I’ve been hesitant in the past to mess around with crab because it is a pricey protein option and the idea of messing something up didn’t sit well with me.

However I reached a point where I realized that if we don’t experiment in the kitchen we won’t grow as cooks.  And that doesn’t do anyone any good.  So in the name of Embracing Cooking, I decided to start experimenting more with crab.

And that lead to twice baked potatoes!

Andrea’s Crab Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

• 2 Large Russet Baking Potatoes, scrubbed
• 8oz Crab Claw Meat, drained, rinsed, and checked for shell
• 1/2 Red Pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 Green Pepper, finely chopped
• 1/4 Red Onion, finely chopped
• 4 Slices of crispy bacon, chopped
• 1TBSP Grainy Mustard
• 2tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2TBSP Prepared Horseradish
• 1/2C Shredded Cheddar
• Big Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2-1tsp of Garlic Powder
• 1tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• Olive Oil for sauteeing, about 1/2 TBSP

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, poke holes in the potatoes with a knife, and wrap in foil.  Bake for about an hour until potatoes are soft and cooked through.

Remove potatoes from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.

Cut the top off of the potato and scoop out insides into a large mixing bowl.  You want the potato to look like a boat but don’t scoop so much out the potato loses structure.

In a medium sized skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add in the peppers and onion and sautee just till they start to soften.  About 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add to the mixing bowl.

Add in the crab, bacon, mustard, horseradish, worcestershire, and seasonings along with 1/4C of the cheddar.  Start to stuff the potatoes.  This makes a lot of filling and the potatoes will be stuffed to the tippy-top.

Before serving, heat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  Spray or brush olive oil on the baking sheet and place the potatoes on top.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the insides are hot.  Sprinkle on remaining cheddar and allow to melt.

Remove from oven and serve!

These potatoes hit the spot! And because they are large, they can be used as a main dish.  Just add some veggies or a salad on the side to round things out.

I kept the flavors similar to that of a crab cake with the use of the peppers and onion.  I knew that combination already worked so I ran with it and incorporated it into the twice baked.

The potato is very filling! So much so, that I could only eat half and saved the other half for the next day.

One reason I loved twice baked potatoes is because they can be made up to a day ahead of time, then you just have to heat them right before serving.  Add a few extra minutes to the time if they are going from fridge to oven.

They also are perfect for freezing!

Remember guys, have fun and always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 2

We had some leftover rice from the previous night’s dinner and I had some chard that needed used up.  Combine the two and you’ve got a great lunch!

It was super quick to put together.  I sauteed up:

• 1/4 Onion, sliced
• 1/4 Green Pepper, sliced
• Once large bunch of chard, chopped
• Shredded carrots
• A few broccoli florets

Sauteed in some olive oil with a pinch of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, and garlic powder.

Added in the leftover rice at the end and cooked just long enough for it to heat through.

Spooned in bowls, topped with a bit of shredded cheddar and a few dashes of hot sauce.

Perfect warm lunch and super easy to put together.  Could be assembled the night before or early in the morning to take to work.

The only thing I had to chop was the chard. I already had shredded carrots on hand ready for weekday salads.  I had sauteed onions and peppers leftover from dinner a previous day and I had broccoli in a bagged, prepped and ready to go.

The idea was to use up what I had on hand to make a quick meal.

You can also add in some extra protein by adding in beans or some scrambled eggs.  If you have leftover meat or fish from dinner the night before, you could add that too. Whatever you like and whatever you have on hand is the concept for this dish.

It’s a great way to utilize leftovers and to make a quick filling meal.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 6

Homes all over will smell like kraut that day and grocery stores have sales on the stuff starting a few weeks before New Year’s.

It’s just not New Year’s if you don’t have pork and kraut. Scott embraced this tradition with open arms.  Not really surprising since his previous tradition was boiled cabbage and ketchup.

Um.

I would wager a guess and say that this dish is probably a little tastier than that.

It’s also made with beer, onions, and peppers. Plus being tossed in a crockpot.  Winner!

Andrea’s Country Ribs With Sauerkraut

• 4-6, Country Style Pork Ribs
• 1 32oz Jar of Sauerkraut, drained (but not rinsed!)
• 1 Onion, sliced thin
• 1 Green pepper, sliced thin
• 1TBSP Brown Sugar
• 1C Dark Lager Style Beer (I used Great Lakes Eliot Ness)
• Big Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
• 1tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2tsp Smoked Paprika

In the crockpot, add in beer and brown sugar, and stir.  Then add in the kraut, onion, and pepper along with the spices, then mix.  Place ribs in crockpot on top of the kraut mixture.  Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.

Serve immediately!

Typically this dish is served with a large helping of mashed potatoes on the side and the kraut mixture on top.

If you don’t have any beer or would like to use something else, I would recommend some beef stock.

