Crab and Fish Artichoke Dip

2/3 c. mayo (I use the regular)
2/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 package cream cheese
1/2 cup lump crab meat
1/2 cup cooked white type fish (use your favorite and break into small pieces)
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
pepper to taste

Mix the mayo and cream cheese together, breaking up the big pieces of cream cheese. Add the cheddar cheese and chopped artichoke hearts, Old Bay seasoning and the pepper. Stir in the fish and crab. Bake at 30 for 30 minutes or so until it is all heated through and bubbly. Serve with whole wheat type crackers. Yummy!

Baked Roast Pork Sandwiches

If you made the roast in the crockpot that is below, here is another way to use the leftovers.

Purchased frozen pizza dough (defrost according to package directions)
leftover pork roast from crockpot pork roast recipe
purchased BBQ sauce

divide the defrosted dough into 8 mostly equal pieces
make a circle (or something resembling one)
Sometimes the dough will get a little dry crust on it from sitting out raising so I put that side on top so it will be folded into the middle of the sandwich

Add about 1/4 cup of meat (make sure there is room to seal the tops!), drizzle with BBQ sauce, pull the edges together at the top and pinch to seal. A little meat and sauce showing is just fine.

Bake on a cookie sheet in a 375 oven for about 20 minutes (you just have to cook the dough.) Serve with extra sauce. These were a hit for after school and even breakfast. Reheating them in the toaster oven worked best.

A Roast in a Crockpot?

I know the first time I thought about this, I thought "Man that sounds weird!" But it depends on how you want to use the meat. I have discovered that pork works best. I use a pork loin (boneless or not). The crockpot I have is now oval in shape instead of circular and that works better too.

1 whole sweet onion (vadalia or equivalent)
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
if your final meal will be BBQ in some form, add about 1/2 bottle BBQ sauce
Put this on the bottom of the crockpot
put in the roast
cover the pot
turn on high and walk away.

After a few hours, things will be getting juicy.
I let this cook all day.

Remove roast from crockpot and transfer all the juices, cooked onions and tomatoes to a saucepan. Reduce by about 1/4 to 1/3 depending on how much liquid is there. Using a stick blender or your food processor, blend the sauce until smooth. Now you have a lovely gravy/BBQ sauce to pour over the meat.

The meat will basically fall apart in chunks, that's what you want and you don't want to slice it. Just put chunks on a plate, cover with the sauce and you are good to go. I serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie. If you have leftovers, you can shred the meat, heat with the sauce you made fortified with extra BBQ sauce in a pan and put on rolls for a great BBQ sandwich. I usually serve with coleslaw I have added some fruit to: raisins, small pineapple chunks, small apple chunks (or even all three).

If you don't add BBQ sauce, I use this meat as a base for a number of Mexican favorites. Burritos, soft tacos or even homemade tamales.

Warm Grilled Lime Sea Scallop Salad with Mango

Take 6 sea scallops per person, pat dry
create a marinade that includes
1T sesame oil
1T olive oil
1T rice vinegar
1t grated fresh ginger
juice of one lime
zest of one lime (the more zest the better)
Salt and pepper to taste
Toss the ingredients in a large zipper top plastic bag and let sit for about 20 minutes for the flavors to get happy

While the flavors are mingling, make a nice salad with mixed greens, some baby arrugula and radiccio. Chop 1 ripe mango into chunks and mix with the salad. Add 1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded and cut into matchstick shaped pieces. Toss the greens with 1T good olive oil, 1/2 t balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Split between two plates.

Fire up a grill pan.
When the pan is nice and hot, grill the scallops. I cook 2-3 minutes per side until you get nice lines on each side. Place on top of the greens and enjoy. This is nice with a crusty french bread

Veal Milanese

1 veal chop per person pounded thin (or use the veal made for scallopini)
(I have also used pork and chicken making this dish)
2 ripe tomatoes chopped coarsely
3 cups baby arugula, torn or chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 chopped red pepper
1-2T good extra virgin olive oil
1t balsamic vinegar
sprinkle of dried garlic either granules or chunks
coarse salt
fresh ground pepper

brush a small amount of olive oil on both sides of the veal. Sprinkle with the garlic and some salt and pepper.

Chop tomatoes, arugula and red pepper and place in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss with tongs, set aside.

Heat grill pan or large skillet, add veal. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, flipping once. Make sure it is not still pink inside.

Put veal on individual plates, top with salad. Serve with a nice wine and fresh bread.

Crockpot London Broil

1 London broil
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 package of onion soup mix
1/2 c red wine

place 1/2 the can of tomatoes and 1/2 the package of soup mix in the bottom of the crockpot. Put the London broil on top (cut into pieces if you need to make it fit.)
Put the remaining tomatoes and soup mix on top and turn on the crock pot on high for 4 hours, add the wine and put on low for another 6. Remove the meat from the sauce, add 2T cornstarch mixed in a little water, turn up to high and let cook for about 5 minutes. Add the meat back in to rewarm and serve with mashed potatoes or noodles.

Enchilada Casserole

This is a layered dish that uses leftover cooked chicken, pork roast or you can use ground beef.

2 c cooked meat (chicken chunks, pork chunks, ground beef)
1 c prepared salsa
1 large can enchilada sauce (use your spice level)
10 corn tortillas cut into pizza wedges (you can also use broken tortilla chips)
cooking spray
1 small can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can goya black bean soup
1 can corn drained (or the equivilent frozen)
1 cup grated cheddar or monteray jack cheese

spray the inside of a cassarole dish with cooking spray
put about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish. Layer half of the tortilla pieces in the bottom, sprinkle half the meat, corn, black bean soup, salsa, diced tomatoes and then add half the remaining enchilada sauce. Repeat the layers starting with the tortillas. Top with the cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until everything is bubbling away.

Serve on a bed of lettuce with a dollop of sour cream or southwestern ranch dip.