Casserole, crab style

Maryland Crab Casserole

Made: December 25, 2013

Ingredients
- 1 pound crabmeat, well-picked
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Dash pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

Directions
- Grease bottom and sides of a 2-qt. baking dish
- Combine crabmeat, eggs, parsley, 3 tablespoon butter, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, milk and green pepper
- Gently pat into dish
- Combine bread crumbs with remaining butter; sprinkle on top
- Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until set

I added in some old bay seasoning to the top topping. I also doubled the recipe to fill a 3qt dish, but I used 1 can of evaporated milk (which was 1 1/2 cups) which seemed to fit perfectly in the dish. I also omitted the green peppers for my Granny. But 1 tablespoon wasn't much to worry over anyway.

(Recipe used: recipelion.com)

Chees'd up Tuna

Sarah's Tuna Casserole Supreme

Made: March 8, 2013

Ingredients
- 16 oz package wide egg noodles, uncooked
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1 - 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 6oz cans tuna, drained
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can golden mushroom souo
- 1/2 pound pasteurized process cheese spread, cubed
- 1 can peas, drained
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup potato chips, crushed
- Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions
- Cook noodles as packages directs, drain and set aside
- In a large skillet over medium-heat, sauté onion and celery in butter until translucent
- Add cooked noodles to skillet
- Stir in tuna, soups and cheese spread
- Cook until blended and cheese is melted, one to two minutes
- Stir in peas
- Transfer to lightly greased baking pan
- Top with cheddar cheese
- Bake, uncovered for at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, until hot and bubbly
- Top with crushed potato chips
- Return to oven and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, until chips are golden

I love the cheesiness to this recipe. I didn't use an onion and I used 2 cans of Cream of Celery soup instead. I cooked it for about 12 minutes until the cheese was melted enough to top with potato chips then baked for 8 more minutes.

(Recipe used: Gooseberry Patch; Mom's very best recipes)

Buttered rice with Fish

Parleyed Rice Pilaf + Marinated Cod

Made: February 23, 2013

Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cup dried minced onion
- 4 teaspoons butter
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
- 2 cups instant rice
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Directions
- In a small saucepan, bring the water, onion, butter and bouillon to a boil
- Stir in rice and parsley
- Remove from heat
- Cover and let stand for 5 minutes
- Fluff with fork

I only had bullion cubes; so I used two for this recipe. I paired this with marinated Cod filets (the marinate was a ginger soy sauce) instead of the pairing recipe from our book. Since they were pre-marinated, I wanted to find a suitable side to match.

If interested in the fish recipe: read on below! (I cooked the fish as directed for time estimation, but I did not make the sauce)

Asian Snapper with Capers
Ingredients
- 4 red snapper fillets (6 oz each)
- 4 1/2 teaspoons Mongolian Fire oil or Sesame oil
- 1/4 cup apple jelly
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger-root

Directions
- In a large skillet, cook fillets in oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork
- Remove from pan and keep warm
- Stir the jelly, ketchup, capers, lemon juice, soy sauce and ginger into the skillet
- Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened
- Serve with red snapper

(Recipe used: Taste of Home Quick Cooking Annual Recipes 2013)

Tuna with chips

Mom's Tuna Casserole

Made: January 26, 2013

Ingredients
- 2 cans (12oz each) tuna, drained & flaked
- 3 cups diced celery
- 3 cups crushed potato chips (divided)
- 6 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
- 1 can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
- Combine tuna, celery, 2 1/2 cups potato chips, eggs, soups, mayonnaise, tarragon and pepper in slow cooker
- Mix together well
- Cover and cook on low 5-8 hours
- Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup potato chips before serving

I did just a couple differences, I used 2 cans of cream of celery soup and only used 4 eggs since it was beginning to be more egg than tuna. Overall, it had a good taste and was different (but good) with the egg added in

(Recipe used: Crock-Pot: 365 Year-Round Recipes)

