Coconut Shrimp w/ Piña-peño Dip!

So I totally made ^that^ word up. This recipe hails from Civilized Caveman, who dubbed the dip as CCCC (Civilized Caveman Cooking Creation) sweet and spicy sauce and that is a really long title.. I like Piña-Peño! Also.. really sorry for lack of pictures in this.. to help I took the one that Mr. Caveman took of his! Mine looked just like that =] .. no seriously, they did!

Mmm Shrimpies!

So the Nasty Nati (that's Cincinnati for those who don't know) is currently in an Ice Storm.. like right now as I type this. I got out of my car after the gym and the sleet coming down was physically painful to walk through. February is that really crappy month (for me at least) where I am so so so done with the cold and wet, and I am dreaming of sunshine. I tend to get a little seasonal depression, especially around now. Like a funk I can't shake.

Another reason for a shrimp recipe (and the reason this recipe surprised me by being so good), was because I have had a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer for... a despicably long time. I'm not even sure when I got them. I just know they have been there for a while and I was dying to get rid of them. 

They aren't the greatest quality (another way I know it's been a long time) and I usually buy 95% of my meat fresh to make within a few days now. I don't stock shop anymore.. I just really hate defrosting things frankly. I always forget and then have to do some kind of hot water/microwave business.. gross.

ANYWAY - To this recipe.

Coconut Shrimp with Piña-peño Dip

Prep Time: 15min                                                      Cook Time: 10min

Ingredients:

--12 Large shrimp - peeled, de-veined, butterflied (Jumbo would totally be better but I followed all the exact same instruction for my gross but medium sized ones and it still worked)

--1 egg (recipe calls for 1 egg white. I use da whole one because I didn't want to waste a yolk and had no use for one in the near future)

--1/2 cup almond flour

--1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

--1 tsp cumin (recipe calls for 1/2 tsp, but I doubled.. and loved it)

--1 clove minced garlic

--salt and pepper to taste

--1 cup pineapple - fresh diced [lets be real, I used a can of chunks..]

--1 jalapeno - core and seeds removed

--1/4 red onion [recipe calls for white but I only had a red and it said that was fine too]

--juice of 1 lime

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 500 degrees (yeah.. 500!)

2) Cover a baking sheet with tin foil, shiny side down

3) Toss almond flour, coconut, cumin and garlic in a gallon sized zip lock, shake it up to mix it.

4) Whisk up egg and fully coat all shrimpys in it. Toss in bag.

5) Shake em up! Coat em!

6) Spread them out on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

7) Cook 5 min. Flip. Cook another 5 min.

7.5) While your shrimps are cooking, toss all the ingredients for the dip in a food processor and blend down to dip-consistency.

8) Put everything into bowls and enjoy!

I will warn you that the jalapenos will knock you on your face if you put it too close to the food processor (experience), and that the dip is DIFFERENT, but seriously loving it. It's strong and fresh tasting. It's kind of perfect for reminiscing about the beach. 

As always, let me know what you think! And if you have a recipe you'd like me to try out for you, leave it in the comments below!