Crabby Deviled Eggs

This is sort of a late post about left over Easter Eggs. I made this right after Easter and am just now getting through what I need to post and get it on here. My family loves eggs, in any way, shape, or form; I cannot say the same, I loathe eggs but hubby cannot understand why I can prepare them so good if I do not like them. I don't know... probably because since they like them so well, I make egg dishes and snacks for them because I know they will eat it. These crab deviled eggs were no exception; they have a little zip and seafood (my older daughter is a crab freak, so I always keep a can of crabmeat around for her, she loves it on anything especially salad). This is a good recipe and well received by the family. It would make a great snack or appetizer to take to parties, picnics, or potlucks. Very easy to mix up, the majority of the work is peeling the eggs after they are hard boiled.

Crabby Deviled Eggs

12 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp pepper
1 3.5 oz can crab meat, drained
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp prepared mustard
1 Tbsp chives, finely chopped
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (if desired)

Cut eggs in half, scoop out yolks into a bowl. Smash egg yolks. Add mayonnaise, pepper, crab, salt, paprika, mustard, chives, pepper flakes, and parsley and mix well. Refill halved eggs with mounding spoonfuls of egg mixture. Sprinkle paprika on top. Chill.

Garlic Fries - My Tribute to Seattle Mariners and Safeco Field

Take me out to the ballgame... in my living room when Seattle Mariner baseball comes on TV. This recipe is my recreation of going to Safeco Field for some fantastic Garlic Fries, which to me is one of the better dishes made at the ballpark. You can get this at Grounders in Safeco Field in 4 locations around the ballpark. Straight from the The Official Site of the Seattle Mariners our ballpark has been Nominated by Food Network for having the 'Best Ballpark Eats In America' and ranked by an ESPN poll as having the 'Best Signature Ballpark Food' (Ivar's Salmon and Hebrew National Kosher Hot Dogs), Safeco Field offers a wide variety of food sure to satisfy any taste. We feature numerous concession locations including 62 food stands, 26 kiosks, one restaurant and one pub. Food varieties are bigger and better than ever: Mariner Dogs, tacos, pizza, nachos, barbecue items, sushi, healthy alternatives, ice cream, espresso and much more (including, of course, beer and peanuts!). We are pretty proud of this title!!

So enjoy these fries as they are a signature dish of Safeco Field, Home of the Seattle Mariners! This is as close as I will come to their original recipe and they taste almost exactly the same, I think I did a pretty good job! Also, it made the house smell wonderful as I love the smell of garlic.

I used frozen fries with skins still attached, but who says you cannot hand cut your own fries and then shake the garlic mixture on them and bake or fry. I prefer baking myself. Next time I make them, I will be using fresh potatoes just like the ballpark does when they run their potatoes through a machine to cut them to perfect french fries for their Garlic Fries. Makes me really want to go see a baseball game now!



Garlic Fries
(inspired by the Garlic Fries at Safeco Field, Home of The Seattle Mariners)

frozen french fries, enough to cover a cookie sheet
1/4 cup olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sea salt

Shake frozen fries with the remaining ingredients. Pour onto cookie sheet, bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve hot! Eat while watching ballgame.

Notes:
- The dipping sauce shown in picture is my favorite fry sauce from my favorite restaurant Zip's in Spokane WA. It contains mayonnaise, ketchup (in equal portions) and 1 tsp paprika for each 1/2 cup of mayo and ketchup. That way you can make whatever portion of fry sauce you want.

Beer Battered Onion Rings

What better food to help kick off the Spring and Summer eating season than Beer Battered Onion Rings that pairs well with any BBQ'd food. These are good with ribs, chicken, burgers, or just about anything from the grill. This is my own homemade batter which is so versatile, you can make just about any kind of rings to go with any dinner. Here is just my favorite original onion ring batter and how it all comes together.

The best onion rings come from Walla Walla sweets which are not usually in season until sometime later this summer. So for now I used a Texas sweet onion and it worked very well. I got a really good deal on a 3 lb bag of Texas sweet onions so I thought I would kick off our grilling season with some onion rings. I think 3 lbs for 99 cents on sale was a good deal.

