Fried Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich

So D knows I love Soft-Shells.  You can pretty much get them frozen all year round but frozen makes for tiny little suckers.  However, they are cleaned for you.

So our freezer is full, and we were trying to make room, and saw we had 4 more servings of crab. D found this recipe.  He always broils them with hot sauce for me, but I agreed to have them fried this time, except not really. He replaced the 2 Cups of oil with 2 TBSP of oil.

If you are trying to figure out the Nutritional Information, you will be left with about half the flour and half the panko.

So they weren't deep fried but they were very good. A good crunch and flavorful.

Would have again.  We were going to have with a salad, but the lettuce was iffy, so we had with fries.

Fried Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich

Photo by ALB

4 Servings
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
Sauce 
¼ cup mayonnaise (Hellman's Light)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (for once in our lives we didn't have Old Bay, so Creole Seasoning was used)
Slaw
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
1 Fresno chile, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise (we have a 3 lb bag of jalapenos so 1 was used).
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Crab And Assembly
Vegetable oil (for frying; about 2 cups) (used 2 TBSP)
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning, divided (for once in our lives we didn't have Old Bay, so Creole Seasoning was used)
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
1¼ cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
4 soft-shell crabs, cleaned
4 soft buns, warmed

Preparation
Sauce
Whisk mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, and Old Bay seasoning in small bowl.
DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Slaw
Whisk vinegar and mustard in medium bowl. Add cabbage and chile and toss to combine; season with salt and pepper.

Crab and Assembly
Pour oil into a large skillet, preferably cast iron, to a depth of 1/2" and heat over medium-high heat until oil bubbles immediately when a pinch of flour is added. (use 2 TBSP...use your skills or google to learn how to pan-fry, not deep fry).

Meanwhile, whisk flour, cayenne, and 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning in a shallow bowl; season with salt and pepper. Place eggs into another shallow bowl. Whisk panko and remaining 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning in a third shallow bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Dredge crabs in flour mixture, shaking off excess, then dip in egg, letting excess drip back into bowl. Coat in panko mixture.

Working in 2 batches, place crabs, shell side down, in skillet and cook until golden brown, about 4 (2 minutes) minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season with salt.

Build sandwiches with buns, sauce, crabs, and slaw.

Gyro Meat Loaf with Tzatziki Sauce

I have been wanting meat loaf for a few weeks, and found this recipe.  D said he would make it.
It was supposed to be made with store-bought Tzatziki Sauce, but it was quicker to just make it then go hunt however many stores to find it.

It was lamb with spinach and cheese.  How could it be bad?  We had it with Greek Potatoes (2 baking potatoes, sauteed with Greek Seasoning, salt, and pepper, and some vinegar.

We will have again.

Gyro Meat Loaf with Tzatziki Sauce

A spin on a classic meat loaf, I love this because I can sneak spinach in on my meat-and-potatoes family. Serve it with Greek-style potatoes or a Greek salad. I also get to make a whole other meal the next night with the leftovers—gyros.

Photo by ALB

Adapted from A Taste of Home
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 55 min. + standing
MAKES: 8 servings

Ingredients

Sauce:
Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 (8 ounce) containers plain yogurt
1 cucumbers - peeled, seeded and diced
1 tablespoons olive oil
3 TBSP lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
6 cloves garlic, peeled

Adapted from A Taste of Home
Meat Loaf
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pounds ground lamb
1 pounds ground beef, 90/10
1 cup refrigerated tzatziki sauce

Directions 
In a food processor or blender, combine yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Process until well-combined. Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor.

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the first (meat loaf) eight ingredients. Crumble lamb/beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into a loaf and place in a greased 11x7-in. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, 55-60 minutes or until no pink remains and a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with tzatziki sauce.

Freeze option: Securely wrap and freeze cooled meat loaf in plastic wrap and foil. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Unwrap meat loaf; reheat on a greased shallow baking pan in a preheated 350° oven until a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°. Yield: 8 servings.

Paleasagna

So my friend C posted this recipe on Pinterest.  I looked at it in passing, and thought it looked good, but I didn't really have a plan to have it.  Then my friend L mentioned she had to go on the London Diet for medical reasons, which is rather restrictive.   I remembered the recipe and passed it on to L, but felt bad to give her an untested recipe so D and I decided to test it out for her.

