Menu Plan Monday: August 31st (and Crab Dip recipe)

This week for lunch I am making Chimichangas with guacamole for me and Egg Salad for Stu to take to work. Here are our dinners:

Barbecue Chicken Burritos, fries, and steamed mixed vegetables

Chicken Milan, buttered noodles, and steamed broccoli

Crab Rangoon searved with sweet and sour sauce, fried rice

Broccoli Soup with dinner rolls and Ritz crackers


I will also be making this Crab Dip with the leftover crab:

1 package of cream cheese
4 oz. imitation crab meat, flaked
1/4 cup favorite salsa

Roughly chop the crab and then mix with the cream cheese and salsa. Serve with Wheat Thins. So yummy!

For more menu ideas, visit Orgjunkie.com.

Crab, Onion, and Swiss Omelet

This is a fast breakfast recipe. I am always on the look-out for something other than cereal for breakfast that doesn't take much prep work or time. This one was a nice, tasty alternative to boring cereal or eggs and toast.




Crab, Onion, and Swiss Omelet:

1/2 cup diced imitation crab or lump crab meat, picked free of shells
2 Tablespoons minced onion
1 slice Swiss cheese
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons water
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon olive oil

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Saute the onions in the oil for about 30 seconds then add the crab meat.
2. Cook crab until heated through, then transfer from pan into a small bowl, set aside.
3. Return pan to the heat. Beat the eggs and water, seasoning with salt and pepper and add to skillet.
4. Rotate the pan in a circle over the heat so that the eggs stick to the upper edges of the pan.
5. When eggs are set, place the slice of cheese on one side of the skillet and then layer the crab/onion mixture on top of the cheese, spreading it out so it covers one half of the eggs.
6. Fold half of the eggs over onto it's self, covering the ingredients.
7. Slide omelet out of pan onto a plate and serve hot.


This is great with avocado slices as a garnish on top of the omelet. Enjoy!

Shrimp and Grits

Embracing a small part of our combined heritage, Stu and I decided to have Shrimp and Grits for dinner. Below if the recipe I used, which was described as being “Carolina Shrimp and Grits”. It was pretty good we decided. Try it!

Shrimp and Grits:

2 1/2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3/4 cup quick-cooking white grits
3 tablespoons cream cheese
2 tablespoons half and half
1/2 cup chopped green onions1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

COOKING:Combine chicken broth and 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium saucepan and bring to boil. Stir in grits. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix cream cheese and half and half into grits. Cover and simmer mixture until almost all liquid has evaporated and grits are tender, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Stir in green onions. Remove mixture from heat.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté just until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Remove skillet from heat.

Spoon grits onto center of plate. Top with shrimp and drizzle with lime butter from skillet.

(During the cooking process I also seasoned the shrimp a tiny bit of salt and a decent amount of pepper… so if you like your shrimp more flavored, that’s a good way to go!)

Tuna Melts

Sometimes simplistic is the way to go. Last night I didn't want to do anything too complicated so I make some tuna melt sandwiches, veggies, and mac and cheese (right out of a box!). They were fab!

Tuna Melts, Sydney Style:

4 slices of your favorite bread (this is for two people)
1 can of white tuna in water
1 tablespoon mayo
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
salt and pepper to taste
4 slices Gruyere Swiss cheese
2 tablespoon butter

1) Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread, put two of them butter side down in a skillet, add one slice of cheese to each piece of bread.
2) In a bowl, flake tuna and combine with mayo, relish, and salt and pepper, mix well. Spread on top of cheese slices in the skillet.
3) Top with the remaining slice of cheese and finish with the last slice of bread, butter side out.
4) Heat skillet over medium heat, about 2 minutes each side, or until golden brown and crispy, turning each sandwich once.

Tips for this recipe:
- serve with tomato or chicken soup to dip it in. This is so good and is the perfect comfort food as the days get cooler (for all you lucky folk where you actually HAVE cooler weather)
- Swiss and tuna are a great combination together, but you can substitute the cheese for cheddar or whatever your family prefers.
- Use a large flat spatula to turn the sandwiches to the insides don't fall out on the turn.

Enjoy!

My Creation: California Rice Balls

This is another one of my thrifty knock-off meals. I’m a sushi fan of the California variety. There is something heavenly about the flavor combination of crab, avocado, and the nuttiness of sesame. Since I don’t have a bamboo mat, and my husband doesn’t like seaweed, I decided to create a new take on the California roll. These were so easy to make and were a big hit with Crab Rangoon for dinner last night!