You could swap out the ribs for a pork butt roast.  Once that’s cooked, just shred the pork into the kraut mixture.  Would be great for a party or game day because you could serve this as sandwiches.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!

Comments: 2

I have a 9in cast iron skillet which is perfect for some things but not perfect for everything.  A larger one would allow me a little more variety of uses.

Oh Christmas my wish came true and I was gifted with a 12 inch cast iron skillet.  I even got a little handle holder and trivet for it as well!

Every year for Christmas Dinner, Scott and I enjoy a standing rib roast.  It’s our once a year splurge and so worth every penny!

This year, I put my brand new cast iron skillet to work right away by using it for Christmas Dinner.  It worked out perfectly!

It wasn’t long before I used it again to roast some veggies.  Scott was having leftovers and I was in the mood for some veggie action.  I chopped up some:

• Red Onion
• Green Pepper
• Blue Potatos
• Yellow Squash
• Carrots
• Sundried Tomatoes, reconstituted in hot water water

Tossed that with olive oil and seasoned with:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Red Pepper Flakes

Roasted at 400 for about half an hour, until the potatoes were tender.  Once the veggies were done, I pulled the pan out of the oven and splashed on a bit of red wine for “sauce”.

Placed the veggies on some cooked barley, topped with shredded parm and dinner was served!

Very easy to put together and super filling!

Dinner and meals don’t always have to be a complicated affair.  A few simple ingredients can go a long way to creating something filling and comforting. Keep it simple!

Comments: 2

Then dips kind of got pushed aside for a while here at the HQ, and now I’m looking to bring them back.  I’ve been recreating a lot of my favorite flavors of dip and using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

So far I’ve been successful!  The first dip I made was a roasted veggie dip that’s creamy, full of dill punch, and roasted veggie goodness.

Andrea’s Roasted Veggie Dip

• 1/4 Small or Medium Red Onion, chunked
• 1/2 Red or Green Pepper, chunked
• 1 Small or Medium Size Carrot, peeled and chunked
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 1/2C Greek Yogurt
• 1 1/2TBSP Dried Dill
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2TBSP Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400F. Toss veggies with olive oil and a large pinch of salt and pepper.  Roast on a baking sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the onions and peppers have started to brown and caramelize.  Stir once while roasting.  Remove veggies from oven and set aside to cool.

Once veggies are cool, place in a food processor and pulse until the veggies start to break down.  Scrape down the sides, and add in the yogurt, dill, cayenne pepper, a little more salt and pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.  Pulse until smooth leaving the veggies a little chunky so there’s  a little texture to the dip.

Place in a glass bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.  Can be made the day before.  Serve chilled with your favorite veggies and chips!

By letting the dip sit in the fridge for a few hours, this allows the flavors to mingle and get more pronounced.  It’s actually best if you make this a day before you want to serve it.  Before serving, give a taste and see what you think.  If you feel there needs to be more dill added, sprinkle in a bit more.  Some people really love dill and if that’s you, go crazy with it!

What I really enjoy about this dip is that it is made with fresh ingredients along with the added bonus of using Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream.  Greek Yogurt has the benefits of yogurt along with a high protein content.  You can feel good about eating this dip!

You can also switch up the veggies to suite your tastes. Like broccoli? Add it in! You can play around with flavors and use what you have on hand or what you like.

TIPS:

Switch out the Greek Yogurt for cream cheese and now you have your own roasted veggie cream cheese.

This can also be used on sandwichs as a flavor packed spread.

If you can’t find Greek Yogurt or feel it’s too pricey for your budget, you can quick make your own.  Line a fine mesh strainer with paper towels or a cheese cloth and dump in plain 2% yogurt.  Allow to strain for several hours until most of the whey is removed.  You’ll be left with a thicker yogurt or “yogurt cheese”.  Then just follow the recipe for making the dip!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 4

But we have it all the time and I use it in a lot of different applications.  Sweet potatoes were something that was completely traditional for Scott to have at Thanksgiving so we couldn’t skip them.

What to do? They had to be part of the menu yet as a side dish would put us way over the edge.

I decided to remove them as a side dish and return them as dessert.

This has worked out very well!  We’re still getting sweet potatoes for the big day but not as a sticky gross mess (sorry but that whole marshmallow thing needs to go!).  Instead it’s served up in pie form!

And if you’ve got folks who claim they hate pumpkin (GASP!) you can serve them this instead!

This year I experimented a little and added a crumb topping and some good rum into the mix.

Andrea’s Rum and Sweet Potato Pie

For The Crust:

• 2C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/4C Coconut Oil
• 1TBSP Light Olive Oil
• 1/2TBSP Sugar
• Cold Water

Combine flour, oils, and sugar into a food processor.  Pulse and slowly add in the cold water, 1/4C at a time.  Pulse until the mixture comes together and starts to form a ball.  The mixture should be easy to handle and come out of the food processor without sticking.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least two hours.  Can be made up to two days ahead of time.

