Spicy Barbeque Shrimp

Easy, tasty, and healthy.  I paired these with a soup, but they would be great on top of a pizza or in a wrap or on a salad... Or on top of rice for those of you out there who like rice.  

If you have a grill, you could grill instead of broiling, but the broiler works just fine.  

What you need:

1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp
2-3 tablespoons barbecue sauce of choice (I try to find ones that are lower in sugar... this time it was a brand called Weber in the Hickory Smoke flavor)
1/3 cup salsa of choice (I used Pace brand in Chipotle flavor)
1 chipotle pepper, chopped, plus a little of the sauce
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together and let shrimp marinate for at least 30 minutes.  Heat oven broiler on high and spray a baking sheet with olive oil.  Remove shrimp from marinade, shaking off excess marinade as you do this.  Spread shrimp on the baking sheet.  Place under broiler for 5 minutes.  Pour the marinade into a saucepan.  Boil this over medium-high heat as the shrimp broils.  Take the shrimp out of the oven, drain excess liquid into the boiling marinade pan, flip the shrimp, and put back into the oven.  Broil for another 5 minutes and then remove from oven.

Serve shrimp with marinade sauce on the side (Watch out! The sauce is a bit spicy).

Barbecued Baby Octopus

Okay, first step to this is getting over the cute little baby octopus that you are planning to boil, broil, and eat. Maybe chop them up first if that helps you out.

Then proceed with the directions below.  I promise, they're quite tasty!  Similar to calamari (not the deep fried kind).  I like to serve them with a roasted vegetable salad and maybe some fried rice or a light naan bread "pizza".

What you need:

1 pound frozen baby octopus, thawed and cleaned

1 cup red wine

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 basil tomato sauce

2-3 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon hot chili-garlic sauce

1 teaspoon black pepper

2-3 teaspoons garlic powder (or use minced garlic)

1/4 very thinly sliced onion

1-2 tablespoons finely chopped or minced fresh ginger

chopped fresh basil and cilantro (optional)

Start by bring the wine, balsamic vinegar, and octopus to a boil.  Lower heat, and let simmer for 20 minutes. While simmering, preheat oven to a high broil.  Then drain the octopus, discarding the liquid.  Place octopus and the rest of the ingredients in a 13 x 9 pan and mix everything together.  Broil for 10-15 minutes, depending on how hot your broiler gets.  The onion should slightly cook and the the sauce should become thick and become baked onto the octopus in places.  That's it!  At this point, if you have it, add a bit of freshly chopped basil and cilantro.

Enjoy!