California Rice Balls:
1 cup Jasmine rice, uncooked
1 ½ cups water
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 avocado, peeled and cut into small chunks
5 crab sticks, sliced into small pieces

1) Put the rice and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
2) Let rice cool enough to handle then transfer into a large bowl. Add the vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce and stir hard (you want the rice to come apart a little bit so it is sticky enough to stay together). Have a small bowl of water nearby to moisten your fingers to handle the rice.
3) Take a small amount in your hand and flatten it out to about 2 inches in diameter. Place a piece of the avocado and a piece of the crab in the center and fold the sides up around it. Put as much rice as is needed to enclose the filling on the top and form rice into a ball, using a little more water on your hands as needed.
4) Place balls on a tray and refrigerate for at least an hour to cool completely.
Serve with soy sauce if desired. (Or even pickled ginger and wasabi if you’re really craving sushi!)

These really were great and totally hit the spot for sushi… If you like cucumber like is traditional in typical California rolls, add that too. I’m just not fond of cucumber and this was my recipe! Haha.

Here is my Crab Rangoon Recipe from last night:

¾ cup crab meat, flaked
2 green onions, chopped
½ cup cream cheese, softened
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon each, Worcestershire and soy sauce (optional)
Wonton wrappers (I actually used sambosa wrappers this time because it was all I could find [I live in the Middle East] so experiment!)
Oil for frying
Sweet and Sour sauce, for dipping

1) In a large bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients.
2) Lay out the wonton wrappers and put a small amount of the filling in the center of each, fold over and seal with water, pressing firmly so the filling doesn’t fall out.
3) Heat a skillet over medium heat and add about a quarter inch of oil to the pan. Add the wontons a few at a time, making sure they are not touching each other. Fry about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve warm with your favorite sweet and sour sauce.

Enjoy!

Full Disclosure: I had the leftover rice balls for breakfast!

Crab Tacos

With the economy doing just FABULOUS, these are the days when being creatively frugal really count. If you're like me, there are only so many days per month when boring old tacos are a viable option. Sooooo, I adapted a recipe for crab tacos! The only "fresh" crab I can get here comes straight out of the polluted Gulf, so I opt for imitation crab. It's almost as good when it is used in dishes, and is very cheap, comparatively. So here is the recipe that I loved, the hubby still prefers his BEEF, but he liked them well enough.

Crab Tacos:
1 package imitation crab (or 8 oz. fresh crab), flaked
½ cup chopped onion
Dash of chili powder
2 limes, sliced
1 tsp. olive oil
8 hard taco shells
1 cup iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 cup shredded cheese (I used the Mexican blend)
1 avocado, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped green onion

1) Preheat oven to 350 (F). In a pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the crab and a dash of the chili powder, according to your own preference. Cook until crab is warmed, about 2 minutes.
2) Put taco shells on a baking sheet and warm in the oven for about 3 minutes.
3) To assemble tacos: put a little of the crab mixture in a shell, top with cheese, lettuce, avocado, and green onions and then drizzle with lime juice (this MAKES the taco, don’t miss this step!) Enjoy!

If you have leftover crab mixture, use it to fill an omelet the next morning (like I did!).

Crab Cakes (for Shelly :))

Ok, like Shelly I have had a REALLY hard time finding a recipe for Crab Cakes that are really good. This one is a start, though I still don’t think it is perfect:



Crab Cakes:

1 lb. of crabmeat, picked free of shells (you can also use imitation, as I had to last time, the flavor isn’t quite as good, but they still turn out pretty good)
1/3 cup crushed Ritz crackers
3 green onions, finely chopped (both the green and white parts)
1 egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise (you may need a little more)
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
dash of chili or cayenne powder (to taste)
Flour, for dusting
1/2 cup of vegetable oil, for frying.

1) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except flour and oil. Shape into patties and dust with flour.

2) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Carefully place cakes into pan and fry until browned (about 4 minutes) then flip and fry for 3-4 more minutes until brown.

3) Remove from pan to paper towels. Serve warm with Avocado Sauce (recipe to follow).


Spicy Avocado Crab Cake Sauce:

1/2 medium California avocado, pitted, peeled and mashed
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon each, salt and sugar
dash of chili powder, to taste
1/4 cup milk

Stir ingredients together slowly, leaving some chunks of avocado if you like. Add more chili powder for extra kick. Serve with crab cakes.

Enjoy!