For the Filling:

• 1, Very Large Sweet Potato
• 2TBSP Butter, room temperature
• 1/4C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/4C Dark Rum
• 1tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4tsp Ground Clove
• 1TBSP Molasses
• 2TBSP Brown Sugar, Packed
• 2tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2tsp Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Poke holes in the sweet potato and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake until a knife can be inserted easily.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.  Remove the outer skin and place sweet potato into a bowl for your stand mixer.  Add all the remaining ingredients for the filling and mix until everything is well blended.

For The Topping:

• 1C Pecan Halves
• 1C Oats
• 1/4C Rum
• 1TBSP Brown Sugar
• 1TBSP Butter

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it resembles a crumble mixture.

Assembling and Baking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pull out a 9inch pie pan and grease using nonstick spray or olive oil.  Roll out pie dough until it’s about 1/4inch thick.  Place and fit into pie pan.  Crimp the edges and use a fork to poke holes in the bottom to allow steam to escape.  Add filling and smooth the top.  Sprinkle crumble topping on top using all of the mixture.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes.  A toothpick inserted will come out clean.  Remove and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Serve and enjoy!

This pie went over very well this year!  The crust was flavorful but since I used whole wheat pastry flour, it had some great chew to it.  I like pie crusts to have some heft and not be too much like a pastry.

The rum was extremely prominent in this pie!  Next time I would probably leave out the rum in the crumble topping but feel free to play around with it and see what you like! I would probably add a little bit more olive oil or butter to the topping as well so it has a little bit more moisture to it.

Leftovers can be frozen and pulled out when you feel like a little slice of the holidays is necessary.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!

Comments: 3

Everyone else is starting to post holiday cookie recipes and I’m over here still talking turkey.

This is my last leftover post and then you are free to put Thanksgiving behind you.  Or if you’re like us, you’ve got leftovers in the freezer and might be pulling them out soon to make this.

It was two days after Thanksgiving and I wanted to use up a little bit more turkey before it was wrapped up and placed in the freezer.  I thought of making sandwichs and I knew soup was right out.

I wanted something fun and a little different.  Plus it was a game night and game foods started running through my head.

I finally settled on nachos!

Turkey nachos, easy, different, and fun to eat.

Andrea’s Turkey Nachos

• Leftover Turkey, cubed or shredded
• 1/2  Red Onion, chopped
• 1 Green Pepper, chopped
• 1 Carrot, shredded
• 1 Can Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1C Frozen Corn
• Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• 2C Your Favorite Salsa
• Shredded Cheese
• Tortilla Chips

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray or olive oil.  Put a layer of tortilla chips on the baking sheet.

In a sautee pan, add in about 1/2TBSP olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Add in the onion, pepper, carrot and season with a little salt, garlic powder, and chili powder (amounts are to your taste).  Sautee for about two minutes.  Add in the turkey, beans, and salsa.  Heat until everything is heated through.

Remove mixture from heat and pour over the tortilla chips.  Sprinkle the top with your favorite cheese and place in oven.  Bake about 10 minutes, just until the cheese is melty and bubbly.

Remove from heat and serve with guacamole and sour cream!

Perfect way to get out of the Thanksgiving leftover rut and simple enough to put together that you aren’t slaving away in the kitchen.  Again.

I used pepperjack cheese and chihuahua cheese.  Nice and creamy melty goodness!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 2

It wasn’t until I moved away to college in central PA that I learned most people call latkes potato pancakes.  Imagine my surprise when I ordered potato pancakes at a restaurant once and was served up latkes instead of what I know as potato pancakes.

No worries, I adore latkes because I will eat potato just about any way you want to serve it to me!

I honestly am not sure how my mom made her potato pancakes but this is how I do mine.

Amounts on ingredients will vary depending on how much leftover mashed potatoes you have.  If there’s a lot, you will probably need to up the flour and egg amounts.

Andrea’s Potato Pancakes

• Leftover Mashed Potatoes
• 3TBSP White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 Egg, beaten
• Breadcrumbs
• Olive Oil

Combine beaten egg, flour and mashed potatoes.  In a large skillet, heat about 2TBSP of olive oil over medium heat.  Scoop up some potato mixture and form into a small to medium sized patty.  Cover patty with breadcrumbs and gently lay into the skillet.  Repeat until you have used up all the potato mixture.

If you have a lot, consider cooking in two batches.

Cook potato pancake about two minutes on each side, until the breadcrumbs are crisp and the insides are warmed through.  Remove from heat and serve!

These are crispy, and if you’ve soaked your potatoes before mashing, they are light and fluffy.  Great as a side dish and you can also top with gravy if you want.

