Salt & Vinegar Chip Crab Cakes

I can’t believe that I almost missed this month of the Improv Cooking Challenge as I just have not been able to get my act together lately;  I just seem unable to sit down at the computer and actually blog.  Life has been busy and come night time, I just haven’t been in the mood to open up my laptop.  Not only have I been neglectful on this blog, but also on our family blog, Moments with Maisie.  I mean seriously, it took me a month and a half to post the pictures from our recent transatlantic cruise and time in Barcelona.  My posting was so slow that friends and family called and emailed to see if we were okay because it took so long to post!  Well today I’m making up for it… a bit.  A catch-up post on Moments with Maisie and finally, a new recipe here. 

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the specified ingredients of fish & chips!  She actually opened the scope of the challenge quite a bit as items like Swedish fish and chocolate chips could be counted as valid challenge fish and chip ingredients.  I thought about going the sweet route but in the end decided to go savory, a bit more traditional fish & chips…but with a twist. 

Now if I made traditional English fish & chips, well Eammon would be all over that one considering that he’s from London and next to Chicken Tikka Masala, it’s his fave!  I enjoy a good fish & chips dinner once in (rare) while but Maisie with her allergies, well it’s not something that she ever eats because I don’t deep fry and when we’re out, it’s not Maisie “safe”.  I thought about topping a nice piece of fish with some potato chips but as I did something similar for the July challenge with my Fritos Crusted Pollock, I needed something a bit different. 

I was looking in the freezer and saw that I had crabmeat and Maisie’s been on a salt & vinegar potato chip kick lately, and it hit me… crab cakes made with salt & vinegar chips.  I knew that Maisie would love them as would Eammon, I mean fish, potato and vinegar…well yum!

And well YUM these were, and easy too!  They are Maisie “safe” as they don’t contain wheat, egg or dairy like traditional crab cakes but instead use a combination of chia seed and flax seed as the binders.  The crab cakes were simple and the flavor of the crab was the star with hints of the potato chips.  I served the crab cakes simply with fresh from the garden peppers and tomatoes and an extra serving of salt & vinegar chips.  A delicious and healthy fish & chips meal which was a huge hit with all of us in the Cook Lisa Cook home.

Salt & Vinegar Chip Crab Cakes

• 1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
• 3/4 cup crushed salt & vinegar potato chips
• 3 green onions, green and white parts finely chopped
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 TBS. chia seed 
• 3 TBS. golden flax seed 
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard 
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 
• corn starch, for dusting
• salt & pepper, to taste
• peanut oil or oil of your choice

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients except for the corn starch, salt & pepper (to taste) and peanut oil.  In a smaller bowl mix together the corn starch and season with the salt and pepper.   Using a large cookie scoop, portion out the crab mixture and shape into patties (I got 15 patties).  Dust each of the patties on all sides with the corn starch mixture. 

Over medium-high heat, heat a large cast iron skillet and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  When the oil is hot, carefully place the crab cakes, in batches, into the pan and fry until browned and then carefully flip the crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown.  Serve hot, plain, with some malt vinegar or sauce of your choice.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

May 2013  Cinnamon & Sugar:  Cinnamon Bun Cookie Bars  
April 2013  Bacon & Eggs:  Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups 
March 2013  Carrots & Peas:  Mom’s Beef Vegetable Soup 
February 2013  Hearts & Flours:  Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites
January 2013  Bananas & Nutmeg:  Baked Bananas 
December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Baked Meatballs

Maisie adores meatballs and last week she asked for some and as they’re so simple to make I whipped up a batch.  Because of Maisie’s allergies I don’t use eggs or bread crumbs when making the meatballs.  To substitute for the egg I use chia seeds and for the bread I use potato flakes.  To add some extra calories I also incorporate ground walnuts into the mixture and they add a really nice texture to the finished meatball.  These meatballs have great flavor and texture and I love that Maisie adores them and will easily eat six to eight of them at one go.  Maisie enjoys eating the meatballs dipped either in ketchup or bbq sauce but they’re also delicious over pasta with a sauce or as part of a meatball sub sandwich. 

