Beachfront Crab Cakes

I just found this crab cake recipe and I think it sounds soooo good... and easy! I can't wait to try it.

Ingredients:
1 lb. crabmeat
1 egg, beaten
8 to 10 buttery round crackers, crushed
1/4 c. onion, diced
1/8 t. pepper
2 to 3 sprigs fresh parsley, minced
2 to 3 T. mayonnaise
oil for frying


Directions:
Combine crabmeat, egg, crackers, onion, pepper and parsley in a large bowl. Stir in mayonnaise; moisten hands with cold water and mix well. Form into 3-inch patties. In a skillet, heat just enough oil to cover crab cakes; fry on both sides until golden. Place on paper towels to drain. Makes 4 servings.

Easy Seaside Shrimp Spread

My mother used to make this recipe and it is so easy and so delicious!

Ingredients:

• 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 2 6-oz. cans tiny shrimp, drained
• 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion, finely chopped or grated
• carrot and celery sticks or snack crackers

Directions:

With an electric mixer on low, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in onions and Worcestershire. Mash shrimp with a fork; combine with cream cheese mixture and mix well. Serve with vegetables or crackers. Makes about 2-1/2 cups.

Candied Walnut Gorgonzola Salad

This wonderful summer salad recipe is so amazing. Bright, juicy and perfect for the coming warmer months!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup walnut halves
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 cups mixed greens
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 tablespoon raspberry vinaigrette
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Place walnuts and sugar in a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves into a light brown liquid and coats the walnuts. Remove walnuts from skillet, and spread them out on a sheet of aluminum foil to cool.
2. Place in a large salad bowl the mixed greens, cranberries, cheese, vinaigrette, vinegar, and olive oil. Toss gently; add candied walnuts, and toss again.

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Spicy Mango Salsa

Did you know that mango is overall the world's most popular fruit?

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced fresh mango
• 2 cups fresh peaches, pitted and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 serrano chile peppers, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the mangoes, peaches or nectarines, garlic, ginger and basil or cilantro.
2. Add the chilies and lime juice to taste; mix well. Allow to chill 2 hours before serving.

Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Tropical Salad with Pineapple Vinaigrette

I really love a tasty salad and this one is sooo good. The sweet of the pineapple and salty of the bacon make the perfect combination.

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• 1 (10 ounce) package chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup chopped and toasted macadamia nuts
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup flaked coconut, toasted

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
2. In a cruet or jar with a lid, combine pineapple juice, red wine vinegar, oil, pepper and salt. Cover and shake well.
3. In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, pineapple, macadamia nuts, green onions and bacon. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Garnish with toasted coconut.

Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Coconut Chicken Wings On The Grill

This Asian-inspired recipe may be the perfect cookout finger food. It's got a sauce that's sweet and savory, it's easy to make, and it works as a main course or an appetizer.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable or light olive oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 pounds chicken wings
• 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the first seven ingredients, then whisk in the coconut milk. Reserve and refrigerate 1/2 cup of the mixture divided evenly in two containers.
2. Cut off the tips of the wings (reserve them for stock or discard), then halve the wings at the joint. Place them in the bowl and toss them with the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.
3. Just before grilling the wings, toast the coconut in a medium-size skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pour the flakes onto a plate and allow them to cool, then lightly crumble the flakes with your fingers and set them aside.
4. Prepare the grill for cooking and oil the grates. Grill the wings 8 to 10 minutes per side, turning once, or until the meat is no longer pink inside. Use one container of the reserved marinade to baste the meat at each turn.
5. As the wings finish cooking, warm the other container of reserved marinade in a small saucepan until heated through.
6. Transfer the cooked wings to a platter and coat them with the warmed marinade. Sprinkle the wings with the toasted coconut and serve them immediately. Serves 6 as a main dish or 12 as an appetizer.

Recipe courtesy of FamilyFun

Watermelon and Scallop Ceviche

This recipe for watermelon ceviche from honestfare is just divine!