You probably should.

They can be kept warm in an oven and freeze very well.  When reheating, just place on a baking sheet and heat in a 375 degree oven until they are heated through.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 8

Every week I’ll watch the mini-marathons on Monday and Friday evenings.  And so help you if you try to stand in my way and prevent me from watching the show because I will take you out.

I even have an app on my phone (TV Diner, awesome, you should totally get it) to help me find spots featured on the show.

It’s a great way to introduce local and independent restaurants to folks plus I learn a lot of great tips.  On one episode I saw, a diner soaks their fries in water for 24 hours before frying them.  It helps them achieve a really crispy fry.

You don’t say?

I’ve tried it and it does help make for a crispy fry, and I make my fries in the oven.

This Thanksgiving, I wondered if I could apply that concept to making mashed potatoes.

It occured to me that if I soak the cubed potoates in a lightly salted bowl of water, that might help remove some of the starch and result in a fluffier mashed potato.  Because potatoes have so much starch to them, sometimes they turn into a very thick and glue-like mess of mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are easy to make but they can be tricky to get the right consistency and texture.

In theory, removing some of the starch should help make for lighter and fluffier mashed potatoes, right?

Since I’m all about experimenting, I gave it a go.  The day before Thanksgiving, I peeled and cubed my potatoes and placed them in a large bowl.  I sprinkled in some salt and filled the bowl with cold water.  Stirring everything together and I set that in the fridge letting it hang out till I was ready to use it.

On Thanksgiving day, I drained the potatoes, dumped them in a pot and filled the pot with cold water.  Brought it up to a boil and went about the normal routine of making mashed potatoes.

The experiment totally worked!  We had the creamiest and fluffiest mashed potatoes!

Soaking the potatoes removed a good bit of the starch which meant they weren’t a heavy mess.

This technique also decreased the cooking time to bring the potatoes to fork tender, probably by about 10 minutes.

I also had less lumps and a much smoother texture.  I used Yukon Golds which are creamy potatoes on their own but this was a whole other level of creaminess.

I definitely will be doing this from now on when I make mashed potatoes.  I would imagine a full 24 hour soak isn’t necessary, just a few hours should do the trick.

Comments: 10

I had some crab that needed to be used and it occured to me that I could make a sort of crab and corn chowder.  I pondered over this for a few days until I had a set idea in mind.  Then I put it into motion and came up with a chowder that just might be one of my favorites.

Andrea’s Spicy Shrimp and Crab Corn Chowder

• 8oz Lump Crab Meat
• 2C, Frozen cooked shrimp (if using fresh, about 10-12 peeled and deviened shrimp)
• 1/2 Large Onion, chopped
• 2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 Ribs Celery, chopped (if you have some of the leafy hearts, use those)
• 2 Jalapenos, seeded and chopped
• 3 Slices of bacon, chopped
• 3 Ears of Corn, corn removed, keep the cobs (or 3C frozen corn)
• 1 1/2 QT of Chicken Stock
• 1tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2tsp Chili Powder
• 1/2tsp Smoked Paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Hot sauce

In a large soup pot, add in a little bit of olive oil, about 1/2 TBSP and heat over medium heat.  Add in the bacon and cook for about 2 minutes.  Let it start to crisp up.  If the bacon produced a lot of fat in the pan, you can discard some of it.  Completely up to you!  Next add in the onions, peppers, carrots, and celery.  Stir and season with seasonings.  Sautee for about 5 minutes until the veggies start to soften and break down.

Add in the chicken stock and the corn.  Also add in the cobs.  Bring up to a simmer and cover. Allow to simmer for about 30-45 minutes.  Remove cobs from the soup. With an immersion blender, blend up the soup unti everything is broken down and it starts to thicken up just a bit.

Stir and add in the crab and the shrimp.  Bring back up to a simmer and simmer for about 5-7 minutes until the crab and shrimp are heated through.  Add in a few dashes of hot sauce, to your taste.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Keep the hot sauce handy because you’ll want to add in some more at the table! Along with some oyster crackers of course!

This soup completely blew my mind.  By keeping the cobs in while it simmers that helps to really bring forth the corn flavor and sweetness.

The bacon isn’t overpowering, it provides just enough smokey goodness to the background.

The crab and shrimp are also a bit sweet which really pairs well with the corn.  However by adding in that extra hot sauce, the sweetness isn’t overpowering.  The hot sauce also provides a nice heat that builds up the more you eat.

This isn’t a super thick chowder, it’s right between chowder and soup.  Creamy texture but not a real heavy chowder consistency.

This makes enough for four big servings.  If you’ve got leftovers, you’ll want to eat them the next day.  Seafood doesn’t keep very long in the fridge. And just like with most soups, this one is even better the next day!

What’s your favorite kind of chowder?

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!

Comments: 6