The dipping sauce is my version of fry sauce that comes from one of my most favorite restaurants as a kid growing up in Spokane WA called Zip's. It is just a combination of mayonnaise, ketchup, and paprika. Wonderful on onion rings or fries; they call it their Fry Sauce and it is one of the most tasty dipping sauces I have ever had. We love it! With the onion rings, you can also use any sauce for dipping such as honey mustard, BBQ, ranch (that is what my 4 yr old eats on everything), spicy mustard, or whatever catches your fancy.

Beer Battered Onion Rings

2 cups flour
1 bottle beer (your favorite flavor, I used Bud for this one)
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp chili powder (for just a little zing)
4-6 sweet onions
Vegetable oil

You want to make the batter at least 6 hours ahead of time and let it sit at room temperature. Mix all ingredients until batter is no longer lumpy, cover and let sit at room temperature. I make mine the same morning as my meal. Thin with a little water or more beer if batter is too thick at cooking time, but not too thin or the batter won't adhere to the onions.



Slice up your onions and place in a large bowl of cold water, and refrigerate until ready to coat and fry. I usually slice up my onions right after I make my batter. The water helps the thin film come off the onion slices, which can make your onion rings very stringy and sort of slimy with that film intact.



Heat up your oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat; or prepare deep fryer. Fry about 2 mins each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels (see tip below), keep in 180 degree oven to stay warm and crunchy.




Serve with favorite dipping sauce.

Tips:
- when I drain my onion rings, I use a wire rack so the rings do not sit directly on the paper towels, the oil drips down onto the paper towels and then I just convert them to another dish to keep warm in the oven, it really cuts down on the oil factor so you just taste onion and batter and not the oil.

Italian Meatballs... my way!

Last night meatballs were on the menu for dinner. I made enough meatballs and sauce to make meatball hoagies and spaghetti and meatballs. They were fabulous as usual. My recipe is very easy, no fancy footwork involved to make these. Easy and tasty is my recipe for success!

Italian Meatballs

2 lbs ground beef
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp oregano
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all in a bowl (I find it easiest to mix with my hands, so either wash really really good or wear powderless gloves to mix) until all is mixed thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll into balls. Bake on broiler pan (so any grease goes to the bottom and your meatballs do not cook in it, it helps to hold their shape and not to taste greasy) for 30 minutes. Add to favorite sauce or soup.

Serving Suggestions:
- You can make meatball sandwiches, and garnish with some grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese



- Serve with favorite pasta and cheese, such as spaghetti and meatballs (one of my family favorites)



These can be frozen and last longest when vacuum sealed in bags. Just add frozen meatballs to pasta sauce in a crockpot to heat them right up for dinner.

Smokies In Lil' Blankies

Here is a very fast, easily satisfying snack for any occasion and they are so easy to make. Kids love these too for quick after school snacks.



Smokies In Lil' Blankies

1 package of refrigerator crescent roll dough
1 package of little smokies (I like the cheese filled smokies)
Assorted Dipping Sauces: honey mustard, ketchup, ranch dip, yellow mustard, BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the crescent dough pieces into 4 each. Wrap little smokies around each piece of dough. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 24.

For Crescent Dogs:
Wrap full size hot dogs in each piece of crescent dough and bake 12-15 minutes. Makes 6.

Gameday Chicken Wings

When we watch football, I cannot forget chicken wings. The whole family loves to munch on chicken wings during the big game. I have concocted my own wing rub recipe for my chicken wings that is so yummy and it goes with any type of dipping sauce or is just great by themselves. Here is my version of chicken wings complete with the wing rub recipe and my recommended dipping sauces. Be sure to have lots of napkins on hand, as these can get messy!

Gameday Chicken Wings

WING RUB: (the picture below is what your rub should look like after it is mixed)
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup coarse salt
1/4 cup paprika
2 Tbsp seasoned salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp granulated garlic or 1 clove garlic that is minced and pressed (if using fresh garlic do not add it to the dry ingredients, add it to the shaker bag with the rub when you coat the chicken wings)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like your wings)
1 tsp hickory flavored liquid smoke (optional)

CHICKEN WINGS
2-4 lbs chicken wings (thawed if you are using frozen wings)


Mix dry ingredients except liquid smoke (and fresh garlic, do not mix with dry ingredients). Put chicken wings in large plastic bag with 1 cup of rub and shake to coat. Add liquid smoke and fresh garlic if you are using fresh garlic and shake again. Refrigerate minimum 24 hours and maximum 48 hours).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make a single layer in baking dish or cookie sheet; bake 1 hour or until done.

