Coconut Shrimp!

I've really been slacking off on posting recipes lately!

And that is quite a shame because I've been coming across some that are quite excellent.

As I mentioned in my Chicken Marsala recipe post, I've been using the recipes available to me

as a Weight Watchers Monthly Pass member on Menu Planning Mondays to plan out our week's dinners.

Every recipe I've tried so far has been fairly tasty--but a few have been exceptional.

The Chicken Marsala was one, and the Coconut Shrimp was another!

I know, I know...how can Coconut Shrimp be a Weight Watchers recipe?

What about the frying?!  The oil?!  The batter?!

I was skeptical as well, but the recipe and the resulting meal proved me very wrong indeed!

 So, without further ado, here's the wonderful and easy Coconut Shrimp recipe!

This recipe makes 6 servings (4 shrimp per serving) at 6 WW points per serving!

INGREDIENTS:

Cooking Spray (I use the Pam Olive Oil Spray)

2 large egg whites

3/4 cup of all-purpose flour (divided into one 1/2 cup and one 1/4 cup)

6 ounces of beer, about 2/3 cup (I used Shiner 101--and my hubby finished it up for me;-)!)

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoons of salt

2 cups sweetened coconut flakes (found on the baking aisle, in case you're wondering...I was lol)

24 large shrimp peeled and deveined (the original recipe calls for tails on, but I used tail-less--less work that way!)

The first step is to thaw the frozen shrimp!

I have an awesome cutting board with a rubber, collapse-able collander.

I uncollapsed the collander, put the frozen shimp in it, and ran cold water over them until they were thawed...which took about 5-ish minutes.

While the shrimp is thawing, go ahead and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Next I measured out the ingredients for the batter into a medium mixing bowl.

The two egg whites went first, followed the 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, and the 1/4 tsp of salt.

Next, I measured out the 2/3 cup of beer and added it to the bowl.

It got all bubbly and fizzy!

Once it settled down a bit I started whisking it all together--which caused more bubbling and fizzing!

Once it was all thoroughly mixed, the bubbling and fizzing settled down.

Next, put the remaining 1/4 cup of flour into one shallow bowl 

and the 2 cups of sweetened coconut flakes into another.

I then set up an assembly line with the thawed shrimp at the beginning, followed by the flour bowl,

followed by the batter mix and then the coconut flakes.

At the end of assembly line went the baking sheet, which is sprayed down with the Pam Olive Oil Spray.

All of this so far has been very easy.

The next part is still easy but, fair warning, it can get very tedious.

The first step is to take one of the thawed shrimp and dredge it through the flour, making sure it's completely coated.

Then shake the excess off.

Step two is to dunk the flour-coated shrimp into the batter, again making sure it's completely coated.

Then let the excess drip off back into the batter.

Step three is to roll the shrimp in the sweetened coconut flakes, once again making sure it's completely covered.

Make sure you press the coconut flakes into the batter--this gets messy but it's so worth it!

Then place the shrimp onto the sprayed baking sheet.

And now you repeat.

With each shrimp.

Yes, it's tedious BUT any short-cuts won't ensure the 

proper amount of flour, batter, and coconut coverage.

So, keep at it until all of the 24 shrimp are on the baking sheet.

Next, spray the surface of the shrimp with the Pam Olive Oil Spray and pop the sheet in the oven!

After 10 to 12 minutes, the shrimp will be pink and opaque and the coconut flakes will be crunchy!

(I would recommend the 10 minutes...I did 12 and, as you can see, some of the coconuts flakes got burnt at the tips.)

I served the shrimp with mixed veggies.

There would have been green beans too, but the seal on the SteamFresh bag was messed up.

I also had a Messina Hoff White Zinfindel with the meal and it sure was tasty!

Bryan LOVED this recipe and said it needs to be a repeat...I call that success!

These pictures were taken with my IPhone, so sorry for the blurry shots and weird angles!

I've GOT to find that camera charger lol.