For supper last night I decided to try something a little different. I’ve got I don’t know how many cans of untouched corn in the pantry, but I seem to just keep buying it without using it that often. While adding more recipes to RecipesForMom, I came across a yummy looking corn recipe that I thought I’d give a try. It was a big hit!

We used the Scalloped Corn recipe, but changed it slightly.  Instead of frozen corn I used canned, and it worked just fine. I also sprinkled a little cheese on the top just for the heck of it, which added a bit of extra flavor.

It happened to be the best part of yesterday’s meal, since I also tried making corn dogs from a mix I had bought at the store. It was NOT so great, and the corn dogs ended up tasting like grease-soaked hot dogs. The breading just didn’t stay on. I don’t know if I used the wrong type of hot dogs or what, but this isn’t something I’ll be trying again. Next time I’ll grab a real recipe that has me mixing the batter from scratch.

For the past several years, we’ve been taking care of a site called Recipes For Mom. I hate to say, but it’s been neglected for quite some time. All that changed a few weeks ago when we started working on redesigning it and making it a little easier to navigate.

Unlike the general recipe ideas you’ll find on Idea Queen, Recipes For Mom focuses on “real” recipes with ingredients and instructions.

One of the biggest changes to the site you’ll now see is an easy to navigate category including recipes by main dish (such as pork, chicken, vegetables, etc), recipes by type (like breakfast dishes, restaurant copycat recipes, smoothies, etc), and hoards of dessert recipes in their own section.

Another feature you’ll now see is the ability to rate and review each individual recipe. Comments are always appreciated by viewers for particular recipes, so be sure to add a few on the recipes you’ve tried!

The last feature, which we think is really just for fun, is the “random recipe” feature you’ll now see on each category. When you click on the category title of your choice, a list of recipes come up. Nothing new, right? But the fun part is it will always be different! Even if you refresh the page you’ll find the recipe list in a different order. This can be fun for those who want to randomly try something new. 😉

Any comments on the new site would be appreciated – we’re still working to get all the recipes moved over, and adding a whole lot more!

What started as something ‘cute’ to bring to a family reunion (the “Crabb” family), turned into a tradition. I am no longer allowed to bring any other food aside from these crab cakes that I’ve been making for at least 7 years in a row. This recipe is doubled to make enough, but really I think it’s easier to make as is.

I’ve had this crab cake recipe so long I’m not even sure where it came from. Regardless, it makes the BEST crab cakes I’ve ever had. So good that I’m not even waiting for the reunion this year – we’re having it for supper tonight!

Crab Cakes Italiano

Sauce
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tablespoons pesto

Crab Cakes
1 lb crab meat (I use imitation)
1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons pesto (check around the pasta section at the store)
1 egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons olive oil

1. Mix sauce, refrigerate

2. Combine crab cake ingredients, except oil. Using 1/2 measuring cup, shape into eight 3-inch patties.

3. Heat oil over med heat. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked.

Easy right? I layer them in a baking dish when I take them to the reunion and they travel well. Although I always seem to bring home some of the sauce since not everyone likes it. Pesto use to be a hard ingredient to find and several years ago I’d have to make a trip to the city to the specialty Italian shop, but lately I’ve been finding it in the regular grocery store. I’ve even seen it in dry mix packets where all you do is add oil (which is what my dad returned from the store with one year when I had sent him to fetch it while making them at his house…he had never heard of pesto before!). This is a great option if you only need pesto just for this recipe.

I’m getting hungry just thinking of them, and can’t wait to have them for supper!

I’ve discovered the world of mini-pizzas, and I am in love. The other day I picked up mini-pizza crust (yes I know, I totally cheated, but I did use my pizza crust recipe too for a big pizza!). I let the kids make their own, even letting one of them skip the cheese (don’t ask because I can’t figure it out – he just doesn’t like shredded cheese for some reason, but loves it melted. Go figure!).

Basically I did everything I usually do when I cook pizza – brown hamburger and Italian sausage, lay out pepperoni and cheese, and open a jar of mushrooms. Since I had two small pizzas and a large one, I mixed a can of Italian diced tomatoes and tomato sauce in a bowl and used it on all the pizzas. It turned out to be REALLY good and somewhat chunky (I admit I’ve gotten a little lazy with my sauce – I use to actually COOK the diced tomatoes, but I don’t even bother anymore).

After it was all set out, I just let them have at it. Not only did we have a blast making them, but the kids ate every single bite of their own personal pizzas. I made a big one for me, and had tons of left overs, which was eaten last night because after 24 heart shaped brownies, I wasn’t cooking.

Anyway, if you are looking for something fun to do for supper, try mini-pizzas!

In an attempt to break away from the same old supper while watching way too much of the Food Network, we found a new favorite recipe for hamburgers.

First off, I had found an interesting type of cheese as the store. It was Havarti, which I had never heard of before. This particular block was dill flavored, and you just can’t go wrong with anything dill in this house. It was tasty, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Since I had hamburger meat, I decided to use it on that.

To go along with this strange new cheese, I made a mock version of our Big Mac sauce (see the recipe under “Hamburgers” on the Hamburger Ideas page on Idea Queen.) I left out both types of relish, the salad dressing, and only used regular mayo. Wasn’t exactly Big Mac sauce, but it was still an interesting flavor to go along with the hamburgers.

These were good, but I quickly realized the flavor of the cheese wasn’t coming through as much as I would have liked it to. Next time we’ll be using either more cheese or making them in “inside out” fashion.

These hamburgers also made me think that there really are no rules when it comes to hamburgers. I usually don’t make this particular item very often, but I might just start now that I know I can add anything I want to them. Who knows? Maybe we’ll come up with something really fantastic the next time!