Baked Stuffed Shrimp

This year for Valentine's Day, The Mr. and I decided that we would forego the overpriced, overcrowded, and underwhelming restaurant scene and opt for a night in to celebrate. As you can probably assume by now, my dear husband had his heart set on one of the juicy new Omaha Steaks that I had sent to his office (surprise!) and I wanted something from the sea!

I checked out my local Gelson's assuming that they would have the bigger seafood selection and the term "bigger" was an understatement. I was able to find the biggest shrimp I have ever seen in my life! Take a look at this thing! 

I knew that I wanted to make my own version of the New England staple, Baked Stuffed Shrimp but I had never tackled it before. I tried racking my brain for all the memories of this dish... like the delicious ones from Davy's Locker.... and then the really bad ones from banquet halls (ie - what NOT to do). 

I decided to combine a few stuffing recipes I've made before including a Ritz cracker crust and my mom's Thanksgiving stuffing. It was the PERFECT consistency!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
3-4 large shrimp (per person)
1/2 lb bay scallops
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
3 slices of potato bread (or whatever bread you have on hand)
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp of water
garlic salt, to taste
lemon for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325.

Clean shrimp and butterfly them with a small pairing knife.

In a small bowl, crush crackers and tear bread into small pieces. Add in water and melted butter and mix thoroughly with your hands. If you find the mixture is too dry, add more water. Add in your seasoning at this time too. Feel free to taste the mixture and adjust accordingly.

Once you get the flavor just right, add in your bay scallops. Coarsely chop them if you find they are too big.

Put a light layer of the stuffing in a baking dish. Top with butterflied shrimp and pack on heaping amounts of the rest of the stuffing mixture.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. The tails will be bright orange and start to curl a bit. That's when you know it's done.

Serve with a wedge of lemon and some melted butter!


Here's a glimpse of what our Valentine's Day dinner looked like. Gotta love Mr. Meat & Potatoes! ;-)

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