Stuffed Cocktail Party Shrimp

Been MIA planning the ultimate 6 year old's SpongeBob Bikini Bottom Birthday pool party (say that 5 times) but it's a fun busy. I can't wait to share with you all the party details because once the party is over I am going to be giving away all the theme decorations, purchased & crafted, for someone who intends to have their own SpongeBob party.

Family is also in town so this weekend we'll be hanging out riverside in a rented cabana with a tiki bar just 20 feet away, kayaking & canoeing & just having fun. Wish me luck as this will be Tristan's 1st time in a kayak. While he'll be in one with me it's always an adventure trying something new.

And speaking of trying new things, I made these shrimp last weekend while the visiting fam was hanging out poolside. I really loved them. They were easy to prepare & I loved how the tail curled over the stuffing as the shrimp baked, making for a perfect little handle. I modified this recipe to be healthier so please see notes below. I was rushing to get back in the pool & never took a pic but these are exactly how they looked.

{Courtesy of Google}

32 jumbo shrimp (about 2-1/2 pounds), peeled & deveined *
2 sticks (8 ounces) salted butter, melted *
One 1-pound loaf white sandwich bread
2 tsp hot sauce (eyeball it)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tblsp chopped fresh thyme (about 6 sprigs) *
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°. Split the shrimp by cutting them lengthwise down the back, stopping just short of cutting them in half. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels & using a pastry brush, brush them with one-quarter of the melted butter.

In a food processor, pulse the bread into crumbs & transfer to a small bowl. Mix the remaining melted butter with the hot sauce, garlic & thyme. Pour the butter sauce over the bread crumbs, stir to combine & season to taste with salt & pepper.

Place the shrimp, cut side down, on a large, sturdy baking sheet & top with a generous tablespoonful of the bread-crumb stuffing. (The tails will curl up over the stuffing during baking.) Bake in the center of the oven until the shrimp are cooked through & pink in color & the

stuffing is lightly toasted, 15 to 20 minutes.

{Click Here to Print Recipe}

{The shrimp before being put in the oven}

{Food for Thought}

There was no way I was using 2 sticks of butter so I didn't brush the shrimp with butter at all. I only used a total of 1/2 stick of butter to mix in with the breadcrumbs. Then I used a little olive oil to make the breadcrumb mixture come together better. I also brushed my baking pan with olive oil as well. I used dried thyme instead of fresh which was just fine. And I substituted a little whole wheat bread into the mixture. Any stuffing, such as crabmeat, would be great for this recipe as well.

As for the shrimp, my supposed jumbo were more like medium sized shrimp so I only used about a tsp or 2 of the stuffing & lightly patted it down on the top of the shrimp, then baked for only 10 minutes, then turned the broiler on for about 1 minute in order to get the breading toasty. This was perfect.

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