uncooked fresh or frozen (thawed) medium size shrimp in shells
1/4 cup margarine or butter
3 medium onions, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 medium green bell peppers, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 medium stalks celery, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup water
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsely
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 bay leaves
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
6 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:
1.  Peel and devein shrimp.  Cover and refrigerate.
2.  Melt margarine in 3 quart saucepan over medium heat.  Cook onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic in margarine about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
3.  Stir in water, parsley, salt, red pepper, bay leaves and tomato sauce.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low.  Simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
4.  Stir in shrimp.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium.  Cover and cook 10 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are pink and frim.  Remove bay leaves.  Serve over rice. 

Serves 6
Hubs and I rate it 5 spoons

 from Life in the BAT Cave