Recipe: Coconut Shrimp & Pineapple Salsa with Jasmine Rice

I was in the mood for seafood last night and wanted to try a new recipe.  My fiance has been working like a dog 7 days a week so as a treat for him I decided to attempt coconut shrimp, one of his favorites.  I managed to whip up a great healthy alternative to the deep-fried classic by simply baking these instead.  Try this recipe soon for a vacation from the average shrimp cocktail! One note: all measurement in this recipe were the "eyeball" method :)

COCONUT SHRIMP
3/4-1 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
panko style breadcrumbs
all-purpose flour
sweetened shredded coconut
2-3 egg whites, whisked until frothy



PINEAPPLE SALSA

fresh pineapple,finely chopped
cilantro, chopped
red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
salt and pepper
fresh lime juice


JASMINE RICE
1 c. rice
1 3/4 c. water



Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  For rice, boil water.


Set up a "conveyor belt" setup with one bowl of egg whites, one bowl of all purpose flour, and one bowl of combined panko breadcrumbs and coconut.  Make sure shrimp are not too wet when you begin.  First dredge shrimp in flour, shaking off any excess.  Then dip in egg white, then the breadcrumb mixture.  Repeat with all shrimp and place on sprayed baking sheet.  

Panko Mixture

Bake for 15-20, flipping shrimp once halfway through for even browning.

While shrimp are baking, add rice to water and simmer on low, covered, for 15 minutes.

For salsa, combine all ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.

 YUMMY!

Close-up of the Pineapple Salsa! Gorgeous summer colors :)

The final product! SO happy with the results!

Serve shrimp over Jasmine rice with salsa.  For a dipping sauce, try mixing equal parts pineapple preserves and orange marmalade.

Recipe: 'Naner Bread!

Banana bread is one of my FAVORITE ways to use produce that you would normally need to chuck.  I constantly buy a huge bunch of bananas, and we eat 2 or 3 before the others turn brown.  I started freezing the rest of the bunch when it was no longer edible (at least to my liking; i love green-yellow bananas but don't really love them when the start to freckle) and defrosting them later to make bread!  This recipe is super easy for the non-baker and you don't need any fancy baking equipment except a wooden spoon!  Add chocolate chips to the mix if you want to get fancy...LOVE!



Banana Bread
3-4 ripe bananas
1/3 c. melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
pinch of salt

Before...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix butter into mashed bananas with a wooden spoon.  Mix in sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Sprinkle in baking soda and salt.  Add flour last.  Pour mixture into greased 4x8 loaf pan and bake 1 hour.

 AFTER!

 These will be delicious soon :)