Lori's Okie Crab Cakes



Base Ingredients:
1 can lump crab meat
1 can white crab meat
1 red bell pepper (substitute orange or yellow if necessary, but NOT green!)
1 small white onion
1 egg
1/3 cup French bread crumbs, unseasoned

Seasonings:
1 dash lemon juice
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tbsp chili sauce (Sririacha is the best, but if you can't find it any red chili sauce will do.)
1/4 cup Miracle Whip Light
1 dash Green Pepper Tabasco
1 heaping tbsp Creole mustard (the mustard is KEY! I use Luzianne Creole mustard, but if you can't find it you may substitute any mustard with horseradish for good results).

Yield: Four patties
Serves: Two to four hungry Okies, depending on how much good bread is on hand!

Finely chop the red bell pepper and small white onion. Sauté with a dash of garlic and lemon juice (and a splash of your favorite  wine if you like, just for fun) until onion is clear but pepper  remains slightly crunchy. When finished, set aside one third of the mixture in a small bowl, and douse it with lemon juice. Now you have a relish/garnish to add some flavor and color to your finished product!

Put the remaining two thirds of the mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add crab meat and bread crumbs and stir to make sure  everything is nicely coated and mixed. Then add Miracle Whip, mustard, lemon juice, garlic  powder, chili powder, and Green Pepper Tabasco, stirring well after each addition. Finally, crack your egg and fold in JUST the white (where eggs and crab cakes are concerned, a little goes a long way).

Divide the mixture into four equal parts and shape each part into a ball by hand (if you start with a patty, the cakes are more likely to stick and burn if you fry them). 

Now  you are ready to cook! Contact grills will provide the easiest cooking method and the most predictable results--just set  the grill for seven minutes. Frying is messier and trickier, but the finished product will have that traditional greasy texture that we all know and love. Fry your cake in ball form for a couple of minutes, then press down with your spatula to flatten the ball into a patty--fry for two to four minutes on each side or until brown.

Garnish with a tablespoon of Creole mustard and your onion-pepper-lemon relish. These are good with rice, red beans and rice, and broccoli or spinach--ice cream makes a nice desert, as it helps put out the fire! Leftover patties heat up well in a toaster oven and make great sandwiches.

 

Donna's Goulash

 

1 ˝ lbs ground beef

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

 

Brown ground beef, add chopped onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook macaroni in separate pot; when done, add to sauce and eat. Great with salad and hot bread!

 

Jenny's Penne Pasta with Herbs and Cream

 

This is not a recipe you want to use often if you have a cholesterol problem!

 

Cook your favorite fancy pasta (i.e. bowties, penne, gnocchi, etc.)  according to package directions. Drain, leave in colander. In the pot, melt a generous amount of real butter. Throw in a handful of fresh chopped basil and thyme. Add pasta. Pour in enough cream to make it sinful. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!