Nomday: Crab Puffs of Epicness!

On June 29th one of my friends had a birthday - no I will not reveal her age, that is rude - but, I will reveal her love for crab rangoons, also known as crab puffs. I thought, what better gift than a bowl full of tempting bite-sized treats, made with love!

Truth is, I am not a fan of crab puffs, but I am happy to make them and even more happy when the work is enjoyed by others.

Crab Rangoons

Difficulty: 5 out of 10

Approximate Cost: $20

Approximate Yield: 40 Puffs

Approximate Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Approximate Cook Time: 1 Minute per Puff

Materials:

Deep Fryer / Small Sauce Pot

Tongs

Large Mixing Bowl

Mixing Spoon

Table Spoon or Melon Baller

Large Plate

Paper Towels

Small Knife

Fork

*Cool Tool of the Week*

This is one of those new and exciting things I mentioned last week. Starting with this post, I will try to showcase a cool kitchen gadget or maybe a neat trick that I used in the making of each week’s recipe. The idea; we have all seen the nifty things on the television, or been to a Pampered Chef, Tupperware or other at home shopping shindig, but while we see all these neat toys, err, tools for the kitchen, sometimes it is hard to figure when we would even use this item, or if it even does what it says it does. With that, I will be your scientist or guinea pig as the case may turn. I have quite a few gadgets already in my kitchen, thanks to my better half, and I have access to some others. If there are tools I do not have though and you are in the area or are willing to part with the item for a trial, please contact me. I am willing to try pretty much anything once.

Food Chopper of Awesome!

A few years back I knew so many people into the whole Pampered Chef thing. (Think they will send me cool stuff if I mention them enough?) My husband, being male, intelligent, mechanically inclined, loves to cook, still mentally twelve, and always looking to make things either more fun, interesting, or easy, fell in love with just about every kitchen tool in the Pampered Chef catalogue. I will admit, while I am not always a fan of having more junk around the house, most of the tools are pretty freaking cool. The Food Chopper is one of those tools.

The Food Chopper that I have is a manual deal, so I do not recommend this if you have trouble with a little bit of a workout. It comes with a little rubber base that is meant to put the victims, I mean, food into. I do not use the base. It just gets tedious putting it on and peeling it off, especially when it is full of chopped bits. It is just as easy to place the food on a cutting board. My extra savvy trick: I make little piles on my large cutting board of the foods I need to cut and move around the surface decimating each one. Then, when I am done surveying my slaughter I lift the board to the bowl at scrap the whole lot in.

As I noted the food needs to be small or pre-cut into bite-sized bits that are easy for the walls of the food chopper to enclose. If the pieces are too big or stuffed too tight it just ends in a lumpy mess. Also, if you are going along and allow too much of the food chunks to get lodged in the blades, again it gets a big tedious, but it isn’t too bad.

I have carpal tunnel in both hands, so while cutting is not a picnic, slamming my palm down repeatedly isn’t long term giggles either. I will say this is a stunning way to relieve pent up aggression, or too much energy in a young kitchen assistant (supervision required, this does have blades inside). It does make short work of garlic, ginger, water chestnuts and most firm foods. Again, I have the Pampered Chef model and cannot vouche for less superior, e.i. cheaper versions.  

Onward!

Ingredients:

Vegetable Oil

16 oz shredded Imitation Crab Meat

16 oz softened Cream Cheese

40 ct Won Ton Wraps

6 chopped Chives or Green Onions

8 oz chopped Water Chestnuts

2 tbsp chopped Ginger

2 tbsp chopped Garlic

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

Directions:

Filling:

Leave cream cheese out to soften in the mixing bowl. Shred imitation crab meat and add to the cream cheese. Fold crab meat and cream cheese until blended. Add all other ingredients except Won Ton wraps and oil. Blend ingredients in bowl until smooth.

Heat oil in a pot or deep fryer. You will need enough oil to submerge each puff.

*This part of the process is really best done assembly line style with at least one helper, but if that is not possible then it may be wise to make all the puffs and then drop them in a few at a time into the oil.*

To make the puff: spoon about a tablespoon or so into the center of the wrap. Pull the corners of the wrap up to touch and envelop the filling. Squeeze the corners together before dropping into the oil.

Drop each puff into the oil and cook until golden. Lift the puff out with tongs or a slotted spoon and let cool on a cookie sheet (with a paper towel underneath to catch the oils) or on a plate with a paper towel.

Crab Puffs are great warm or cold! I recommend making them way ahead of time because while the process is easy, it is also tedious. These are so worth the time though and I think they are easier than wontons.

Enjoy! And, please, if you have images, comments or ideas about some crab puff variations, adventures or even mishaps, send them on over! I love to see other kitchen adventures!

* Next Time on Nomday: Posole! *

The Return of Nomday: Exciting News

Do you remember when I used to do this little thing called Nomday, every Monday? It was this fun little post with a nice simple recipe for the work week. Remember? Yeah, and there were often cute stories about how silly I got when making the dish, or how I discovered something new and exciting in the world of cooking. Yes. And, sometimes I would even post delectable pictures of each dish.

Then, my one year internship really got rolling and I totally failed at blogging. So, to make up for this horrible blogger behavior I bring you; the new and improved Nomdays 2.0!

Starting next week there will be more pictures, more detailed recipes, the history behind some of these crazy foods and even more silly stories of my kitchen mayhem! Don’t worry, I will stick to the simple stuff most of the time and I will even play with a few vegetarian meal ideas like before. I am not promising this part, but I even hope to have a few guest bloggers post some of their favorite recipes.

It is like the surface of the sun here is Arizona, but it is about to get even hotter as I dare to dive back into blogging and especially Nomdays!

