Nordstrom's Arugula Salad with Roasted Shrimp:


This one is delicious but there are a lot of steps. See my suggestions below for store bought options to make it easier!

Ingredients:
1-2 bags Arugula - (depending on how many salad eaters you have)
1 pint grape tomatoes - halved
3 ears Corn - or frozen - sauted in olive oil until just warmed through
1-2 Avocados - diced
4-5 strips cooked bacon - chopped
1 log store-bought polenta - cut into 1/2"cubes - for croutons (see directions below)
About 1 pound Roasted Shrimp (or enough to feed shrimp eaters)  (see directions below)
1/2-1 cup shredded Parmesan for Parmesan crisps (see directions below)
Creamy garlic dressing (see directions below)

For the roasted shrimp:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
drizzle your thawed & peeled raw shrimp with olive oil, s&p and roast on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes

For Parmesan Crisps:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Using 1/2 cup of grated parmesan, pour a heaping tablespoon of Parm onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and lightly pat down. A silicone baking sheet is highly recommended. 
3. Repeat with the remaining cheese, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2 inch apart.
4. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly. Cool.

Polenta Croutons:
1. Add enough vegetable oil (or butter or oil of choice) to a heavy large frying pan to come 1-inch up the sides of the pan. **
2. Heat the oil over high heat. 
3. Working in batches of around 10 so as not to overcrowd the pan, carefully add the polenta cubes one at a time to the oil 
4. fry until golden brown, stirring to keep the cubes separate, about 2 minutes. 
5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the polenta croutons to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil. Season with s&p.

**If you don't want to use that much oil, use less and make sure to keep turning the polenta so it gets cooked on all sides.

For the creamy dressing:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp lime juice
1 clove garlic - minced
1 1/2 tsp honey (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp dijon mustard

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Add S&P and adjust to taste

For assembly:
Mix arugula with dressing in large bowl. Transfer dressed arugula to individual salad bowls and top with tomatoes, corn, avocado, bacon, shrimp, parmesan crisps and the warm polenta croutons.

Notes:
There are so many hacks to make this meal easier:
1. If you don't feel like making the parmesan crisps, you can buy those parmesan "whisps" or Trader Joe's sells a version as well. Or just sprinkle on some parmesan shavings and call it a day.
2. If you don't feel like making the dressing, buy a similar jarred version of creamy garlic dressing at the grocery store.
3. If you don't feel like making the polenta croutons (although I highly recommend you do b/c they kind of make the salad) throw on some regular croutons from your pantry or leave them out altogether.
4. If you don't eat shrimp, leave it out or swap with chicken.


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