When I tasted this meal, I felt like I should have a grass skirt and lei on…it’s tropical and perfect for a quick and inexpensive summer meal. The shrimp have a coconut pretzel crust that I serve with an orange marmalade dipping sauce. We jazzed up jasmine rice with pineapple and green onion, even though the jasmine rice tastes great without any additions and then I added a simple side of sliced cucumber and red onion drizzled with a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar. All the flavors combine perfectly with each other and it’s all delicious! I would make the dipping sauce and cucumber salad first and then stick in the fridge till you’re ready to serve. The rice takes the longest to cook so begin that and then start the prep work on your shrimp. I never buy shrimp unless it’s on sale for $5 a pound (it goes on sale at least twice a month at Safeway for that price.) This coconut/pretzel coating would taste great on chicken fingers too. A lot of cucumber salads call for mayo or sour cream but I wanted to keep it super fresh so just the splash of oil and vinegar is perfect. The entire meal came in at $9.58 for a family of 4. My biggest sales for this were the shrimp at $5 a pound and the cucumbers, which were 69 cents each.
Coconut-Pretzel Crusted Shrimp –
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4 for approx. $6.90
Ingredients:
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pretzels
- 1 cup coconut
- 1 cup panko
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- salt and pepper
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterflied
Directions:
In a bowl; combine the pretzels, coconut, and panko. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the eggs and water. Place flour in a third bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Toss shrimp in flour mixture until well coated; place in the egg wash for 1-2 minutes. Drain the shrimp in a colander for about 2 minutes.. One at a time, place shrimp in the pretzel mixture and press the coating into the shrimp.
Pan fry or deep fry the shrimp until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towel.
Orange Marmalade Horseradish Sauce –
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4 for approx. $1.04
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 1 teaspoon horseradish sauce (add a bit more if you like a “kick”)
- 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use.
Jasmine Rice With Pineapple and Green Onion –
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 for approx. 58 cents
Ingredients:
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- water (per package directions)
- 1/4 cup pineapple, cut into small chunks
- 1 green onion, sliced thinly
Directions:
Cook jasmine rice according to package directions. Right before serving, add pineapple and green onions and mix together.
Cucumber & Red Onion Salad –
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4 for approx. $1.06
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber, seeded and sliced
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- splash of olive oil
- splash of red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper
Directions:
Mix cucumber slices and red onion slices. Dress with a splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.