I've made crab cakes bunches of times. I've tried recipes on the crabmeat container, the old bay container, online, cookbooks, etc. but they always turned out to be ... just okay. Some had too much seasoning, some had too many breadcrumbs and so on. Then I stumbled upon this seasoning packet in the seafood section of the grocery store. LOVE IT!!!! It makes the perfect crab cake! Top it with my favorite spicy tartar sauce and your mouth will be in heaven.
INGREDIENTS
1 package of Old Bay brand Crab Cake Seasoning Mix
1/2 cup mayo
1 pound lump crab meat
Mix first two ingredients in a bowl. Fold in crabmeat. Shape into 4 large patties. Bake in the oven at 350' for about 20 minutes. Finish by broiling for the final 2-3 minutes until slightly browned. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!
Spicy Tartar Sauce
1/4 cup mayo
1 tablespoon pickle relish
1 teaspoon siracha sauce
You had me at "triple chocolate." This cake turned out so good I had to share it with you. I made this for a dessert for Saturday night's dinner and its Tuesday and we're still enjoying chocolate cake that's just as delicious as it was on Saturday. It is the opposite of dry, does not require frosting, melts in your mouth and fulfills all your chocolate cravings. It makes box cake taste like it came from a bakery. Seriously, if you like chocolate you have to try this cake! Get baking!!!
INGREDIENTS
1 package devil's food chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding (3.9 oz)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
Preheat oven to 350'. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan. Mix ingredients (except chocolate chips) with a stand or hand held mixer for 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Add in the chocolate chips and mix an additional 30 seconds. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for at least an hour before inverting onto a platter. Dust with powdered sugar if you'd like.
I have been posting a new seafood recipe every Friday during Lent. Of course you don't have to be Catholic to enjoy a fish dinner. This week's "Fish Eater Friday" recipe is for tuna salad.
"Anyone can make tuna salad," says my husband. "You're not planning on blogging this are you??" (as if tuna salad would be the worst recipe I could possibly blog) Then later during dinner I hear ..."wow, this tuna salad is better than Jimmy Johns." So I have that going for me, lol.
My chicken salad recipe had a ton of views so why not blog my tuna salad recipe?!
I looked up a few recipes online and discovered that none of them were like mine. They all had the same main ingredients ...tuna, mayo and onions (way too many onions in my opinion). Mine is different. I use salad dressing (Miracle Whip) and a hard cooked egg. It really does have a great flavor. You can use this to make sandwiches, wraps, eat on top of a salad, on crackers, stuff in a tomato, or use for tuna melts. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
3 cans water packed tuna
2 tbs celery, finely chopped
1 tsp onion, finely chopped
1 hard-cooked egg*, peeled & chopped
1/2 cup salad dressing/Miracle Whip or generic
1 tbs pickle relish
small dash of salt & pepper
Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes apptoximately 2 cups.
Tuna Melt Ingredients (1 serving)
1/3 cup tuna salad
2 slices cheese (I used American but any kind you like will work)
2 slices of tomato
1 English muffin
Split the English muffin in half. Place on an oven safe pan nooks/crannies side up. Bake in a toaster oven or conventional oven at 375' for a few minutes just to get a little toasted being careful not to brown. Remove from oven and place about 2.5 tablespoons of tuna salad on each muffin half. Place back in the oven for about 3 minutes. Remove from oven and top each half with a tomato slice and finally a slice of cheese. Place back in the oven and bake until the cheese melts. Serve immediately.
*To make a perfect hard-cooked egg, place egg in a small pot and fill with water until it covers the egg. Place on stove on high heat until the water comes to a boil. Once the water comes to a full boil, cover with a lid, turn burner off and time for 15 minutes. Drain water immediately and cool egg with cold running water. Peel immediately or store in the refrigerator unpeeled for up to 1 week. -via "Deviled Eggs" book by Debbie Moose
Minestrone is an Italian vegetable soup and my favorite choice if I ever find myself at the Olive Garden for soup & salad. I like this recipe because I get to use my Wolfgang Puck enameled cast iron dutch oven ... the amount doesn't quite fit in my 3 quart pot and the next size I have holds 8 quarts which is too big so the 5 quart dutch oven seems to be the perfect size (any pot 4 quarts or larger will work great). I also like the fact that it gives me a few extra servings I can keep in the frrezer for another time. The aroma of this soup makes your kitchen smell like an Italian restaurant. I love the flavor and with the beans and pasta its filling enough to be a meal. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 cans chicken broth
1 cup water
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup pasta (ditalini or orzo)
In a large pot (4 quart or bigger), saute onion in olive oil for about 4 minutes. Add garlic, celery and carrots. Cook until the celelry is soft. Add chicken broth, water, diced tomatoes, beans and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Turn to simmer, cover and let cook 1 hour. Add zucchini and pasta. Cook an additional 30 minutes or until pasta is ready. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.
Makes about 12-13 cups.