Tuna & Rice

Tuna Rice Casserole

Made: January 6, 2013

Ingredients
- 1 can Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- Dash ground red pepper
- 2 cans (6oz each) tuna, drained
- 4 oz sliced American cheese, cut up (1 cup)
- 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions
- Stir the soup, milk, paprika, red pepper, tuna, cheese and rice in a 9in square baking dish
- Cover the dish with foil
- Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes
- Uncover the dish and stir
- Mix the bread crumbs with the butter in a small bowl and sprinkle over the tuna mixture
- Bake for 20 more minutes or until hot and bubbly and the rice is tender

My cans of tuna were only 5oz each, so I added a 3rd can to my mixture. I also pre-mixed it all in a bowl before transferring it to my baking dish (which was also rectangular and not square). For the bread crumbs, I live full coverage, so I melted 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. Sprinkled all over the top and baked for 10 more minutes. I also used Velveeta cheese cut up into small cubes/squares & cream of celery soup.

(Recipe used: Campbell's)

Fishy Salad

German Herring Salad

Made: January 1, 2013

Ingredients
- 1 jar (16oz) herring in wine sauce, drained
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 or 4 dill pickles, sliced (optional)

Directions
- Cut herring into bite-sized pieces
- Stir in sour cream (add more if needed)
- Add in the dill pickle slices
- Mix ingredients together until well coated
- Server immediate or refrigerate until needed

Being German, I love the tradition of eating a piece of herring at midnight. However, I had some Herring Salad in Epcot-Germany at Disney World and have been craving a good recipe since. This is just perfect! I used about 10oz of herring (we had a 12oz jar and had a couple of pieces at midnight) and only 1 pickle (the size was the size of a single serve pickle from the deli) cut up into pieces. I also used only about 1/3 cup of Sour cream since I didn't use 16 oz.

(Recipe used: German dishes made easy)

Broiled Cod

Broiled Fish Fillets with Butter and Herbs

Made: December 25, 2012

Ingredients
Herb Mix
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
- 1/3 cup minced fresh chives

Fish dish
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 4 (6oz) pieces fish fillet
- Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
- About 3 teaspoons fresh bread crumbs
- Lemon wedges

Directions
- Set an oven rack in the top position, slide in a cast-iron griddle, and turn on the broiler
- Let the griddle heat for 15 minutes
- Meanwhile, toss the parsley, dill and chives together in a small bowl
- Pour the butter into a soup plate
- Dip each piece of the fish into the butter to coat it on both sides, the lay the fish skin side down on a work surface and season with salt and white pepper
- Divide the herb mix among the fish filets, sprinkling it evenly
- Sprinkle each fillet with about 1 teaspoon bread crumbs and par the coating onto the fish
- Drizzle each fillet with a little of the butter
- Set the fillets skin side down on the griddle
- You’ll hear and immediate and very satisfying sizzle
- Broil the fish for about 3 minutes, until the crumbs are toasty and caramelized
- Serve with lemon wedges

We crusted both side of the cod (and also used 8 small pieces of fish instead of 4) so we doubled the recipe a little bit. But overall, it came out better than we thought for our first time making fish. We didn't use white pepper, but just normal black pepper. We also didn't have chives, but overall, the fish had a really good taste!

(Recipe used: Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion)

Cheesy Tuna

Tuna Melt Pot Pie

Made: October 21, 2012

Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked rotini pasta (9oz)
- 1 can condensed Cheddar cheese soup (or 1 can condensed cream of mushroom/celery)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup)
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4oz)
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 can (12 oz) white tuna in water, drained & flaked
- 1 can (2.8 oz) French-fried onions

Directions
- Heat oven to 375 F
- Spray 9 1/2in glass deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray
- Cook & drain pasta as directed on package
- In large bowl, mix soup & milk
- Stir in cooked pasta, tomato and cheeses
- Gently fold in tuna
- Spoon into pie plate
- Cover with foil, bake 30 mintues
- Uncover, sprinkle onions evenly over top
- Bake 5 minutes longer or until onions are light golden brown

