Crab Cakes

These are so easy to make and taste delicious. Sadly, they are not really budget friendly, so my husband and I only have them on special occasions and I do not usually make them when we are entertaining (I know, so selfish).

It will be hard to write out a recipe, as I usually do not use one and just throw in what I have. Over the years I have followed many different recipes while making crab cakes and have just taken what I liked from each one and sort of do my own thing.

Ingredients:
Unshelled Crab (1 lb.)
1/4 cup of Mayo
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
1/2 diced yellow pepper
1/2 diced red pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large egg
Garlic salt
Pepper
1 cup Panko
1 cup Corn Flake crumbs

In a bowl, mix crab, mayo, mustard, peppers, onion, beaten egg, salt, pepper and Panko.

I usually mix with my hands. Clump the crab meat into cakes with a 2-3 inch diameter depending on your preference. Put the Cornflake crumbs on a plate and coat each cake. Once the cakes are formed and coated, cover and place in fridge for a about an hour.

Meanwhile, you can mix the spicy mayo sauce. Mix 1/4 cup mayo, 2 tablespoons of Sirracha sauce and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.

When the crab cakes have been refrigerated for about an hour, heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. I will usually take a crumb from the cornflake crumbs and place in the hot oil. If it sizzles then it's hot enough to cook the crab cakes. Place crab cakes in oil, about 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to allow the oil to soak up.(This usually makes up about 10 crab cakes)

Serve with sauce and ENJOY!

It's the Small Things

My newly (somewhat) organized home and meal planning have been the only things getting us through this crazy time. I recently started Student Teaching and YIKES teachers have a hard job! The hours are long and you are on your feet most of the day, most of the time with no break. These last two weeks have been the most exhausting weeks of my life! It will all be worth it though, and I absolutely love going each and every day...even if it means I have to wake up around 4am every morning.

The meal planning has truly helped so much! Dinner is never stressful and my Husband can easily help out if need be. I have been continuing on my quest to get creative with vegetables!

This meal was beyond easy: Mesquite pork loin kebobs with roasted root vegetables (Rutabaga, Zucchini, Butternut squash and Purple onion) with sauteed Kale and Garlic. So easy, so delicious, so healthy! They leftover veggies were great in a soup the next day. Just puree, heat on the stove, add a little salt, pepper and brown sugar (especially if you didn't have any sweet veggies in the soup like Butternut squash) for flavor and you have a delicious soup on your hands - or in your tummy. If it's too thick you can add in some vegetable broth.

Soups made like this are my favorite. They taste so rich and creamy, yet they are super healthy and full of great nutrients! Perfect for this cold, wet weather. You can basically do this with any left over roasted veggies as well as potatoes!

Meal Planning

Okay...do not judge what you are about to see. Let me just say (in my defense), that I love lists and I love color coding. So here is February's menu partially done:

I start out by getting inspired by one or two cooking magazines I received in the mail for the current month. They are usually packed full of great seasonal recipes and most of the magazines I subscribe to are for healthy cooking.

I begin by writing one or two of these new recipes on the calendar each week so we don't get in the routine of eating the same things all of the time (gets a little boring).

Next, I fill in days I know I or we will not be home. For instance, I fill in Tuesdays with either crock pot meals, or something super easy that Mike will be okay preparing. He can cook, but if it's too much work I think he would rather eat cereal...which does not bode well with his lovely wife. I end this long but super fun process, by filling in the remaining days with items we love to eat and eat on a more regular basis (tacos, pork chops, chicken salad, etc.).

The reason I color code things is because I am incredibly visual and I want to make sure we aren't eating beef everyday, although I am sure the Hubs wouldn't mind one bit. I also use this system to make sure we eat fish at least once a week and only eat starchy items such as potatoes/rice/pasta twice a week.

For some, this might be WAY too complex, but you can put your own spin on it and do what makes it easier for you. I met with one of our family friends (she also has an awesome Blog) who plans out meals in advance for her family, and she gave me lots of great tips! The main reason I find this helpful is it makes grocery shopping much easier because I can make the list in advance and do not end up buying useless items that will go bad. I also find that it makes cooking less stressful because I always know what we are having and what to take out of the freezer!

The finished product...

Reinvent Your Vegetables

Happy 2012 everyone! Now that the Holiday season is behind us, I can finally get back to blogging and the hustle and bustle of real life. As the New Year arrives, people (including myself), usually stress about coming up with the perfect New Years resolution(s). Here are mine:

1. Go out to eat only 1-2 times per month
2. Make vegetables more exciting
3. STOP PROCRASTINATING (unfortunately, I think I have set myself up for failure with this one)
4. Take time to get ready each day.

So far, I have been pretty successful with number four. I got new makeup for Christmas and have been dedicated to spending the extra time each morning "putting my face on", as I have heard it put. It definitely does make a difference in the way I feel throughout the day.

I have definitely been experimenting with number two, and have a couple recipes to share with you guys!


Green Beans Almondine:

This is truly one of my favorite vegetable recipes and I don't even like green beans.
- Clean and cut green beans
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Lay slivered almonds in a pie tin or a baking sheet, bake for 10-15 (until browned)
- Place green beans in boiling water until they are cooked the way you prefer.
- Leaving the green beans in the pan, add 1/4 stick of butter and squeeze about 2 tbsp of lemon juice  over them.
- Stir until butter is melted
- Add slivered almonds and serve.

