Saturday, April 16, 2011

Friday Night Dinner Special

We have been trying to keep Fridays meatless, as well as Mondays and after a week of work stress and home maintenance stress (another repair and another blow to the checkbook) we usually fall back on something that is nice, soft, squishy and warm.  My fave - of course - is Mac and Cheese but sometimes I like to mix it up a little.

Way back in the Seventies (1970) there was an explosion of recipes featuring Bisquick in a crustless pie form.  Impossible Pie or Impossibly Easy Pie is still featured on the Betty Crocker website.  And in many of its incarnations makes a pretty darned tasty lunch or dinner with a nice salad, or a passable dessert.

But I never have Bisquick.  What I do have is White Lily Self Rising Flour.  My secret ingredient to my cupcakes, pancakes and biscuits.  Oh, heck, just about any quick bread or cake is better with White Lily.  So here is my adaptation of Seafood Pie (it only sounds weird, it smells divine baking and tastes even better).  There is also very little mess - a cutting board, knife and the blender bowl - my Friday night gift to myself.


                                 Crab Pie
Servings: 4    
6 ounces  canned crab meat -- , drained (add a can of tiny shrimp as well!)
4 ounces  Cheddar cheese -- shredded (half of an 8 ounce bag of shredded cheese)
3 ounces  cream cheese -- cut into 1/4-inch cubes (some swearing takes place when trying to dice cream cheese.
1/4 cup  green onion -- minced fine (I have chives right now so that is what I used)
1/4 cup  red pepper -- diced fine (basically for color)
1/2 cup  self-rising flour (White Lily!)
1 cup  milk (2% is fine)
2 tablespoons  unsalted butter -- melted (to compensate for the 2%)
1/2 teaspoon  salt
1/8 teaspoon  cayenne pepper
2 eggs

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray pie plate with cooking spray. Mix crab meat, cheeses, onions and peppers in pie plate.
Blend the remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients.
Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean (Cream cheese stays in little puddles so it will stick to the knife). Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

I served this with a chopped salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette.  I imagine that with a little work and mini muffin pans this could make a nice appetizer as well.

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