Baked Coconut Shrimp and Zucchini w/Apricot Dipping Sauce

The other night, I set out to make hubby some coconut shrimp. We like Outback’s and wanted to duplicate it to some degree.  I planned to come home and whip up a tasty dish with some rice on the side and some veggies.  I had it all figured out… well I did until I got home.

I had only 6 shrimp. Just six. How would that feed me and hubby?  Boy, I sure didn’t plan as well as I thought!

So the adventure started on what to do with these few shrimp and a hungry man. I checked the fridge and decided to still make coconut shrimp but to also make coconut zucchini too. It sounded good in theory but did it satisfy me and hubby?  

Here are the ingredients I used.

2 fresh apricots
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 medium zucchinis, cut into “2x4’s”
1/3 cup shredded sweet coconut
1 cup milk (or buttermilk or coconut milk)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Peel the apricots and discard the pit. Add the apricots, coconut oil and red pepper to a food processor and blend until smooth. Chill in the fridge while the shrimp is cooking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Rinse the shrimp and zucchini and pat dry. In one coating tray place the milk. In another, the coconut. Dip the shrimp and zucchini, a couple at a time, into the milk then into the coconut and lightly press the shrimp & squash into the coconut so it sticks well. Place the shrimp and zucchini on the cookie sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired.

Bake for 15 minutes in the oven, flipping them over at the halfway mark.

Hubby and I decided this meal was nice and light so we didn’t want to add rice and weigh it down. So instead, I sliced some fresh pineapple, basted them with a mix of honey, brown sugar and coconut oil and grilled them on the barbecue.  

That little side dish complimented the shrimp and squash wonderfully! 

Dinner disaster averted!! Keeping some fresh veggie on hand meant that we had  our coconut shrimp, but with a zucchini twist.  This turned out great and we almost didn’t miss the extra shrimp. What was your last Kitchen Adventure Quick-Fix? Let me know by commenting below.