Different Shrimp Caesar Salad

I've mentioned before that we love salads as meals in my house. This one is fantastic. It's a Caesar Salad without a creamy dressing. So different and so yummy. It's another Real Simple Recipe that we kind of tweaked. Mainly, I made it easier, because I'm not going to go to all the effort to fire up our charcoal grill just to grill a few shrimp for a salad. Plus, some of the ingredients in the original recipe are not easy to find in our grocery stores. If you are looking for a new spin on a salad - this is a must try.

Mexican Caesar Salad with Shrimp

• About a pound of peeled and deveined raw shrimp (I buy it frozen which sometimes comes in smaller packages - 10oz is still plenty for us. If you buy frozen, obviously thaw it before cooking)
• 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper 
• Salt and Pepper
• About 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1/4 of a jalapeño pepper minced (I have to use gloves to do this or my fingers burn for days)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 big head of Romaine Lettuce chopped into bite size pieces (they sell a pack of 3 romaine hearts I like to use here)
• 1 granny smith apple cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup of pepitas
• 1/2 cup of some sort of mexican cheese, shredded or crumbled (like cojita or queso fresco - if you can't find - a mexican blend will do) 

1. In a big bowl (which you will eventually mix all the salad in ) mix together 3 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, worcestershire, jalapeño, garlic, and a little salt and pepper. 
2. Heat the oven (or toaster oven) to 350. Spread the pepitas on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes. You'll start to hear them pop when they are getting toasty. Toss them every few minutes so they don't burn.
3. Toss the shrimp in a tablespoon olive oil, cayenne, salt and pepper.
4. Heat a little bit of oil in a skillet, throw in the shrimp and cook until opaque. We constantly stir here. 
5. Add the lettuce, apple, onion to dressing and toss. Add in the shrimp. Then throw the pepitas and cheese on top.

**This would easily make 4 dinner servings if you have the full pound of Shrimp. We don't keep salad leftovers, so it makes a couple of giant salads for us and we toss the leftovers. 

**On Bryce's dish scale (reminder 1-5, 5 being the worst) this is a 2. A little more dishes than he likes. Big bowl, Skillet, bowl you toss the shrimp in, cutting board and knife.