Crunchy Coconut Shrimp Tacos

At a recent supper club dinner that the kids attended one of the members made a coconut shrimp.  I could not believe how quickly my kids were gobbling them down!  So when I saw this recipe I knew that they would love these tacos.  They love tacos and filled with crispy, coconut shrimp.....yum!  Originally I was planning on making  homemade guacamole to serve with these.  While at the grocery store I saw that Wholly Guacamole was on sale and would end up being cheaper (and easier!) than buying the ingredients for and making homemade guacamole.  It was our first time trying it and....I'm hooked!  It was really tasty and addicting!  I highly recommend if you haven't tried.  My husband commented that the shrimp were so good by themselves, which I have to agree with!  However, I love putting sour cream and guacamole on things so I enjoyed them in the taco as well!  I served this with some yellow rice which made for another meal that we all enjoyed.

Crunchy Coconut Shrimp Tacos
recipe from Miss Delish

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 lb large Shrimp
3 Cups Panko Breadcrumbs
2 Cups Sweetened Flaked Coconut
1 cup Flour
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Water
Salt and Pepper
Canola Oil (for Frying)
Tortillas

Directions:
Pour the Flour into a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs and water in another shallow dish. In one last dish add the Panko breadcrumbs and coconut. Bread the prawns by first coating in the seasoned flour, then dipping in the egg and lastly coating with the coconut and panko mix, make sure to press the panko/coconut on to each prawn to coat well.

In a heavy bottom pot pour about 2 inches of oil. Heat over medium high heat, it’s ready when you drop in a breadcrumb and it sizzles and bubbles right away. Fry the prawns in small batches, and set aside on a stack of paper towels to absorb excess oil.

While still hot, season with salt to taste.

Serve in warmed tortillas with salsa, guacamole and sour cream!

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

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The Weekend Chef: Paprika Shrimp

This was my husband's dish for our "spice grab bag" themed supper club last month.  He had picked Paprika.  At first he really wanted to make the classic Hungarian Goulash.  However, with me making chicken and rice we thought that it might be a tad bit on the heavy side.  Plus, one of our members doesn't eat pork or beef and we wanted to make a dish that everyone could eat.  So, he found this recipe, with the spice name right in the title.  This dish was super quick and easy to make.  There were some leftovers and we gave some to the kids the next day.  It wasn't too spicy and they ate the shrimp right up. 

Paprika Shrimp
recipe from The New York Times, Dining & Wine, December 29, 2004

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon mild Spanish paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
Pinch cayenne
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Juice of 2 lemons.

Directions:
1. Place oil in a small saucepan. Add paprika, cumin, salt, cayenne and garlic. Bring to a simmer, and cook just until garlic starts to brown. Remove from heat, and remove garlic.

2. Place shrimp in a bowl. Toss with oil and spice mixture. Arrange shrimp in a single layer in a baking dish.

3. Heat broiler. Place shrimp under broiler until lightly browned. Douse with lemon juice.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Recipe Repeat: Border-Style Shrimp

I have always loved trying new recipes.  I have kept track of the recipes I have made in a notebook since 2008!  I have the date, recipe, and the source.  And by most of the recipes I have a star rating.  I have decided to go back to some of the recipes that I gave high star ratings to see if my tastes have changed and if the kids enjoy the recipes (since my 4 year old son wasn't even born for some of these recipes!).  I'm not sure where this particular recipe is in the notebook, but I had kept it in a folder of "recipe repeats"......meaning it was good enough when I first made it that I wanted to keep it to make again.  My kids enjoy shrimp and I hadn't made it in awhile.  The thing I like about shrimp is that I can buy a 2lb. frozen bag at the grocery store.  They are easy to defrost (although the de-shelling can take some time) and super quick to cook.  I served these shrimp with this Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa.  The kids enjoyed the shrimp and it was super-easy.

Border-Style Shrimp
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, December 2003

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups chopped white onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

Preparation:
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, shrimp, and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and add butter. Stir until the butter melts. Stir in lime juice and green onions.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Around the World: Cantonese Style Shrimp with Napa Cabbage

This recipe is our last dish on our Around the World tour of China.  Prior to making this dish and doing a little research I didn't really know the differences among the Chinese styles of cooking....minus Szechuan, which I know is spicy hot!  I discovered that Cantonese "style" is the Chinese food that Americans are accustomed to and includes stir-frying, steaming, and roasting and the well-known dim sum.  According to Wikipedia, especially when cooking seafood, Cantonese cuisine uses light seasoning just to bring out the sweetness of the seafood.  Unfortunately, I think in this dish, the seasoning was just too light.  To me it tasted kind of bland and didn't have the normal flavors that I associate with Chinese food.  This of course may not be due to the recipe but more to my experience with Chinese food.  Prior to making this, I hadn't cooked with shrimp in a long time.  The kids like shrimp and ate all of theirs up.  However, the cabbage was another story.  I was lucky to get them to try a bite.  I served this with white rice and some frozen egg rolls (this was a weeknight meal!  I definitely didn't have time to make home made egg rolls!).  So, we bid farewell to China, though this definitely won't be the last Chinese dish that I make.  Stay tuned as we travel around the world to our "D" country soon!

