Two words: Shrimp Rules!

Tom and I LOVE Red Lobster...so much that we went twice two weeks ago.  It is Tom's favorite restaurant so we went there for his birthday. Then he got a Red Lobster gift card for his birthday so we went again that weekend. This is slightly off topic, but it was our first dinner at a restaurant on a weekend in a long time.  It was so nice! But back to the topic at hand... we decided it was about time to try making our favorite dishes at home: Shrimp Scampi and Coconut Shrimp. We looked up recipes, bought ingredients and gave it a host last week.  The verdict: not too difficult and VERY yummy.  There were a few things we wanted to do different the next time.  A few of those changes are reflected below in the recipe itself and a few are listed as suggestions. (Our recipes are based on these two recipes we found at CDKitchen.)

COCONUT SHRIMP
1 cup Plain Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup Corn Starch (mix with coconut and bread crumbs)
1 cup Sweetened Coconut Flakes
1/2 cup Pina Colada Mix
1 tablespoon Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon rum extract
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup Corn Starch
Vegetable oil for deep frying
1/2 pound Large Shrimp (butterfly the shrimp)

• Gather at least 3 mixing bowls and a pan for frying.  We used a wok because it is deep to contain popping oil.
• Mix bread crumbs, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and coconut in a deep bowl and set aside. 
• Combine Pina Colada mix, powdered sugar, water and rum extract in a small mixing bowl and set aside. 
• Place 1/2 cup corn starch in a separate bowl. 

• Heat oil for deep frying. Oil is ready for frying shrimp when it reaches 375 degrees. Ours cooked well at med-high heat on our stove.  Make sure it is hot enough or they will get soggy.
• If your shrimp are not butterflied, you need to run a knife down the back where the vein was removed and pull them open to lay flat.
• Coat shrimp first in corn starch, then into the Pina Colada mix, then dust shrimp in bread crumbs, coconut mixture. For the second coating place back into Pina Colada mix, then again into coconut, and then the bread crumb mixture.

• Place prepared shrimp carefully into hot oil. Fry until golden brown (turning them once midway helped them cook evenly). 

• Remove from fryer and drain on paper towels.

 

PIÑA COLADA SAUCE 
1 cup Pina Colada Mix (Major Peters mix was used)
1/4 cup Water
2 tablespoons Crushed Pineapple (drained)
1 tablespoon Sweetened Coconut Flakes plus
1 teaspoon Sweetened Coconut Flakes
3 tablespoons Powdered Sugar plus
1 teaspoon Powdered Sugar
3 teaspoon Corn Starch
3 teaspoons Cold Water

• Mix Pina Colada Mix, water,crushed pineapple, coconut, and powdered sugar in a small sauce pan. 
• Heat on medium low temperature until sauce begins to simmer, stirring frequently. 
• Let mixture simmer slowly 10 - 12 minutes. 
• Mix corn starch and water together, add to sauce and blend well.
• Let mixture simmer for 3 - 5 minutes longer while stirring during and after adding cornstarch. 
• Remove from heat and bring to room temperature. (We learned that it cools faster if you fill your largest mixing bowl with ice and nestle the small sauce pan in the ice for about 5-10 minutes)
• Sauce is served at room temperature with Coconut Shrimp.

SHRIMP SCAMPI


1 cup white grape juice
1/2 cup unsalted Butter (do not use Margarine) We plan to double this next time because it didn't seem buttery enough to us.
3 teaspoons minced Garlic
1 tablespoon parsely
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Mix sauce ingredients in a baking dish. 

• Arrange shrimp in the sauce.

• Bake  for about 6-10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp. The shrimp is done when it has turned pink. The sauce won't bubble much, but you want to let it get nice and hot.

We were so excited and proud of our home-cooked Red Lobster dinner.  We were also going to make cheddar biscuits, but we had so much food that we decided to do it another time.  Here are some pictures of the spread...

Well, there it is.  Hope you enjoy it!  If you try it out, be sure to let us know how it goes for you.  We sure loved it!!

Got eggs?

Have you ever gone to cook something and realized you were missing an ingredient? That happened to me when I went to make Tom's birthday cookie-cake last night. He was at work (thus the reason I was working on his cake) and I did not want to load the baby into the car for the 2 eggs I was lacking. I know, I know... I should have planned better, but I though I would have what I needed since I planned a menu/shopping list ahead. I guess we used too many eggs in the last 2 weeks. But back to the story... so I did not want to load up the baby and go to the store at 7pm for 2 measly eggs. I searched online for substitutions, but they all either sounded complex or called for things I didn't have. One called for 3 tablespoons of mayo per egg. Ick! However, I had plain yogurt which has a similar texture, so I gave it a try. Well, I baked it today and it turned out fine! If you ever don't have eggs for your cookies feel free to try yogurt (probably not in a crazy fruity flavor unless that flavor sounds yummy in cookies to you, I guess). I can't say if it would work in other things, like cake because I haven't tried, but in cookies it's a winner! So for future notice.....

1 egg = 3 tablespoons plain yogurt

is a decent substitution in cookies.

Who doesn't love Girl Scout Cookies?

I know I do! And so does my husband... Well, his birthday is tomorrow and we are on a tight budget this year. On top of that, I haven't seen any Girl Scouts this year. So, being the resourceful cook/present giver that I am, I found a recipe (at this site) and made homemade thin mints last night (his favorite). Today Jackson and I went to the store and bought supplies to make him his very own cookie jar. I forgot to take a picture of the cookies (although the linked blog has a picture of their own), but here is a picture of the finished product. If you can't read it, it says "Caught you red handed" around the four sides and the hand prints are the baby's. Is it not just so clever and adorable? Man, I amaze myself!