Crab & Artichoke Dip

 Last summer we were fortunate enough to have a family vacation to BC to visit with our families.  For Canada Day my sister-in-law hosted a feast - really there is no other word to describe it.  For a fantastic appetizer she made a crab & artichoke dip that was better than most you'd get in a restaurant.  Since then, my husband has been asking me to make the same dip for us to enjoy here at home.  Not quite a year later I did.  I had a lovely chat with my s.i.l. yesterday and she gave me the recipe out of her head.  I thought I had most ingredients on hand, and I was right.  Just a few variations, which as she put it, once you have the basics, the rest is very forgiving. 

2 cups whipped cream
1 block cream cheese (250 ml)
1 dollop sour cream
1 tbsp mayo
1 package of artificial crab meat
1 can real crab meat
1 cup grated hard cheese (mozzarella or cheddar)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup jarred artichokes (drained)
few drops Worchester
few drops lemon juice
good shake of Old Bay Seasoning

In a large bowl whip cream, cream cheese, sour cream and mayo all together.  Add everything else and using a hand blender, blend it all (can put it all in a food processor too).  If it is too thick you can add a little milk in to thin it out.

Divide into pie plates, cover with foil and bake at 350* for 20 minutes.
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My variation last night with what I had on hand.

1 cup whipped cream
1 cup whole milk (3 1/2%)
2 blocks cream cheese
1 tbsp mayo
1 package artificial crab meat
1 can real crab meat
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup jarred artichokes (drained)
1/2 cup chopped green onion
few drops Worchester
few drops lemon juice
few drops hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Follow mixing directions as above.  I baked everything in a large covered casserole dish together at 425* for 30 minutes (I have a slow oven).

Both were delicious.

 My Sister-in-law's crab dip at last year's Canada Day family gathering.

My husband with his sister in her kitchen.

Salsa - my first canning experience

We bought a pressure canner!  Canning is a venture that my husband and I had long talked about but never did anything about.  I have fantastic memories of helping my mom can peaches and cherries and antipasto when I was a kid.  (mmm, home canned peaches!). 
Getting the canner was more my husband's doing than mine.  He really is searching for a great tomato sauce.  And he wants to can it.   Last week we went to a local farm and got a bushel of roma tomatoes.  He used half of them to make a large amount of tomato sauce with the intent to can.  He was disappointed with the recipe and decided to freeze his sauce, rather than canning.  I happened upon a salsa recipe at one of my favorite blogs,  Mennonite Girls Can Cook.  I figured that the recipe would be a keeper because I grew up in a town full of Mennonites.  I know they really can cook.  I've bought their baking and canning at local events.    Delicious.  This salsa was too.  It is a mild salsa and now that I know I can make it, I know I can play with it a bit for next time to turn up the heat.  The recipe originally called for water bath canning, but I pressure canned it as pressure canning is a much safer form of canning (no need to make anyone sick on my first canning venture!).  I'm really excited about this and look forward to other kinds of canning in the future.

15 lbs Roma tomatoes
3 lg onions
6 - 8 sweet peppers in a variety of colors
6 - 10 jalapeno peppers, seeded, chopped fine
12 garlic cloves, crushed - (I upped this to 20)
2 - 10 oz cans tomato paste
2 cups vinegar
1 cup lime juice (bottled)
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp oregano
3 tsp cumin
1 can black beans
1-2 bunches cilantro, chopped - (I used 3 bunches)

1. Wash and chop tomatoes, adding to pot as you go.
2. Finely chop onions and peppers, adding to pot.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil on medium heat.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Ladle into (sterilized) jars, using canning funnel, cover with lids and screw rings.
6. Place into hot water bath in large canner, bring to boil and process for 20 minutes. (I pressure canned instead, following the instructions with my canner
7. Remove and allow to cool at room temp. Keep in cool storage.

