{coconut shrimp with sweet 'n' sour sauce}

SO I made coconut shrimp last night from scratch. I was quite nervous because the only sea food I have cooked (other than pop in the oven fish sticks) was grilling trout or salmon. I LOVE sea food and have always wanted to venture out and learn to cook more. I was pretty proud of the shrimp from last night. Matthew isn't that big into sea food, but he will eat shrimp, crab and lobster if it is cooked well. He liked the shrimp last night too, so I must've done something right. If you are wondering, here is the recipe I used. I actually combined 2 recipes and added a little of my own flare... I hope you enjoy and if you have any suggestions or recipes of your own feel free to email them to me. I am ALWAYS looking for good food to cook.

Baked Coconut Shrimp

1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tblsp. granulated sugar
2/3 c. water
1/2 c. bread crumbs
2 c. shredded coconut (I would use the sweetened coconut because it sticks better and is obviously sweeter)
1 lb. shrimp, de-veined and peeled
2 1/2 Tblsp. olive oil
1 Tblsp. honey (optional)

Sauce (this sauce is also great for sweet 'n' sour chicken)

1 20oz can pineapple chunks in juice
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tblsp. soy sauce
2 Tblsp. corn starch
1/2 of 1 jalapeno pepper
1/3 red bell pepper
1/3 yellow bell pepper
1/3 orange bell pepper
2 Tblsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Prepare sauce by combining pineapple chunks w/juice in a blender with garlic, soy sauce, cornstarch; blend until smooth, then add peppers. Blend until peppers are in small, but visible chunks.
2. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Stir in vinegar. The sauce may be prepared up to 24 hrs in advance and refrigerated until ready to serve. May serve warm or cold.
3. Using a wire whisk, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and paprika in a medium size bowl. Add water and whisk until batter is smooth; set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together bread crumbs and coconut to make the coating.
5. Spread the oil on the bottom of a 15x10x1 inch baking pan, set aside.
6. Drop the shrimp, one by one, into the batter, then roll in the coconut mixture, turning the shrimp to coat well. Arrange shrimp on prepared pan.
7. Bake at 400 degrees F oven for about 15 minutes or until shrimp are opaque and coconut is golden, turning once.
(Optional: drizzle honey over top of cooked shrimp.)
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For high altitudes: prepare as above but bake 21 minutes in 7 minute increments while turning after each 7 minutes.
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Side note: we had a lot of sauce left over so I used it for making sweet 'n' sour chicken tonight with brown rice. Tasted YUMMY!!!