Coconut Shrimp

If you’re needing a little something Tropical in your life… especially with all of this freezing cold weather… THESE are to DIE FOR!! I made these last night for dinner and we SCARFED them up. They can be a little tedious but well worth all the effort. They tasted better then any coconut shrimp I’ve found at a restaurant.

 

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup  chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• 24 shrimp
• 3 cups oil for frying

Directions

1. In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Place 1/4 cup flour and coconut in two separate bowls.
2. Hold shrimp by tail, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut, and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a deep-fryer.
3. Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.

*Originally the recipe called for beer but I changed it chicken broth because we NEVER have beer on hand. Go figure. But I didn’t have either last night. So I used 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup milk to make my batter. They turned out so good!*

* The other thing I added was a little more spice. Cayenne pepper, Garlic Powder and some salt. Make sure you used sweetened coconut flakes so you have the sweetness you’re looking for. Enjoy!!*

*After I dipped the shrimp in the batter and the coconut mixture I put the shrimp in the freezer for 15 minutes.*

Found at www.allrecipes.com

Sugar Coated Pecans

The past couple of years Christian’s mom has given us a big bag of pecans. This year we made a family night of cracking and shelling them. So I had this HUGE bowl of pecans that I wasn’t sure what to do with. I found this recipe and it got 5 stars and over 1,000 reviews. So I knew I couldn’t go wrong. The second thing I did was read all the reviews and see what changes were made. I’ve incorporated those changes into this recipe. I have them baking in my oven as we speak. It just snowed (again!) so it’s a perfect day to stay home and make a special treat.

Recipe Yield 1 pound

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp water 
• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one baking sheet.
2. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

*A couple of other things. I increased the cinnamon just a little bit. And ALSO… I used gallon sized zip lock bags instead of bowls to do the mixing. It made it really fast to coat evenly and clean up was a cinch!*

Found at www.allrecipes.com