Okay, this is by far my FAVORITE dinner ever! I made this for Valentine's day dinner this year. The butter, garlic and shrimp go together so well I absolutely LOVE it. I used to try to make this recipe years ago and just couldn't seem to get the flavor I was craving until I found this awesome seasoning ...so I highly recommend using "Johnny's Garlic Seasoning" to get the perfect flavor. Costco used to sell this ... I'm not sure if they do anymore or not since we are only members at Sam's Club. I did however order it online the last time I needed it and included the link below. One jar lasts a LONG time and can also be used to make some amazing garlic bread to go with your favorite Italian meals.
INGREDIENTS
24 raw large shrimp or 12 jumbo, peeled, tails removed (Key West Pinks/Gulf Shrimp have the best flavor)
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon Johnny's Garlic Seasoning*
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (1 tsp if using fresh)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
8-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 box linguini
salt & pepper to taste
serves 2
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile in a large frying pan melt the butter & olive oil, add garlic, white wine & seasonings. Add the shrimp and cook about 3 minutes on each side. Add the cheese & tomatoes. When the pasta is finished cooking. drain in a colander and then add to the shrimp/butter mixture. Toss to coat and serve immediately. Can be topped with additional grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Hot Cocoa seems to be a requirement on a snowy day. When you're little sometimes the promise of a nice warm mug of hot cocoa is used as a bribe to get you to finally come inside from playing in the snow. And when you're a grown up its still a warm relaxing treat to have on a cold day ...build a fire (luckily mine works with a light switch), cuddle up under a blanket and relax with a good book or movie. Ha, who am I kidding?! I have no time for books & movies unless they are children books & Disney movies for my daughter ...but you get the point ...young or old, hot cocoa is a great treat on a cold day.
I bought the instant mixes and the results were just not living up to the foodie standards in this house. So I searched the internet for homemade hot cocoa mixes, tried a few recipes and finally ended up with the recipe below. The addition of corn starch definitely helps make the cocoa powder disolve easier without clumps and it also gives a thick richness to the drink. It only takes a few minutes to make and its worth the effort for the gourmet results. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi-sweet)
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
makes enough for about 9 cups of hot cocoa
Mix ingredients in a food processor until all the chocolate chips are finely chopped. If you don't have a food processor you can use a cheese grater or knife to finely chop the chocolate chips. Store in an air tight container. When ready to use mix 3 tablespoons of mixture with 1 cup of milk. Heat & stir over stovetop or heat in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir until the mix is completely dissolved. Serve with mini marshmallows or whipped cream.
I bought another rotisserie chicken from Sam's club yesterday. I'm going to be like that family in the KFC commercial with all the plastic containers, LOL. Using just one 3 lb chicken, my little sous chef and I made 3 chicken pot pies, 1/2 batch of buffalo chicken dip and 1/2 batch of chicken salad ... not too bad for a snowy afternoon. I also took time to organize the recipes on my blog so that you can search through them a little easier with navigation buttons. I'm not a web designer so its nothing fancy but it does function properly and makes the recipes easier to find.
Now, back to the chicken pot pie recipe. There's two kinds of pot pies ... the kind that actually looks like a pie and the PA Dutch style where the pie dough is chopped up in the pot (that's the kind my mom makes). This recipe is for the "pie" version with a bottom and top of pie crust and a creamy chicken filling that's just perfect for a cold winter day. This definitely fits in a "comfort food" category. I use refrigerated pie crusts & rotisserie chicken to cut down on the prep time but if you want to make your own dough & chicken go for it. Enjoy!
ready to be topped with pie dough
INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled & chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 potatoes, baked partially, peeled & chopped
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup corn (optional)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 packages refrigerated pie crust (if you're making 3 mini pies or 1 package to make one large pie)
3 small (7") foil pie pans (Dollar Tree sells 4 of them in a pack for $1) or 1 deep dish pie pan
Each small pie makes about 3 small servings. One large pie is about 8 servings.
In a large frying pan cook the celery, onions and carrots in the butter until soft. Add the potatoes, chicken, chicken broth, milk, flour and seasonings. Add peas & corn. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
ready to be baked
Open the pie crust box(es). If you are making one large deep dish pie then simply line the pan with one crust, top with filling and seal/flute the remaining pie crust on top. Poke holes for steam & bake. If you are making 3 mini pies you will be using TWO packages of pie crusts so there will be 4 rolled pie crusts. We are only going to use 3 of these*. Allow three of the pie crusts to sit on your counter for about 5 minutes. Cut the pie crusts in half and roll each half into a ball to make a total of 6 pie dough balls. Roll each one into about an 8" disc. Line each pie pan with dough. Divide the filling evenly among the pie pans and top with the additional pie dough. Seal & flute edges of dough together and poke several holes for steam. If you are planning to freeze your pies then top with the cardboard disc, seal foil around disc and put the pie pan in a gallon size zip lock baggie. When you're ready to bake make sure the pie is thawed to room temp. Preheat oven to 375' and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165' F.
ready for the freezer
*extra pie dough can be used later or if you want a super quick dessert spread a small amount of butter on the top and sprinkle with sugar & cinnamon. Roll dough and slice into 1/2" pieces. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes at 350'. My mom called these "do-ollies" growing up. There was always a small amount of leftover pie dough and we didn't want it to go to waste. They taste like mini cinnamon buns. You could also divide the dough in half and make two mini apple dumplings.
just for fun ... chicken pot pie always make me think of Cartman on South Park, ha ha