Crock Pot directions: After coating with rub and refrigerating, put in crock pot; turn on low for 4-6 hours and on high for 2-3 hours.

Notes:
- I recommend baking so they do not fall off the bone while trying to eat and dip, if you do not care, the crock pot makes very tender wings.
- Dipping sauce can be used; I recommend BBQ sauce (homemade is better; here is the link to my own BBQ sauce in this site Dips, Sauces, and Condiments and scroll down until you come to the homemade BBQ sauce recipe), ranch dip, blue cheese dressing, or honey mustard sauce.
- Store extra rub in airtight container in a dry cool place, or in a ziplock storage bag clearly labeled

The dipping sauce we used is a purchased sauce (I do not do that often at all unless the sauce tastes very good). We got it when we went to the fair and the wing sauce is to die for! It is called Honey Habanero Wing Sauce made by The James Gang BBQ Company and they have so many products that look good, it was a hard choice. Richard (my husband) is the sauce whiz and he is very picky about sauce but he liked these so we bought some to give them a try. In the box he bought we got 1 bottle of the Honey Habanero Wing Sauce (spicy but with a nice sweet bite to it), Spiced Rum Steak Marinade, and their original Hickory Smoke BBQ sauce (we got 2 bottles of that, it is very good). If you do not make your own sauce, I highly recommend buying this sauce. I usually make my own, but this is a good one to buy. One more little tidbit about this sauce, we looked at the labels of the sauce and we did not find any high fructose corn syrup in any of them, just fresh ingredients and it tastes so good. Give them a try!

Spinach Dip in a Sourdough Bread Bowl

This is a dip or spread that is great for any occasion and we love it! It is Knorr's Spinach Dip and I have prepared it and put it into a sourdough bread bowl. You can also go to their site at Let's Make Knorr Recipes for more great recipes with their soup and dip mixes. We had this on Sunday for the football game with crackers and sourdough bread slices. (we will not discuss the beating the Seahawks got from the Giants...). So without further ado, let's make some spinach dip.



Knorr Spinach Dip

1 package (10 oz) baby spinach, chopped OR 1 package (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained and chopped (optional)
3 green onions, chopped (optional)

Combine all ingredients and chill about 2 hours. Serve with your favorite dippers.

Notes:
- You can hollow out a unsliced sourdough round to make a lovely bread bowl that is yummy to eat but also makes a nice serving idea for parties.
- This can also be used as a spread on sandwiches with your favorite luncheon meats and cheeses to give a little extra zip along with getting a serving of vegetables with the spinach in the dip.
- Water chestnuts give the dip an extra crunch against the creamy texture which makes it even better, but if you do not like water chestnuts you can omit them.

Other add ins:
1. Shredded cheddar cheese
2. Chopped olives
3. Chopped sweet red pepper

Favorite Dippers:
1. We used Ritz crackers, but you can also use basically any favorite cracker
2. Crostini
3. Sourdough bread from the hollowed out bread bowl
4. Assorted fresh raw vegetables

Nachos to Watch Football By

Well, here we are again and it is football season. Here at my house, we watch Seattle Seahawks football. GO SEAHAWKS! Anyway, my husband makes his signature nachos every time Seattle is playing, they are so yummy and they get gobbled up fast. You do not know a man in a bad mood as one who doesn't have all he needs for these nachos (and this last weekend, I didn't have everything he needs, good thing Seattle won! I was missing the sour cream, onions, and tomato in this picture so you can imagine how yummy it would look with all the ingredients, the next time we make these I will include a picture with everything on it)

Hubby's Favorite Nachos
(Nachos to fit the hunger of every 12th man; that's a Seahawk term for our fans)

Tortilla chips
1 lb hamburger
1 pkg of taco seasoning mix
1 can of refried beans (any flavor)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese/monterey jack cheese mix (basically 1 cup of each cheese)
1 small can sliced olives
2 freshly chopped jalapeno peppers
1 chopped roma tomato
1/4 cup chopped onions
sour cream, salsa, guacamole

Cook hamburger and onion until done. Add the taco seasoning mix and follow package directions. Put tortilla chips on cookie sheet and add shredded cheese, bake for 5 minutes at 375 degrees or until cheese is melted. Build nachos with refried beans on first, then taco meat, olives, peppers, tomato and have sour cream, salsa, and guacamole on the side, or to make them really messy put the sour cream, salsa, and guacamole on top. Enjoy during the game!