My Grandma's Crab Dip Recipe

 During the holiday season, my grandma always makes her delicious crab dip. The family and I have been enjoying her crab dip for many years. The last time we had it was for a weekend get together in October. I recently asked her to share her recipe with me. It was easier than I expected; she told it to me in a couple basic steps. I would like to share this recipe with you. 

Anyone can make it at home with their loved ones. This recipe is great for an appetizer for parties and get togethers. There are lots of varied recipes online. This recipe, very similar to my grandma's, is my favorite. More favorite holiday seasonal recipes to come soon!

Ingredients

1 (250 g) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese

2 Tbs. milk 

1 can or the equivalent amount of fresh lump crab meat

drained 2 green onions, chopped 

dash of paprika 

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine 1 package (250 g) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened, 1 1/2 cups, 2 tbs. milk, 1 can (106 g) drained crab meat and 2 chopped green onions, in a pyrex dis.

Bake for 15 min., stirring once during baking. Sprinkle a dash of paprika. Serve warm with vegetables and crackers.

Yields 25 servings

Dine like a Celebrity

Paparazzi, take a snap at this

Candy Sushi- Whip up a batch of Rice Krispies treats (made with a little extra marshmallow) and cut them into sushi roll-size circles using a cookie cutter.  Poke little holes in the middle and fill with gummies, jujube fish, twizzlers, and Swedish fish, then wrap each "roll" in a Fruit Roll-Ups strip. 
Another method is to cut the slabs of Rice Krispie Treats into rectangles and stack them on wax paper.  Then add the candy and roll the Rice Krispie treat around the candy.  Only roll once, because you do not want it too thick!  Trim the excess with a knife, then wrap the fruit roll up around it (squeeze). Leave the plastic wrap on my roll-up while applying it to the candy, make sure to remove it before cutting into sushi pieces.     
Serve on a square plate with chop sticks for an authentic look. 

For a glamorous look, bask your candles in a golden glow.  Just paint 1-inch stripes of candle glue onto a pillar candle and sprinkle with glitter.  A gold table cover and a sprinkle of confetti add to the sophisticated vibe. 
table cover: plumparty.com
confetti: partycity.com

*in part courtesy of Seventeen Magazine and mommyknows.com

Muddy Buddy Puppy Chow

I first tried this recipe at one of my field hockey games in middle school.
I prefer to serve it in small individual bowls, or even cupcake wrappers.  This is because childrens' hands become messy and you do not want accidentally knock over the bowl.  It tastes so delicious they will be reaching for more and more.  



Ingredients

9 cups Corn Chex Cereal
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz. bag)
1 cup white chocolate chips (12 oz. bag)
2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Measure out the 9 cups of Chex cereal into a large bowl, set aside
2. In a grocery bag, or large plastic bag, measure out 2 cups of powdered sugar and set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, measure out the butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. 
4. Melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter together in the saucepan over low heat. Be careful not to burn your mixture!  This should take about five to six minutes.  
5. Pour this melted chocolate mixture over the 9 cups Chex in the large bowl. Stir it all together, making sure that all the pieces of Chex are covered in the melted chocolate.
6. Pour this chocolate Chex mixture into the plastic bag with powdered sugar in it. Seal the bag and shake it until all the Chex pieces are coated in a layer of powdered sugar.
7. Open the bag and pour out into a bowl to enjoy!

TIP: Use as a snack for parties, sports events, socials or picnics.  The puppy chow CAN be chilled afterword!

Magic Bars

I remember making this delicious and gooey treat about ten years ago for a bake sale I had at my church. I love that the types of ingredients you can add are endless! You can make it with Reese's Pieces, white chocolate or dark chocolate chips, pecans, marshmallow, any morsels you can think of. Have fun with it and I ENCOURAGE you to substitute any added ingredient.

Makes 24

Ingredients

•  1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups semisweet, milk or dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups butterscotch, M&M's , or white chocolate chips
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

1. Melt the butter or margarine in a saucepan. Mix with the graham cracker crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. Layer the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, and peacans over the graham cracker crust. Pour the condensed milk over the layers.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 Celsius) for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve on plates, drizzle with chocolate or caramel sauce. ENJOY.