Prep time: 30 minutes. Cook time: about 2 hours marinating. Serves 3-4. Substitute with a soft fish of your liking if you prefer. Be sure to marinate protein until opaque and cooked through from the citrus. If using shrimp, it’s important to flash steam them until just pink before marinating.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bay scallops
• 1 cup lightly steamed and chopped shrimp
• 2 green cubanelle peppers sliced paper thin
• 1 1/2 cup grape or cherry tomatoes sliced paper thin
• 1 1/4 cup pinkish white part of watermelon rind sliced in 1/4 inch think pieces
• 1/4 cup onion finely diced
• 1 shallot finely diced
• 1/4 cup scallions diced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Diced jalepeño to taste
• Juice from 5 limes and 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Chop cubanelle pepper,tomatoes, onion, jalepeño, shallots and scallion paper thin. Roughly chop cilantro. Combine in large bowl and set aside.
2. Cut some watermelon into slices like you typically would and then cut away the sweet bright pink portion and reserve for some other use. Cut a strip (an inch or so thick) of the light pink/transparent white portion that sits about ¼ an inch above the green rind. Refer to image in post. Chop your light pink watermelon rind into pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Add 1/2 cup rind to bowl of veggies and set rest of rind aside.
3. Clean and steam the shrimp until just pink. Remove from heat and run under cold water. Chop into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Rinse bay scallops and set aside.
4. Juice limes and lemon into a bowl. Add rice vinegar sugar and salt. Stir to disolve. Toss in scallops and shrimp. Add to bowl of veggies. Also add garlic powder and black pepper. Toss well.
5. Make sure all fish is submerged in juices, cover and allow to marinate in fridge for about 2 hours or until scallops are cooked through. (If substituting scallops with a more delicate fish, less marinating will probably be required to cook through.)
6. Once cooked through, add remaining watermelon rind, toss and enjoy!

Sea Glass Jello

What a delicious and beautiful snack!

Ingredients:

• Three (3-ounce) boxes of Jell-O or generic store brand gelatin (any colors you’d like)
• One (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (substitutions will not work)
• Two envelopes unflavored gelatin (Knox brand, in the Jell-O aisle)

Directions:

1. In three separate containers (use rectangular tupperware or pyrex loaf pans), mix jello package with 1 cup of boiling water. Stir each until dissolved and then refrigerate until firm (at least 4 hours, or overnight).
2. Once the jello flavors are firm, use a sharp knife to cut the jello into small squares (1/2-inch or so).
3. Spray a 9×13-inch pyrex pan lightly with nonstick spray. Use a metal spatula to scoop out the jello squares and place them into the prepared pan. Mix the colors up so they’re not bunched all together.
4. In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup of cold water. Sprinkle in 2 envelopes of gelatin and stir. Add 1 1/2 cups boiling water to the bowl and stir until dissolved. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and let cool.
5. Pour the white gelatin mixture over the cubes of jello and let it fill up the pan. Refrigerate overnight. Slice the jello into squares and serve. These are firm enough to serve on a platter as a hand-held dessert.

Yield: About 24 squares

Source: RecipeGirl

Tips:
*To copy the look of what is usually found in sea glass, orange, lime and blueberry jello is recommended. The blueberry jello only comes in a 6-ounce package, so you’ll need to divide it in half. You can certainly use whatever flavors you’d like.

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

With Labor Day weekend this weekend, I think that we should celebrate summer's last hurrah with this AMAZING recipe. Have safe and fun Labor Day!

Ingredients


Fruit Salsa
1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
1 medium navel orange, peeled and finely chopped
3 medium kiwifruit, peeled and finely chopped
1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

Cinnamon Chips
10 flour tortillas (8 inches)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
• For chips, brush tortillas with butter; cut each into eight wedges. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over tortillas. Place on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350° for 5-10 minutes or just until crisp. Serve with fruit salsa. Yield: 2-1/2 cups salsa (80 chips).

Flip Flop Cookies

I saw these adorable cookies in a magazine while I was waiting at my son's doctor's office.  They are so cute!  And the best part... No baking required.

Ingredients

• Oval-shaped cookies (we used Nabisco Cameos and Pepperidge Farm Milanos)
• Frosting
• Sour gummy worms
• Rope licorice
• Gummy candy

Instructions

1. To make a pair, frost two oval-shaped cookies or use a toothpick to dab frosting on each cookie where the straps will be attached.
   
2. For wide straps, snip the rounded ends from a sour gummy worm, cut it in half, and slice each half lengthwise, leaving one end intact. For thin straps, cut rope licorice into four 1-3/4 pieces, cut one end of each piece on an angle, and pinch together the pointed ends to form two pairs.
   
3. Press the straps, connected ends first, into the frosting. Use more frosting to add gummy candy jewels. Let the cookies set for 20 minutes. Serve them on a dish towel spread on a beach of graham cracker crumbs.