Tuna Salad

Its no secret that my tuna salad packs a punch. Its loaded with carrots, celery, onions and bold flavor. Here's my recipe to share:

Any brand of tuna will do but make sure it's in WATER

Dice up some onions (I prefer red), carrots, and celery. Yes, I love veggie loaded tuna.

Add your tuna to a bowl

Throw in your veggies

Finely dice two eggs, three if you're feeling froggy

Two tablespoons of sweet relish

2 spoons of mayo, 2 spoons of greek yogurt. All 4 of either if you want.

Mix well and a pinch of pepper, a pinch of seasoning and a pinch of sugar (add a little more sugar to sweet). Chill and serve.

Shrimp and Rice

I had to throw way my epic dandelion fail and decided to whip up shrimp and rice instead. I really wanted to do shrimp and grits but I was starving and needed something quick.

Diced up some red onions and green/yellow peppers

Washed and seasoned shrimp with seasoning salt and crushed red pepper. Add a little sea salt too.

(not pictured) I cooked some diced bacon and used the leftover grease to saute the veggies

When the veggies are still slightly crispy, add the shrimp. Saute until they turn pink

Add the bacon back in and stir.

Mix in the rice and eat up!

Salmon Cakes with Veggies

If you're looking for a low fat but flavorful meal, you should try my salmon cakes with veggies. I normally cook this meal when I have nothing else in the kitchen to cook. It doesn't take long to do either.

For my veggies, I sauteed some corn, squash, zucchini, and onions in olive oil. Yum yum!

Finely dice up a yellow, green, orange and red bell pepper. I  also diced up a red onion instead of a white onion.

If you have fresh salmon, you can grind it up but I prefer the can salmon.

Whip up an egg.

After sorting through your salmon for bones and skin, throw it all into a bowl with the eggs. Season to your liking.

Add your peppers and onions

Mix it all up

Pour in a cup - cup and half of bread crumbs. If you want your cakes crispier, use panko crumbs.

Add some olive oil to the skillet, shape your cakes and brown on each side.

Oh yea, they are going to smell good!

Serve with veggies and enjoy.

Bacon-Crab Dip

To continue my bacon theme, here's another recipe I got the Food Network Magazine. I was a little skeptical at first because I love crab dip with other seafood in it as well. Nonetheless, I worked with what I had. 

Mix 8 ounces each cream cheese and crabmeat, 1 cup crumbled cooked bacon, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 3 chopped scallions and the juice of 1 lemon. Spread in a baking dish; top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly, 30 minutes.

Crab meat, mayo, cream cheese, diced bacon, a handful of breadcrumbs, green onions, a little pepper, old bay seasoning and few shakes of hot sauce

Top with more breadcrumbs and bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until golden brown top. Serve with toasted bread or crackers.

I let my mom taste this and she loved it. It's really creamy and rich so I would suggest cutting the mayo and cream cheese used in half. If you want to make it really tasty, add some cheese to the mixture before baking. Also, add some diced shrimp, tiny scallops and lobster or crawfish meat to give it a little kick. You'll love it!

Remixed Mussels Paella

I always keep a few boxes of frozen mussels on hand (my son and I love them) so here is my remixed version of Paella. If could have added some chorizo and saffron to give the rice its yellow color, it would have been on!

I keep a few boxes of these in the freezer at all times.  They are perfect if you have guest over. Mussels have 700 grams of Omega 3. Score!

Add the mussels and frozen sauce to a sauce pot. You can make your own sauce with butter, white wine and garlic. For a low fat version, swap the butter with lemon juice. Add some hot sauce and crushed red peppers if you like heat.

I had some leftover squash, zuchinni and roasted corn in the fridge that I cooked two nights before.

Add about two handfuls to the mussels after the sauce has boiled down and they have opened up.

Look at it simmer and cook in all that yumminess

I added two handfuls of leftover rice to the pot. Don't worry, my hands were clean.

Stir it all up very gently and let it simmer. Add a little coconut milk or coconut water if you wish to give it a little bit of sweetness. 

Looks good, huh? Don't let it simmer too long or your zucchini will overcook and get mushy. Maybe about 10 minutes if even that long. Let it sit for a few minutes after turning the heat off.

Plated and ready for serving. 

Mardi Gras Shrimp

Finely chop green, yellow, and red peppers. Dice some onion too.

Rinse, devein and shell shrimp. Make sure you rinse them well.

Dry with a papertowel. Sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning.

Add a little garlic salt

Some seasoning salt

Some crushed red pepper for a kick

And a little hot sauce for a bite

Mix the seasoned shrimp with peppers and onions. Let sit for 20 minutes or overnight.

Add a little butter or EVOO to a skillet and sautee.

Looks good, huh/

Serve hot over rice or pasta.

If I had to do anything different, I would have used freshed shrimp instead of frozen. The frozen shrimp didn't hold the flavor as well as I wanted but it was still yummy.