A Tale of 3 Avocados

We bought a 3 pack of avocados in our shop. With the 1st we made smaller guacamole. The 2nd we put into a salad. The 3rd I credit my husband with. He created a really yummy dip.
1 Avocado
a dollop of Renee's Cesar dressing
a good shake of Cajun spice
Mash the avocado and mix in the rest. Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Fajita Fiesta

This was a very adapted shared meal with my friend Jen's family. Originally this was to be just a meal for our family on Sunday. My oldest who is 4 really wanted to play with his best friend (Jen's son Josh). So I thought, why not? and invited them over for supper. The only drawback was realising that I only had one pack of wraps (6) and I was now feeding 8. I did NOT want to go to the grocery store on a Sunday. It's crazy! I had no desire to stand in a huge line up just for wraps. I stopped by the bread outlet instead and while they didn't have any wraps in, they did have pita bread, so we used that instead. It actually ended up working better for the kids as all the filling didn't fall out of their wraps (which is what usually happens.

Here's all the fixin's

Beef - I had cut a large piece of steak meat into strips the day before. I put the beef strips into a ziplock back. I then took a Fajita seasoning pack and sprinkled it all over the beef. I added about a half cup of water and mixed it all together. I sealed the bag and refrigerated it to use the next day. I just pan fried the beef until cooked through. I had wanted to BBQ grill it but it was pouring out.

Veggies - I cut a large onion and one and a half red peppers into thin strips. I used the leftover marinade from the beef to saute into the veggies. I cooked them until the veggies were softened.

Beans - 2 cans of beans in tomato sauce into a casserole dish. Hand blend it until relatively smooth. Grate 1/2 cup of cheese into it. Sprinkle in a few tbsp of Tex-Mex seasoning. Mix it all together and cook it in the microwave for 5 minutes. I usually use one can of beans and tomato sauce and one can of kidney beans (well drained and rinsed) but I didn't have kidney beans on hand. You can also sub in one packet of taco seasoning for the Tex-Mex seasoning.

Guacamole - I used my own recipe found here

Sour Cream

Salsa

Grated Cheese

Heated Whole Wheat wraps and pita bread

Multigrain tortilla chips

Guacamole

2 avacadoes
1 clove garlic
1 tomato - diced
1/4 c red onion - diced
1/4 c fresh cilantro - chopped
2 tbsp light mayonnaise
2 tbsp tex-mex seasoning*
1 squirt lime juice

Peel and pit avacadoes. Mash them well into a medium sized bowl. Crush garlic into bowl. Add the diced tomato, onion, cilantro, mayonnaise, seasoning and lime juice. Mix well.

Enjoy!

*Can use seeded jalepeno, or a few dashes of hot sauce instead.

Roasted Eggplant Salad

I was introduced to this dish while in Romania a few years back. It is absolutely delicious. In Romania we ate it spread on fresh French Bread. You can also use it as a dip for pita or veggies.

1 large eggplant
1/2 to 1 bulb of garlic (depending on your taste)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 Cup of Light Mayonnaise
Dash of Salt and Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice Eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices.
Separate garlic bulb into cloves and remove skins.
Place sliced eggplant and garlic into a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover and bake for about an hour (eggplant will be soft).
Place roasted eggplant and garlic into a bowl or food processor. Add light mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Blend together with hand blender or in the food proccessor. Let cool.

Tzatziki

1 Cup of plain yogurt. (I use Liberty brand mediterranian style, it's really thick and strain overnight with a cheese cloth to make it even thicker)
1/2 English cucumber, grated
1 clove garlic crushed
1-2 tsbp dried dill (I just skake it in until it looks right to me)
squirt of lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together. Make ahead of time to allow the garlic and dill to flavour nicely.

Serve with spanikopita, souvlaki, pita bread, falafel, or calamari

Hummus

1 Can of Chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup of mayo or sour cream (light if you prefer)
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
a few dashes of dried corriander and cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Puree the chickpeas (I use a hand blender, but can be done in a food processor). Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until creamy. Make ahead of time to allow the flavours to come together. Serve with pita bread.