So a few may take exception to the name since there is no pasta (it's like my pizza versus shit-on-bread if there is no red sauce on the crust).  Is this lasana or a casserole since there is no pasta?  Either way, I liked it.  D wasn't so much a fan, but he isn't a fan of goat cheese, and he was unsure of the Greek Yogurt (very tangy).  But he looked at different ways to make it better which is good.
Suggestions were using Ricotta, taking out the Italian Seasoning and Goat Cheese and replacing with Greek Seasoning and Feta.  Other suggestions were replacing the zucchini with egg plant.

Paleasagna

Photo by ALB

From What Runs Lori
Servings: 6 Huge servings

Ingredients
1 white onion, diced
1 pound of 90% ground sirloin
1 15oz can diced tomatoes, low sodium
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp Italian spice blend
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound of zucchini and/or yellow squash, cut into medallion rounds
1/2 cup raw goat cheese, shredded
2 cups Greek yogurt
Add 1 C of Mozzarella
1 head broccoli, roughly chopped
1 egg

Directions
In a large skillet or sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the diced onions. Sautee on medium-high until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the ground turkey, canned tomato and tomato paste, spices, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Continue to cook all ingredients until the turkey is cooked through. Set aside when done.

In a medium bowl, combine raw goat cheese, Greek yogurt, (mozzarella cheese), broccoli pieces, and egg. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of a 13 x 9 Pyrex glass baking dish. Place a layer of zucchini and squash rounds evenly across the bottom, making a sort of liner.

Add a layer of turkey-tomato sauce on top of the zucchini. Top that with some of the broccoli and yogurt mixture, as shown above. Continue with this layering process until you have used all of your ingredients.

Top the entire dish with more shredded goat cheese, if desired.

Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy

This was in my "Tried" section of Pinterest, but for whatever reason I didn't write a review.  I remembered liking it, but that the gravy was on the thin side.  It's been getting colder in the house (we haven't turned on the heat yet), so comfort food and Sunday Dinner was what I wanted.  D looked at the recipe and said ok.

He said it was pretty easy to make.  We had with Oven-Roasted Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes.

Would have again.

Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy 

Photo by ALB

A delicious one ­pan meal that is delicious served with mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta, to make the most of the delicious gravy. To save yourself the chore of separating and peeling all that garlic, look for pre-­separated/peeled garlic cloves in the produce section of your grocery store.

Adapted from Jennifer at Seasons and Suppers
Recipe type: Main Course
Serves: 6

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. cooking oil (used PAM)
6-­8 chicken thighs, skin on (used 4.5 pounds of chicken)
Salt and freshly ­ground black pepper
20­-22 cloves of garlic (D used 1 head), separated and peeled
2 Tbsp. flour
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth (used Fat-Free...use less if you want a thicker gravy)
1 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (or about 3/4 tsp. dried leaves)
2 Tbsp. butter (used 3 TBSP because D always uses butter in comfort dishes)

Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 400° F with rack in center of oven.

2. In a oven-­safe Dutch oven or oven-safe skillet with a lid, heat the oil (used PAM) over medium high heat. Dry the chicken pieces well by patting them with a paper towel. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with a bit of salt and the pepper. Cook the chicken until well browned, turning regularly, for about 8 minutes in all then remove chicken to a plate. You can remove some of the fat in the pan if you have lots, but do leave enough to cook the garlic in the next step.

3. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook, stirring regularly, until it is starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir until combined. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and bake for 15 minutes in the pre­-heated 400° oven. (If you pot or skillet doesn't have a lid, you can tightly cover the top with tinfoil instead.)

4. Remove the pot from the oven and put it on a burner. Be careful not to touch the hot pot! Remove the chicken pieces from the pot to a clean plate. Over medium-high heat, whisk in the wine and simmer for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, thyme and a bit more salt and pepper, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until sauce thickens. Turn the heat off and stir in the butter. Taste sauce and add more salt and pepper (you won't need more salt, I promise), if it needs it. Add the chicken back to the pot to re­-warm with the sauce. Serve spooned over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.

10 Smart Points (with my additions/subtractions)

Recipe by Seasons and Suppers at http://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/rustic­chicken­garlic­gravy/