*You can leave the remaining squares at room temperature on a plate covered with plastic wrap.

Pocky, A Japanese Snack

Everyone Loves Pocky!

    

I first tried pocky at the Japanese Epcot Pavilion in Walt Disney World, Orlando. This is a snack that is “Big in Japan” and is gaining popularity in the U.S.  These are small, thin, chocolate-dipped biscuit sticks available in dozens of flavors including some “exotic flavors”, super-sized sticks, and even a “Men’s Pocky” product (dark chocolate).
It is a great addition to serve at any children’s party or get-together, adults will also appreciate it! 
My favorite pocky is the Dessert Pocky.  I recently tried this flavor below Chocolat Fromage.  It was so delicious and definitely satisifed my pocky craving!  It is a light biscuit dipped first in a cheese mixture, then dipped again in milk chocolate and covered with milk chocolate swirls.  There are 3 in an individual package inside the box (4 total).  This pocky will work very nicely accompained with an afternoon tea, hot cocoa or milk.  Mascarpone, a cream cheese regularly used in Italian desserts, was used.  Who knew that cheese and chocolate (two of my favorite foods), mixed well together?

 A great place to buy Pocky online
Pocky shop

You can find a selected variety of pocky at your local grocery store, at a specialty foods or Asian market.   Shops that sell pocky in NYC include: Sunrise Market (East Village), Po Wing Hong Food Market (Chinatown, Little Italy), Hong Kong Supermarket of Brooklyn (Borough Park), M2M (Morningside Heights) & Adinah's Farm (East Village)

Other tasty Japanese snacks include Yan Yan and Hello Panda.  Yan Yan are biscuits similiar to Pocky that you dip yourself into either typically vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry icing.  Each biscuit also has a cute message on it!  The Hello Panda snacks come in either chocolate or vanilla vanilla filled round biscuits with cute images on them!  Douzo omeshiagari kudasai!  あなたはそれをお楽しみ下さい

Homemade Yogurt

I have always wanted to make my own yogurt at home and create my own unique flavors.  This is especially a good idea because many of the yogurt products in the grocery store have a very high content of sugar and contain high fructose corn syrup.  I would like to limit my sugar intake (and I love yogurt), so I thought this was a great place to start.

I found the recipe at All Free Crafts.  Credit: Crystal Miller

- 8 cups milk, cow or goat 
- 1/3 cup powdered milk (this is optional but will make a thicker yogurt)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, optional for sweetened yogurt
- 1/2 cup starter yogurt (active yogurt containing a mixed culture)

Before you begin, wash 2 quart-sized canning jars. If you want to use 4 pint-sized jars instead that would be fine too. Have the metal rings and lids ready to cover the jars when you are done.

Pour your milk into a large cooking pot. Heat the milk up to 185 degrees. Allow the milk to cool down to 110 degrees. The cooling can take a long time. If you want to speed the process up fill your sink with cold water and place the pot of hot milk in the water and stir and stir. The temperature drops fairly quickly this way, so make sure to have your thermometer handy to keep checking.

After you reach 110 degrees add the remaining ingredients and stir until everything is dissolved very well. Pour this mixture into your ready and waiting jars. Put the lids on and put them into what ever place you are planning to incubate and culture them. Leave them there for 10 to 12 hours. Try not to disturb the jars to much. When the yogurt is firm it is time to remove them and put them in the refrigerator to get nice and cold. Usually 12 to 24 hours. If you make and incubate the yogurt during the day it can refrigerate overnight and be ready for breakfast the next day.

If you would like flavored yogurt, just add fresh cut up fruit or a little bit of flavored jam when you are serving your yogurt.

Some flavors I created:
Kiwi Strawberry, Blueberry Banana, Lemon (with lemon jam), Pomegranate, Peach Mango, Blackberry Orange, Cherry Vanilla & Coconut Cherry.

Some sweeter flavors:
Vanilla and Chocolate Peanut Butter, Oreo, Butterfinger, Heath & Crunch bar.

Another excellent yogurt recipe and tutorial can be found here.