I only did a couple things differently:
- I used a rectangular baking dish instead
- I used both rotini and bowtie pastas as I only had a little left per box and combined I reached the 3 cups needed
- I used cream of celery soup for this recipe; no cheddar cheese soup in the house and since Granny was joining us, no mushrooms
- I forgot about the Parmesan cheese (oops)
- Granny was joining us, so no fried onions.
- I used a can of pre-diced tomatoes. Just as easy and less of a mess to clean up after
- I used 15oz of tuna since my cans are only 5oz each and I like tuna; it evened up nicely in the end
- I used the rest of the shredded cheddar cheese (less than a handful left) and added 4 oz of Veleetta cheese to the mix

Overall, I think this was a new spin on a tuna casserole and I plan to make this again during the Lenten season!

(Recipe used: Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2012)

Tuna Skillet

Tuna & Pasta Cheddar Melt

Made: September 27, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 3 cups uncooked rotini pasta
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup milk
- 1 can tuna, drained & flaked
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons Italian-seasoned dry bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
- Heat the broth and the water to a boil over medium-high heat in a large skillet
- Add the past and cook until it's just tender, stirring often; do not drain
- Stir in the soup, mulk and tuna
- Top with cheese
- Mix the bread crumbs with the melted butter
- Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top
- Heat throughout

I melted the cheese within the pasta than just sprinkling it on top. I also used about 1 1/2 handfuls of the shredded cheddar cheese we have left and used a good 2 tablespoons of Velveeta cheese :) I also used cream of broccoli soup since my Granny was joining us for dinner.

(Recipe used: Campbell's Easy Skillets)

Mustard and Fish

Baked Salmon Fillets Dijon

Made: March 16, 2012

Ingredients
- 4 4-oz fillets salmon
- 3 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup Italian-style dry bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Line a shallow baking pan with aluminum foil
- Place salmon skin-side down on foil
- Spread a thin layer of mustard on the top of each fillet, and season with salt and pepper
- Top with bread crumbs, then drizzle with melted butter
- Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork

I bought the salmon from Target (on sale!) and I didn't know they had skin on them. Even though I cleaned them up (as best as I could) it still had scales. :( Boo. I also baked them for about 17 minutes at 350 degrees as it said on the packaging. But the salmon with with Dijon Mustard was quite tasty! :) Rob sided it with steamed green beans & pasta bowties :)

(Recipe used: allrecipes.com)

Pot Pie, Tuna style

Quick Tuna Skillet Pot Pie

Made: January 17, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup cooked small shell pasta
- 1 can cream of celery soup
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 can (6 oz) can tuna, drained & flaked
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon dillweed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tube refrigerated country-style biscuits (10 count)

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- In a medium ovenproof skillet over medium heat, melt butter
- Add onion and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently
- Stir in cooked pasta, soup, peas, tuna, sour cream, dillweed & salt; mix well
- Cook 3 minutes or until heated through
- Use the back of a spoon to press mixture down in skillet to make an even layer
- Separate dough into 10 biscuits and place them over tuna mixture in skillet
- Bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and tuna mixture is bubbly

I had a couple of differences. I didn't want to accidentally put the wrong skillet in the oven, so I used my dutch oven instead. I also thought I had a can of Cream of Celery, but I did not. So I used Cream of Broccoli. Also, no onion as I was making this for my granny as well. And she loves anything tuna. But overall, it was quite yummy, just like Tuna Casserole with a biscuit on top :)

(Recipe from: Rock your Rolls)

Creamy Tomatoes & Crab Soup

Zesty Tomato Crab Bisque

Made: October 2, 2011

Ingredients:
- 2 cans (19 oz each) Progresso Vegetable Classics hearty tomato soup
- 1 can (7 oz) Old El Paso chopped green chilies
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning
- 3/4 cup chopped cooked crabmeat
- Fresh thyme sprigs, if desired

