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Saturday, August 11, 2012

Who doesn't love Baked Stuffed Shrimp? Wait til you try them this way!


After having a couple days off from being creative in the kitchen, I was really looking forward to making this dinner!  My best friend and her husband were coming over for something to eat, and when I couldn't decide what to make, shrimp popped into my head.  Who doesn't like shrimp?  

The bag that I had in the freezer said "Colossal Jumbo"..... I should have known that describing their size twice, would pretty much mean they weren't that big! And, sadly I was right.  So, my idea of stuffing them had to be a little bit creative!  But first, wait til you taste this stuffing!

  • 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers crushed
  • about a cup of Italian breadcrumbs
  • 2-3 garlic cloves pressed
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • plenty of Parsley
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese
  • A shake of onion powder and paprika
  • about 1/2 cup of chopped, sauteed onions (no need for exact measurements...this is stuffing!)
                                                     

Mix this all together.  It should be moist enough to hold together.  If not, drizzle with some olive oil.  Now for the best part!
  • take 2-3 slices of ham and chop
  • chop about 3 artichoke hearts
  • throw in some shredded mozzarella cheese

 

 At this point, you should taste it!  Make sure you taste the garlic and that there is enough salt and pepper.  Also, if you need to make it more moist, you could drizzle in a little chicken broth, just enough so you can press the stuffing together and it keeps its shape.  You are now ready to stuff the shrimp.


As I said in the beginning, these shrimp were pretty small for jumbo colossal, so I couldn't butterfly them the way you usually do.  I tried (in the upper right hand corner), but they were just too small!    I ended up slicing the backside of the shrimp, causing them to lay flat and open (not as pretty as when the tail is up, but it worked!)  I then took a small amount of stuffing in my hand, formed a ball and pressed it down on the shrimp.


Ta-dah!  Sprinkle with some fresh lemon juice, cook in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  Then turn on the broiler and finish the last 5 minutes.



 

I have to admit, they came out so delicious this time!  There was something about adding the ham and artichoke hearts that put them over the top!  I have no idea where that idea came from, but it worked!  I cooked about 30 of them, and people were looking for more!

So, dinner consisted of the shrimp, another batch of my stuffed red peppers (which are already on my blog!) and a caesar salad.  Yum!

 

Who knows what will come out of my head for dinner next???   Stay tuned.....

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