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This post brought to you by the folks at Hidden Valley® // With the weather slowly starting to warm up, I’m starting to get the itch to entertain a bit more. One of my favorite things to do when planning for a party or get together is coming up with unique menu items. Tasty dishes that are simple to make, but have a big WOW factor for my guests. Recently, the folks at Hidden Valley challenged me to come up with a new recipe for a appetizer using one of their fabulous Hidden Valley® products. I was super excited when I discovered their new Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette and instantly I thought it would pair nicely with some type of shrimp dish. After some playing around, I came up with these super tasty Tropical Shrimp Bites…

The Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette is amazing with the shrimp! I added a little coconut cream and shredded coconut to the shrimp and then quickly baked them in the oven. I topped off the little bites with some grilled mango and pineapple and together the pairing was amazing.

Unfortunately my market didn’t have any fresh mango at the time so I had to used bottled mango, but it worked just fine. Here is how I made my Tropical Shrimp Bites…

Tropical Shrimp Bites Recipe

1 lb raw shrimp

1 bottle Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette

1 cup coconut cream

6 oz. sweetened shredded coconut

1 fresh pineapple

1 mango

cooking spray

Directions

Prepare your shrimp by rinsing thoroughly and peeling off the shell if necessary. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut cream and Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette. Add shrimp to the coconut and vinaigrette mixture. Let marinade for no more than 15 minutes. Any longer in the marinade and the acid in the dressing will start to cook the shrimp and you don’t want that.

Preheat your oven to 425˚. Remove your shrimp from the marinade and place in batches into a bowl of the shredded coconut. Coat the shrimp and then place on top of a wire rack that has been coated with cooking spray and placed on top of a baking sheet.

Lightly spray the shrimp with cooking spray and place in the preheated oven for five minutes. After five minutes, remove from oven and carefully turn the shrimp, lightly spray the other side with cooking spray and place back into the oven for an additional four to five minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

In the mean time cut your pineapple and mango into bite sized pieces and grill either using a grill pan or directly on a grill. Grill for 1-2 minutes on one side, turn and grill for an additional 1-2 minutes on the other side. Remove from grill and set aside until the shrimp are ready.

Now all you need to do is assemble your tropical shrimp bites… I used a bamboo skewer and added one piece of grilled pineapple, a shrimp and finally a bite of mango. Your perfect tropical bite!

It’s amazing how much flavor the shrimp takes on from the vinaigrette in such a short time. You can really taste the mango with a little hint of the chipotle, it’s tasty!! Your guest are going to love this little bite from the tropics! This recipe will make roughly 40 tropical shrimp bites, perfect for a medium sized gathering. You can adjust accordingly to the size of your gathering. I served my shrimp bites on top of some sugar pea greens that had been lightly dressed with the Hidden Valley@ Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette as well. That made for some added flavor along with a very pretty presentation.

From dressings and dips to sandwich spreads and side dish solutions, the special blend of herbs and spices makes Hidden Valley the perfect addition to any recipe. For more delectable ranch recipes, visit www.hiddenvalley.com.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hidden Valley Ranch. The opinions and text are all mine.