Directions:
- In a 3-quart saucepan, heat soup and chilies to boiling over medium heat
- Reduce head to low
- Beat in cream and seasoning with whisk until blended
- Cook just until hot; do not boil
- Stir in crabmeat
- Ladle soup into individual small mugs
- Top each serving with thyme

I used about 1/2 of the recipe. A family of 3 doesn't really need 12 servings. But having it as a smaller size made it full of crabmeat! So it was worth it. :)

I didn't use chilies, I had some salsa verde, so I added in a teaspoon of that for a kick along with the Old Bay seasoning. I also didn't serve it with thyme as Rob's serving would be the only one with it. But it came out nice and creamy. I thought it had a nice flavor. :)

(Recipe from: Pillsbury)

Chinese Crab

Tropical Crab Rangoon Appetizers

Made: October 2, 2011

Ingredients:
- 1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese hot mustard, if desired
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained, coarsely chopped
- 1 can (6 oz) lump crabmeat, drained
- 1/4 cup pineapple ice cream topping
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 4 medium green onions, chopped

Directions:
- Heat oven to 400°F
- Prep cooking sheet
- Unroll pizza crust dough on cookie sheet; press dough into 17x12-inch rectangle
- Bake 7 to 9 minutes or just until crust is light golden brown
- Meanwhile in large bowl, beat cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard and garlic salt with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth
- Stir in water chestnuts and crabmeat, being careful to break up crabmeat as little as possible
- Spread crabmeat mixture over partially baked crust to within 1 inch of edges
- Spoon small spoonfuls of pineapple topping evenly over crabmeat mixture; spread evenly
- Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese and onions
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes longer or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown
- Cool 5 to 10 minutes before cutting

I made mine a bit different. When I opened my pizza dough, it stuck to the sides and was uncooperative ... and then broke in 1,000 different pieces. So I ended up using crescent rolls instead. I still had some issues. I broke those trying to lay them out. Then I had the worse time getting them off the foil even though I lightly sprayed that (just in case).

Rob eats everything, but the ladies in the family do not. So I didn't use water chestnuts, pineapple ice cream topping or the green onions. And then I forgot to add the cheese. :x But it still came out super yummy and reminded me of the ones we get from the Chinese take out place, just deconstructed. :) I'm sure this would be a yummy crab dip as well.

(Recipe from: Pillsbury)

Crabs in the oven

Baked Maryland Lump Crab Cakes

Made: September 29, 2011

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning (Old Bay)
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons butter; melted
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 cup cholesterol-free egg product
- 1 pound lump crab meat

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Grease/Prep baking sheet
- Combine bread crumbs, baking powder, parsley, mustard powder, pepper & seafood seasoning; set aside
- Stir together mayonnaise, butter, Worcestershire & egg product until smooth
- Fold in crab meat
- Fold in bread crumb mixture until well blended
- Shape mixture into 12 crab cakes (about 3/4 inch thick) & place on prepared baking sheet
- Bake for 15 minutes; turn the crab cakes over and bake for an additional 10 minutes; until nicely browned

It's definitely been awhile :)

I didn't want to fry the crab cakes as my Granny has horrible acid reflux and I didn't want to mess with the broiler option of the oven as I spent too much time picking all the crab meat (it was the never ending bag!) so I found a recipe to bake them. I think they turned out nicely :D A slight crunch on the outside, but completely moist on the inside.

I didn't use the exact measurements. I had about 3 cups of crab meat from the crabs I picked, so I used about a cup's worth of the bin. I used 2 tablespoons of mayo and 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and an extra teaspoon of old bay. Instead of mustard powder, I used a squirt of Dijon mustard in the mayo mixture instead & I used 1 egg (white & yolk). :) Enjoy!

(Recipe from: allrecipes)