This recipe is certainly not set in stone, and I never use actual measurements. Green Beans Almondine is so easy and honestly changed the way I look at green beans. Your guests will be impressed too!

Shredded Brussel Sprouts and Bacon

- Start by shredding Brussel Sprouts (I did about 5-6 per person) and used my awesome  Palm Peeler, which makes the job so much easier
- Heat up 2 tablespoons of EVOO and add the shredded Brussel Sprouts
- Saute in oil on low for 10-15 minutes
- Add a teaspoon of minced garlic towards the end
- Add 1/4 stick of butter, stir until melted
- Squeeze about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in the pan, remove from heat
- Stir in chopped bacon - really as much as you would like

We tried this for the first time last night and it was so easy and tasted amazing! My husband said he did not like Brussel Sprouts, but this recipe won him over!

mmm....

50 is Nifty!

Happy Birthday Mom, you wear 50 well!

My small four person dinner party for my Mom quickly turned into ten people! One of those people was my Aunt who last minute decided to fly up from California to be with my Mom on her birthday! Lucky for me, she is great at entertaining and shared some fabulous appetizer ideas with me.

 This sounds a little odd, but I assure you it's pretty delicious. Sliced cucumber topped with  a mixture of Greek yogurt, chives, salt and pepper, then Salmon Lox and finally a thin sliver of Grapefruit. Somehow, all of the flavors complimented each other.

 Stuffed mushrooms, hummus, pita bread, veggies, pasta salad and my favorite...Baked Brie and apples.

 Yummy cupcakes!

 Sisters!

 Cheers to being 50

Happy Birthday Mom!

Who would have thought

The other day, after making this absolutely scrumptious soup (recipe coming soon...), I had a LOT of Kale left over and was wondering how to save it from going to waste. I went on AllRecipes.com and found the easiest way to utilize my leftovers...

Baked Kale Chips

So easy, and so delicious. I seriously just ate them as they came out of the over and never had any extra. Here's what you do:

 - Preheat over to 350 degrees

- Lay out chip sized pieces of Kale on a cookie sheet

- Drizzle with Olive Oil 

- Season with a little salt

- Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes

- BE IMPRESSED

Healthy too! Sorry I do not have a picture. You will have to trust me on this, the flavor is wonderful and this savory treat is pretty healthy as well!

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies (just like the ones from the store!)

I found this recipe on Pinterest and couldn't pass it up. I made them late one night and realized at the end that I barely had any powdered sugar, so I used regular sugar instead. It turned out fine, but next time I will definitely check my pantry first. My husband absolutely loved these and so did others who tried them. It was super easy and they look really fun too - just like the ones you buy at the store...but with less preservatives and they probably cost less too! this makes 15-24 cookies (at least) depending on how big you make them.

Oatmeal Cookies
1 1/4 cup Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 Egg
2 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3 cups Oats

Cream the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients. Mix dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients. Cook at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool on cooling rack before add cream filling.

Cream Filling
1/2 cup soft Butter
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 tbls Heavy Whipping Cream

Combine in a bowl, beat on low until mixed well, then beat on high until fluffy!

Once the oatmeal cookies are cool, put a spoon full of cream filling on a cookie and add another cookie to make a sandwich, EAT.

Fancy Dinner in Five Minutes

My husband and I absolutely love sushi. Sadly, it is not always in the budget and it is hard and somewhat costly to make at home. Luckily, we found a great (and incredibly inexpensive) compromise...Seared Tuna!

We purchased enough for both of us at Trader Joes for less than $4! It literally takes about five minutes to make, which makes it taste even better.

Heat Olive Oil in a saute pan
Coat tuna with sesame seeds
Place coated tuna in the pan and sear on each side for about a minute
If you want to do the edges, you can sear them as well using tongs to hold it in place (I did it)

When the tuna is seared, slice it into thin strips (kind of like Sashimi)

It's that easy folks! And it's so good. I mixed a little honey into the soy sauce and used that as a dipping sauce. We served it with brown rice (made in a rice cooker), steamed veggies and Edamame. My husband likes Siracha sauce on everything, so I can assure you, that was also present on the table.

Suggestions please!

Last weekend was an inspiring weekend! My Mom, Michael and I spent Saturday together exploring the fabulous  Monticello Antiques store on Stark followed by a trip to William Sonoma and Elephants. The antique store had so many interesting pretty things, it made me want a bigger house! I only ended up buying one thing; an old Edgar Allen Poe book which, I am going to use to make my Halloween Cards (I will explain in a later post). We found some very random things (that I would never want), one of which was a stuffed cat - with a fan blowing right on it causing it's fur blow. Can you say creepy?

The suggestions I am asking for are regarding my purchase from William Sonoma. Mike and I got a very generous gift card for our wedding and I went in with a plan. I was going to get a food processor, a cookie sheet, and a grill pan. My plan was quickly destroyed by my lovely Mother who had other things in mind. After showing her each thing I intended to purchase, she replied by saying, "You can buy that at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon." True. Then she convinced me to buy something I would never normally buy if I had not had a gift card. The end result was a beautiful slate colored, cast iron, enamel pot. I must admit, I have wanted one for quite some time but have always been to cheap to buy one (they are spendy). So now I have this amazing new addition to my kitchen and I don't quite know what to do with it. My mom has told me it's great for roasts, but does anyone have any other ideas?