As always, I really want to thank everyone who reads, comments and shares my posts. I do take requests too. Maybe there is something you have been wanting to try, or something you think I could make into a more simplistic recipe; let me know about it. Also, if you are a blogger who likes to chatter about recipes, please contact me, I would be thrilled to offer you a guest pass to the madness. And, if you know me personally and you would like to supply the goods for a Nomday experiment, please feel free! The payback will be half of the finished dish and your name in lights (okay, bold and italicized text) on that Nomday post.

I am just a small time writer and mom with very little skill in the realm of cooking, but I do have a love for good food, gatherings with friends, and low budget meals. Until, next week! Happy Nomday!

Nomday: Stroganoff and Meatloaf

I haven’t done a post about the amazing beef stroganoff in a long while, so that is so our dinner for this week! But, because I am now planning for all day meals, we are doing a bulk purchase and did two beef dishes; apologies to all the veggie-eaters out there. Please make a salad or some steamed carrots for the side dish that will go along great with both meals.

Beef Stroganoff

Approximate Cost: $15.00

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 – 8 hours

3 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 small carton sliced mushrooms

3 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

8 oz. sour cream

Brown ground beef, drain and set aside. Saute onion, mushrooms and garlic until soft. Combine all ingredients in crock-pot. Stir until blended. Serve with noodles.

Meatloaf

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 6 – 8 hours

2 lbs. ground beef

1 lbs. ground sausage

2 tblsp. Greek seasoning

1 tsp. garlic chopped

½ cup red onion, chopped

Worcestershire Sauce to taste

Form meat mixture into a loaf and place in crockpot. Cook on medium heat.

Namday after Thanksgiving!

It is the Nomday after Thanksgiving! Who still has leftovers? Fortunately, because I attend dinner at places other than my home, we only take as much as we can comfortably eat in a weekend. I do miss some things though, like:

Cold Turkey Sandwich

Halved biscuit

Sliced turkey

Halved olives

Cranberry sauce or Mayonnaise

Hot Turkey Sandwich

Halved biscuit

Sliced turkey

Gravy

Hot Mashed Potato Bowl

Mashed potato base

Corn/ Carrots/ Green beans

Stuffing

Turkey slices

Gravy

*top with hot or cold cranberry sauce

Pie for breakfast every day!

How do you decimate your turkey day leftovers?

Nomday: Egg Muffins, Pork Roast and Sandwiches

Nomdays are changing like the season. Due to job changes and the realization that some of the assumptions I make when creating meal plans do not fit every lifestyle, Nomdays are going to get a bit more diverse as we sail into 2013.

Since the beginning, Nomday recipes have centered primarily, around the ability to reheat pre-made meals. What if this is not possible? I have also focused on meals of the late day variety, lunches or dinners. What if your schedule is such that you would rather a quick and easy to take on the road breakfast meal? Something in place of a donut and more substantial than a breakfast bar would be great, right.

So, beginning this week Nomday is a three part blog entry; break-super-fasts, lunch-overs, and of course the much loved crockpot of plenty. If the single entries become too long and unwieldy I will break them into three consecutive posts, but let’s see how this works first. Thank you so much for reading!

Part 1: Breakfast on the Move!

This week, to start off slow on the breakfast, a favorite found originally by a friend on Google+ and modified to appease the varied appetites.

Breakfast Muffin Cups

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 1 – 2

Required Tools:

-          Standard size muffin tin

-          Griddle or large skillet

-          Tongs or fork

Ingredients:

                1 Dozen Eggs

                12 slices of regular cut bacon / 1 lbs. ground breakfast sausage

                8 oz. Cheese of choice (we use shredded sharp cheddar or crumbled feta)

                Veggie of choice (baby spinach, small broccoli florets, and grape tomatoes work well)

                Salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in skillet until brown but not crunchy. Line muffin tin with bacon. Crack one egg in each bacon ‘cup’ top with veggie, cheese, and seasoning. Cook in oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or until eggs are desired texture. If you choose to do this with the sausage: press a thin layer of sausage into each muffin cup and cook in oven at 350 until sausage begins to brown, then follow recipe as if with bacon. *Note: the sausage cups tend to be a bit more greasy.

Lunch/ Dinner:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 – 2 hours

Serving size: 1 – 2 thin slices

Required Tools:

-          Large roasting pan

Ingredients:

                3 lbs. pork roast

                1 medium onion, sliced

                3 cloves garlic, crushed

                1 lbs. carrots

                1 lbs. potatoes, cubed

                4 ears corn, cut

                Salt and pepper to taste

Cook roast with garlic and onion, salt and pepper in oven at 400 until meat begins to brown, add remaining ingredients and cook until meat is at appropriate temperature. For dinner: serve with veggies as side dishes. For lunch: thin slice remaining roast and serve on bread with cheese. This is great cold or reheated.

I hope this new format is more helpful. It does make for a very busy Nomday cooking day but it is worth it all through the very busy week. Thank you for reading! Enjoy!

               

               

Nomday: Potato Soup

It is finally getting cool enough for soup in Arizona! I am so giddy! Soup is one of my favorite foods; it goes with breads, in a cup, great for movie watching or chatting with friends. Soup is amazing! This one will really stick to your ribs too. A hint if you intend to eat this in portions through the week and reheat, add a bit more milk or cream to each serving before heating unless you are fond of mooshy mashed potatoes.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 – 8 hours

6 - 8 large potatoes cubed

1 large onion, diced

1 quart chicken broth

3 - 6 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup butter

Salt to taste Pepper to taste

1 cup cream

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Garnish: chives, sour cream, bacon, and cheese

Combine top 7 ingredients in slow. Mash potatoes until coarsely chopped and soup is thickened. Stir in cream and cheese. Add toppings.