Crab & Shrimp Boil

I just had a conversation with someone that I couldn't remember the last time I had a meal that I was over the top about. Well, this meal was OMG over the top, it was delicious!!

I've been wanting to do one of these for awhile so I planned it for our girls weekend. I asked my cousin Barb and her husband Steve who have lived in New Orleans for years if they had any tips and they hooked me up. Thanks guys!!

I didn't take any photos as I was making it because I was at the cabin and enjoying my sangria while it came together but I think the step by step written directions will suit you fine.

What you'll need:

A pot that will hold 3 gallons of water or more

1 3/4 gallons of water ~ I bought the gallon jugs so I didn't start with cold water to get it to boiling faster
2 packages of Zatarain's Crab boil
8 T Salt
1 T Cayenne Pepper
2 Lemons quartered
1 bulb of Garlic pulled apart ~ remove the flaky skin but leave the cloves intact
1 Onion sliced
2 dozen Baby Red Potatoes washed
1 lb of Shrimp ~ I used frozen that were thawed and without shell
4 ears of Corn on the Cob
2 lbs of Crab thawed ~ I used King Crab because it was on sale
Stick of Butter melted with 1 t of garlic powder
Loaf of crusty french bread

Put your water, zatarain's,
Cayenne pepper, lemons, garlic, onions and baby reds in the pot and cover. Bring to a steady boil.

Add shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes or until they turn pink. Remove shrimp from pot. It would have been helpful to have a basket that I dropped in with the shrimp but we were at the cabin and working with what I had on hand. Steve told me to do the shrimp first because they would absorb a lot of flavor that way and he was right.

Add corn and crab, cover pot and boil 8 minutes. Scoop out the garlic, potatoes, corn and crab or if you have a colander large enough, strain in that.

Dump the shrimp out onto newspaper covered with brown paper bag, toss the rest of the stuff on top and serve with garlic butter.

You can squeeze the garlic cloves onto crusty french bread and dunk in garlic butter for an OVER the top garlic bread.

Everything was seasoned perfectly. The corn didn't need even need butter. Eat your way through the pile. It was seriously YUMMY! This pile served 4 women:)

Seafood Salad

I've made this several times but don't have a photo. But, I promise it's easy enough that you don't need one and it's WAY cheaper than buying it at your local market.

Here's what you'll need:

2 pkgs Imitation Crab shredded
1 C Frozen Peas thawed
2 C Rotini Noodles ~ or your favorite noodle
1/2 C Carrot ~ julienned, that means little sticks
2 stalks Celery chopped
3/4 to 1 1/4 C Mayo
1/2 to 1 t Curry
1 t Pepper ~ I prefer White but regular black will do
1/2 t Salt

In large bowl combine crab, noodles, peas, carrots and 3/4 C Mayo. Toss it up and see if you like the consistency, if you want the salad a little more wet, add 1/4 C at a time until you get where you want to be.

Add seasoning. Start with 1/2 t Curry and taste, you can add more curry but go slow. It makes the flavor stronger and sweeter (honestly I don't think you can add too much unless you go completely insane). You can easily make this the night before, just check to make sure it doesn't need more mayo before serving.

Crab Legs

Preparing seafood, other than shrimp always scared me. I don't know why? I guess I was scared of making someone sick or something. But I really like seafood so I had to take a leap. Crab legs is something I discovered that I LOVE. When I found out how easy they are to make at home...well I LOVED them even more. I just wish they weren't so expensive. But compared to what they cost in a restaurant, well the price isn't so bad. You can steam them, boil them or my favorite way to make them...BAKE.

So, get yourself some defrosted King Crab Legs and a cake pan. Preheat the oven to 350.
Put about 3/4 C of Lemon juice with 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic in the bottom of the pan. Throw your crab legs on top~I had 2 pounds.
Put in the oven for 10 minutes and serve with melted butter.
Completely delicious, enjoy!!!

I only took a photo in the pan ready for the oven because they look the same when they come out;)

Fridge Cleaning Stir Fry

We've all had stuff in our fridge, a little of this, a little of that and vegetables that didn't make it to the dinner table. When my fridge starts to look like that, I make Fridge Cleaning Stir Fry. The ingredients can be whatever, this just happens to be what's in mine but feel free to use whatever you have or like..it's all good. I went high on my points for this because I couldn't find the value of broth...23 points for the entire pan!

Also, if you don't have a wok or a wok pan, don't let that stop you. You can use a large pot, one that you would cook pasta in. When I'm making stir fry, I cook my pasta with a couple of chicken bouillon cubes to give the pasta a bit of flavor.
Here's what I had this time. 1 Chicken Breast, 1 C crab legs, 1 1/2 C Shrimp, 2 Handful of cooked thin spaghetti, Zucchini, Green Pepper, Red Pepper, Orange Pepper, Small handful of Sugar Snap Peas, Asparagus, Celery Stalk, Onion and Garlic
Cut all the vegetables up into relatively the same size. Chop Chicken breast and Crab Legs. Make yourself 1 C of Chicken Stock (1 C water and 1 Chicken bouillon cube)
Start with a splash of Chicken Broth and add the vegetables that need to cook the longest. In this case; celery, onions and the garlic because you want it to season all the vegetables. Saute for about 2 minutes, adding 1t of your favorite seasoning. I used Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning.
Here's what the Greek Seasoning container looks like. It's great on anything from potatoes to eggs to meat to stir fry
Add a splash more chicken stock, asparagus, peas and 1 t Lemon Pepper with Garlic & Onion seasoning. Saute another 2 minutes
Here is the Lemon Pepper I use
Throw in the rest of the vegetables, 1 t Greek Seasoning and 1 t Garlic Powder (I never use Garlic Salt because I like to control how salty my stir fry is). Splash of Chicken Broth if it's looking dry. Saute about 2 minutes or until the vegetables are to your desired doneness. If you like "soft" vegetables, add a splash of chicken broth and cover for a minute or two. I skip this step because I like mine a bit on the crunchy side.
Throw in the meat last, remember it was all left over and already cooked so you just want to get it warm about a minute or two. Add 1 t Lemon Pepper and 1 T butter (I only use butter when I'm using seafood, seems to bring out the flavors, but that could just be in my head;)
Now toss in your pasta and 1 last teaspoon of Greek Seasoning. If you want it a bit zippier, throw in another teaspoon of Lemon Pepper. If you'd prefer, you can skip the pasta and serve over rice. Taste and add more seasoning if you think it needs it. Serve!! Healthy and Yummy!