Cantonese Style Shrimp with Napa Cabbage
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:
1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons medium dry sherry
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
1/3 cup diagonally cut green onions

Preparation:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

2. Heat a wok or skillet over high heat. Add oils to pan; swirl to coat. Add shrimp; stir-fry 1 minute. Add garlic; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cabbage; cook 1 minute. Top with onions.

Family Rating: So-so.

Southwest Pasta Skillet

During our use up what's in the fridge challenge last week I thought that I'd use the Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme that I had.  We're not a big fan of using prepackaged foods, but sometimes on a busy night it's nice to have something to make a quick, tasty dinner.  I ended up adapting the original recipe a bit, using what we had on hand.  The Santa Fe Blend creme has a little kick to it, which my daughter thought was spicy (but she ate all of her dinner, so it wasn't too spicy). Overall, this made for a quick dinner, perfect for a reallyl busy worknight.

 

Southwest Pasta Skillet

Recipe adapted from kraftbrands.com

 

Ingredients:

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 can (14.5 oz.) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained

1 can (10 oz.) corn

1 tub (10 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme

1 lb. hot cooked rotini pasta

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, divided

Directions:

1. Cook shrimp in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 5 minutes or until shrimp is pink. Add tomatoes, corn and cooking creme; cook and stir 3 min.
2. Add pasta and 1/2 cup shredded cheese; cook and stir 1 to 2 min. or until cheese is melted.
3. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand until cheese is melted.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Recipe Repeat: Greek Shrimp and Spinach with Penne

I made this recipe back in March of 2009 and I starred it, so I thought I'd try it again since I had some feta that needed using up.  I don't remember much from the last time I made it, but this time around it didn't wow me.  It was definitely easy to make and pretty quick, minus the defrosting and peeling of the shrimp (I used frozen). The kids ate the pasta and some shrimp.  My son ate the feta (he LOVES cheese of all kinds!).  They were not fans of the tomatoes and spinach though.  This is another quick and easy weeknight meal.

Greek Shrimp and Spinach with Penne
Cooking Light, March 2000

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
8 cups chopped spinach (about 10 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cups hot cooked penne (about 8 ounces uncooked, tube-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add spinach; cook 2 minutes or just until spinach wilts.  Spoon spinach mixture into a large bowl, and set aside.  Add 1 teaspoon oil, garlic and shrimp to pan; saute 3 minutes.  Stir in lemon juice, oregano, pepper, and tomatoes; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Add shrimp mixture to spinach, and toss well.  Serve over pasta, and sprinkle with cheese.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Creamy Shrimp and Rice

So I needed to use the second Philly Cooking Creme that my husband had bought awhile ago.  I found this recipe on the kraft website.  It was quick and easy.  If I didn't have my three year old son helping me cook dinner it would have even been cooked faster than the 40 minutes that it took us.  I did substitute frozen peas for the sugar snap peas, since I already had them.  I also used frozen, uncooked shrimp, so it took a little longer since I had to cook them. This is an easy and quick weeknight meal.

Creamy Shrimp and Rice
http://www.kraftbrands.com/

Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
Ingredients:
2 tsp.olive oil
1/2 cup each chopped red peppers and onions
1 pkg.(6 oz.) sugar snap peas, halved
1 lb.frozen cooked cleaned medium shrimp with tails left on, thawed, drained
1/4 cupmilk
1/4 tsp.black pepper
1 tub(10 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Savory Garlic Cooking Creme
2 cups hot cooked rice
 
Directions:
Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add red peppers and onions; cook and stir 4 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Stir in peas; cook 3 to 4 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently. Add shrimp, milk and black pepper; cook and stir 3 min. or until heated through. Add cooking creme; cook and stir 2 min. Serve over rice.
 
Family Rating: 1 thumb up. (The kids liked it minus the red pepper).

Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

The original recipe called for Napa cabbage.  After going to two different grocery stores, I finally found it.  However, there was only one, wilty looking cabbage left.  The produce guy told me he'd be getting more in tomorrow, but I wasn't going to go back to the store again! The bok choy looked decent so I decided to give it a try in this recipe instead.  This meal was quick and easy to make. It can definitely be a work night dinner. 

Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir-Fry
adapted from Food Network Magazine, September 2011

Ingredients:

1 large egg white
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sherry
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, finely grated
1 pound bok choy chopped
Cooked white rice, for serving (optional)

Directions:
Whisk the egg white, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a large bowl until frothy. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the hoisin sauce, vinegar and the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 2 teaspoons cornstarch in a small bowl, then whisk in the chicken broth. Set aside.

Drain the shrimp. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, then stir-fry the scallion and garlic, about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the bok choy and stir-fry until wilted and the shrimp are just cooked through, about 2 more minutes.

Stir the hoisin sauce mixture, then add to the wok and simmer, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Serve with rice, if desired.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.  My son took a couple of bites and decided he was done, while my daughter ate everything.  She (and we!) discovered that she likes bok choy!