Hot Crab Dip

This is a great appetizer!

Ingredients:
6 oz. or 7 oz. can of crab meat (or pouch of meat) or 1/2 lb. fresh crab meat. Drain liquid if there is some and flake the crab meat.
8 oz. block of regular cream cheese (don't get the fat-free or light..doesn't turn out as well)
1 small onion finely chopped (or 1-2 tsp. of dried minced onion)
Paprika
Few Sprinkles of red cayenne pepper
Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients together. Put in a small casserole baking dish. Sprinkle top with Paprika.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with crackers. (I like to serve with Triscuits).

If making for a larger group--double everything.

And enjoy!

Soft Pretzels/Pizza Crust

noticing a trend here? I love to cook breads and desserts (no meat to deal with!). This is a favorite of mine I serve the pretzels with hot mustard. They work for dinner rolls too.

Dissolve:
1 package of yeast with 1 cup of (warm-ish) water

Mix in:
2 T. margarine or butter
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. flour

Mix until smooth (by hand or in a kitchenaid)

Add about another cup of flour (add flour just until the dough is smooth and blistered and doesn't stick to your hands too much).

Put in a greased bowl and let rise for an hour.

Divide dough into about six parts.

Shape in to pretzels and let rise another 1/2 hour.

Dip pretzel into 2 cups of hot (boiling) water and 3 T baking soda. (use a slotted spoon or turner)

Put on greased baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 10 mins (until golden brown)


FOR PIZZA - make the dough. poke holes in the dough before letting it rise for 1/2 hour. Spread into cookie sheet or pizza stone. Bake for 5 mins. Then top with desired toppings and bake until the cheese is melted.

meatless southwestern roll appetizer

I tried these out in the deep fryer and it didn't quite work. They came undone and let some of the filling fall out once it hit the oil. Sooooo maybe I will freeze them longer next time or just go back to the healthier baked method.

4 T. chopped onion
4 T. chopped red pepper
~ 1/2 c. Frozen corn
1 1/2 cans black beans (drain and rinse)
2 T. canned diced jalepenos (about 1 4oz can drained)
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 sprinkle cayenne powder
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese - mexican blend (optional)
6" corn tortillas

cook onions and peppers until onions are tranclucent.
add corn beans, seasoning, jalepenos and cheese, letting the cheese melt.
prepare tortillas for rolling by wrapping them in a moist paper towl and microwaving 30 seconds - 1 minute
put one generous (T) spoonful of mixture on tortilla and roll up like an egg roll
put on wax paper covered cookie sheet and freeze 3-4 hours (at least)
preheat oven to 375
coat another cookie sheet with non-stick spray and bake until brown - flipping once.

Easy Appetizer or Quick Lunch!

aI tried this for the first time this weekend and have done two variations since (Dave really enjoyed it). It's great as a quick, easy appetizer and can be changed to meatless, seafood only etc., really quickly. It's also great for using leftover chicken or seafood. 

Spinach Crawfish/Shrimp Quesadillas

2 large flour tortillas (or any flavor I used sun dried tomato and spinach)

1/2 lb crawfish or shrimp (pre cooked) (I used frozen crawfish, but I live in Louisiana)

(If using fresh seafood I would saute with garlic and onion and then add all those ingredients in)

Fresh Spinach Leaves

Sea Salt 

Cracked Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Mozzarella or Italian Blend Shredded Cheese (as much or as little as you want!)

Feta Cheese 

Pre heat on medium a large pan that will hold the large tortilla and spray with either olive oil cooking spray or coat with a thin layer of olive oil. Place your "base" tortilla down and add a layer of shredded mozzarella. Add crawfish or shrimp until you have a pretty good layer but it's not a mound. Add Spinach leaves, and season as much or as little as you would like. I put salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (sorry I don't have an exact measurement but season to your taste). Add another layer of shredded cheese and sprinkle on the feta (feta is optional I just like the flavor). Add the top tortilla and press with a spatula. FLIP! Then continue cooking until all the cheese is melted and the seafood is warmed through. Be careful to watch your temp and not burn the tortillas. Remove from the pan and cut into pieces (I used four for Dave and I and up to eight for appetizers). 

I put sour cream and salsa on the side for toppings and it was hit. 

I've switched it up as well using left over chicken breasts, stronger cheeses like sharp chedder and Monterey jack, salsa for seasoning and salt and pepper. I've also just used spinach and feta for a meatless version. It really was the fastest thing to make and everyone really enjoyed it. 

If you have questions please let me know, I know this isn't an exact recipe but it's great for a fast meal and relatively healthy (if you use low fat cheeses!)