 Everything goes in one bowl and is mixed together,

 I portion out the meat using a large cookie scoop then roll the scoops into balls before placing them on a foil lined baking sheet.  Twenty minutes in the oven and Maisie’s meatballs are ready to serve.

Baked Meatballs

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 2 TBS chia seeds
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 oz. tomato paste
• 1/2 cup potato flakes
• 1 cup ground walnuts
• 1 TBS Italian seasoning 
• 2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Line a sheet pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl add the hot water and chia seeds and mix well.  Allow the chia seeds to hydrate for five minutes.  Add all the other ingredients and using your hands mix well.  Using a large cookie scoop portion out the meat.  Roll the portioned out meat into balls and place the meatballs on a the prepared pan.  Bake for 20 minutes, until cooked through.  Serve with sauce or as Maisie likes them, with a side of ketchup or bbq sauce.

Enjoy!

Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms

The reason that I call these Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms is because I use the exact same recipe to make crab cakes but I like these better as I’m adding the mushroom and I’m not frying anything.  If you choose to make these into crab cakes just leave out the mushroom and with the filling, pat it into cakes, dust lightly with flour and fry in a hot skillet drizzled with oil.  Fry until browned, 4-5 minutes and then carefully flip to fry the other side until golden.

Using a tablespoon I fill the mushrooms really full with the filling and then I sprinkle on some paprika.  These are ready for the oven.

Crab Cake Stuffed Mushrooms

• 24 oz. mushrooms
• 1 pound crabmeat, picked clean of shells
• 22 Ritz Crackers, crushed finely
• 3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Hellmann’s real mayonnaise 
• 1 TBS chia seeds, stir into 1/4 cup warm water and allow to hydrate and form a gel (or substitute one egg)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard 
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• Paprika

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. 

Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems and with a spoon scoop out the gills.  Set aside the stems and gills for another recipe, (soon to be posted.)  In a large bowl, except for the mushroom caps, mix together all the ingredients.  Using a Tablespoon fill the mushroom caps nice and high with the filling.  Place the filled mushrooms on the prepared baking pan and dust with paprika. 

Bake for 20 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and the top of the filling is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

This is my fifth month participating in the Improv Cooking Challenge which is hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  As always I looked forward to participating and finding or coming up with a great recipe which included the two theme ingredients.  This month the participating bloggers were asked to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of ginger and carrots.  At first I was going to make a soup, being that it’s winter…supposedly…as our temperatures had been balmy and gorgeous…well until this past week when we hit the deep freeze…but even so, I decided to make something light, healthy and fresh, thus my Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing.  I loved this salad so much and as I had plenty of dressing, I ended up eating it for lunch five days in a row,.

This Carrot Ginger Dressing is very similar to what is served in Japanese restaurants so if you enjoy it out I’d suggest making it at home as it’s super simple and it keeps in the fridge for about a week.

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake 
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies 

Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

raw shrimp, peeled & deveined, tail left on
Shichimi togarashi
chia seeds
baby salad greens
avocado, peeled & sliced
tomato, sliced
carrot, julienned

Dry the shrimp well and then lightly sprinkle with the Shichimi togarashi and chia seeds.  Cook the shrimp under the broiler or in a lightly oiled hot pan until they are opaque and just cooked through.  Arrange the salad greens, avocado, tomato, cooked shrimp and carrots on a plate and drizzle on the Carrot Ginger Dressing.

 

Carrot Ginger Dressing

1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 TBS. chopped peeled fresh ginger
fruit pulp from 1/2 of a lemon
1 TBS. ketchup
1/4 tsp. Shichimi togarashi 
2 TBS. water
1/2 cup Grapeseed oil

Put all the dressing ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about a week.

Enjoy!