Crab Ragoon

Ingredients

8oz Imitation crab, chopped

1 large carrot, grated (julienne is fine but I prefer grated)

1/2 cup bok choy (or celery), finely chopped

1/2 cup onion, diced (I used purple because that is what I had)

1 jalapeño, seeds removed, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp white pepper

2 tsp zesty lemon

1 tsp teriyaki

6oz cream cheese, softened

pinch of salt

wonton wrappers

1 egg, whisked

Olive oil or melted butter 

Heat oven to 425. Combine crab, carrots, bok choy, onion, jalapeño, garlic. pepper, zesty lemon, teriyaki, cream cheese, and salt. 

Spoon mixture into wonton wrapper and seal with egg wash. Cover baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Arrange ragoon on the sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden.

#checkout51 casserole

Ingredients:

8oz imitation crab, chopped (snag some this week and get a rebate from the checkout51 app!)

1 cup cooked rice

2 cups chopped steamed veggies of your choice (I used what I had on hand).

1 cup shredded cheese

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

4 TBSP butter

1 TBSP flour

1 tsp paprika

Juice of one lemon

Salt & pepper

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Put one cup steamed rice on the bottom of your baking dish (I cooked mine in chicken stock to give it a bit more flavor).

3. Cover rice layer with chopped steamed veggies (make sure they've been seasoned; I used: broccoli, carrot, mushrooms, celery).

4. Cover veggie layer with cheese.

5. In a saucepan melt ONLY two TBSP of butter. Reduce heat to medium low. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook until your kitchen is filled with the smell (about one minute). Add remaining butter to melt. Whisk in flour, lemon, and paprika. 

6. Stir in crab and raise slightly to bring to a bubble. Remove from heat. Salt & pepper to taste. Spread a thin layer of crab mixture over top of cheese. 

7. Bake thirty minutes or until cheese bubbles.

Side note: this is like a "kitchen sink" casserole. I literally put anything I had on the counter to cook with and made it work. Just named it after the Checkout 51 app because I wouldn't have bought the crab without their great deal! Here's my counter before the cooking started (I didn't use everything):

Pork Belly Roast

Ingredients:

2 1/2-3lb pork belly roast

2 TBSP favorite dried herb (my grandmother uses fennel seeds)

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

1 large russet potato, cubed

2 medium carrots, scrubbed vigorously

1 celery stalk, chopped

2-4 cups beef or chicken stock

Salt and pepper

1. Heat your oven to a high temperature. I'm cooking with gas so my range says "Max" and that is what I use, it is approximately 550 degrees.

2. Slice the pork belly (skin side) just down to the meat, cutting through the fat, about 1 inch apart in both directions to create a grid effect. Generously salt and pepper underside (meat) portion. Now back on the skin side, sprinkle only 1 TBSP of the herbs on the skin side. Then drizzle one TBSP of olive oil. Gently rub the herbs into the crevices. Repeat for second TBSP of both the herbs and the olive oil.

3. Drizzle some olive oil into the bottom of your baking dish. Add all the vegetables and generously salt and pepper (the veggies are to keep your roast off the bottom so that it doesn't burn and will also be used for a gravy).

4. Set the pork loin on top of your veggies and put in the oven for 10-15 minutes until you notice the skin bubble and crisp. Then reduce the heat to 325 and continue to bake 1 1/2 hours.

5. Remove roast from oven, place meat on your cutting board (to rest, don't cut it yet! Let the juices get sucked back into the meat first).

6. Put the veggies in a large sauce pan on medium and mash. Add just enough beef (or chicken stock) to make a paste. Now whisk in enough stock to form a gravy. Strain with a mesh strainer to remove any large pieces of veggie (this is how I trick my boys into eating vegetables... I do leave a bit untrained as I love the chunky veggie gravy).

7. Slice cracklings off the roast (keep it for your own enjoyment). Slice roast and serve with veggie gravy.