Crab Shrimp Cakes with Louis Sauce

Recipes in this PostGarnished Crab Cake Picture by Stu Spivack at Flickr

When I was a little girl living in Germany, my mother used to get frozen crab cakes. I loved them. A few years ago, I found a package of Zatarain’s crab cake mix, and I made it with imitation crab. Yup, you heard me right – imitation crab.

Here’s my thoughts on imitation crab. What is imitation crab? Imitation crab is made from surimi, a concoction of fish, usually pollock, a binder and flavoring. I never think of imitation crab as crab, I think of it as Krab.

I went to the market yesterday, and stood there thinking about what to make for Friday Food. Krab was on sale, and there was a nice package of small bay shrimp on sale as well. Since I was going to be making this for Amber’s family as well as mine, I got both, and thought I would mix them together.

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Barbecued Potato Chip Tuna Casserole

Barbecued Potato Chip Tuna Casserole
Spane at the kitchen table

Barbecued Potato Chip Tuna Casserole may not by the prettiest casserole in the world, but it tastes very good. My mother would make this if we had leftover potato chips. My mother wasn’t much into snack food, so this was not something we had a lot, but it is one of those comfort foods that I remember fondly.

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Lobster Rose Petal Salad with Lemon Butter Dressing – Great Grandmother’s Recipe

Lobster and rose petal salad
Dressed Lobster and Rose Petal Salad

When I was a little girl, my mother used to go on about how she loved going to her grandmother’s house when she would serve Lobster and Rose salad. I was always hoping that my mother would recreate the recipe, but she never did.

When my great-grandmother was making this salad, lobster was a lot less expensive. I decided that for my birthday, despite to cost, I would recreate Christina Jacobsen’s recipe myself.

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Cream of Mushroom Soup with Sherry

I love it when the supermarket puts a large box of whole mushrooms on Manager’s Special. I take them home and make something out of them, this time Manicotti Stuffed with Cream Cheese, Spinach and Pine-nuts. When I opened my refrigerator this afternoon, I realized I had a lot of mushrooms left over, and what could I do with an almost whole box of mushrooms? Mushroom soup seemed like the perfect thing on a cold, winter day.

Some of you are probably saying “Ew! That’s the stuff you make casseroles out of, you don’t actually EAT that!” Well, that’s true. I would never have a bowl of that canned stuff, it’s only good for a few casserole dishes, and then that’s doubtful, too – now that I made this glorious mushroom soup.

This is probably one of the easiest soups you will ever make. When mushrooms go on sale at your grocery store, get a whole bunch of them, and share this wonderful soup.

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Manicotti Stuffed with Cottage Cheese, Spinach and Pine Nuts

Manicotti Stuffed with Cottage Cheese, Spinach and Pine Nuts
Manicotti Served

Manicotti is a child-friendly food. Most kids love spaghetti and pasta. What could be more fun than stuffing tubes and then eating them? Kids can get a little messy, but that’s their job, right?

My friend, Chef John Farion, came over and brought me a large container of cottage cheese. I did not think that Spane and I could eat if fast enough for it not to go bad, so I decided to stuff something with it. Quite frequently, cottage cheese is used for lasagna, but I don’t like meatless lasagna, and I wanted it for Friday. Oddly enough, I had everything I needed already at home, so I bought some manicotti and brought it home.

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Quick Meatless Enchiladas

Recipes in this Post

Elena's Chicken Shish Kabob - the Number 7 plate - my favorite
Elena’s Chicken Shish Kabob – the Number 7 plate – my favorite

There is a wonderful restaurant in Glendale, California, called Elena’s Greek Armenian Cuisine that we go to quite frequently. The rice pilaf is just the best, I could eat it every day. Dinners are usually served with a tomato and green Anaheim chili that have been grilled on the barbecue. Often, we don’t finish everything, so I wind up picking up the rice, tomato, and chili pepper in a to go box.

In 2010, I threw together a dish for Teacher Appreciation Day at my son, Spane’s elementary school. I was in a rush, and when I was asked later how I made it, I didn’t even remember. In 2012, the PTA is now putting out a cookbook, and I was again asked about that recipe, so I started wracking my brain to figure out what it was.

Tonight, being a Friday, and wanting to use up leftovers, but not eat meat, I remembered there was a box from Elena’s in the refrigerator. I also had some corn tortillas, some cheddar cheese, and a half-full jar of green enchilada sauce. Serendipitously, while making this, I rediscovered that old recipe!

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Shrimp Stuffed Wontons

Shrimp stuffed wonton

Make these fried shrimp stuffed wontons as part of a Chinese feast, or enjoy them as an after-school snack. You can even make them in the air fryer.

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Stuffed Mushrooms in Wine Sauce

Stuffed Mushrooms in Wine Sauce

Love Mushrooms

I love mushrooms, and lately, I have been finding nice big ones at the local corner store. I picked up six of them and decided to wait and have them stuffed for our meatless Friday meal.

The Nesco is the perfect appliance to cook them, as they do not dry out, and can steam in wine. Clean up is a snap, and your kitchen does not heat up.

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