A new deal - Swagbucks!!

So, I think Swagbucks is my new obsession! It's a really cool site where you can earn "swag bucks" just by doing an internet search, voting in a poll, or shopping at select stores. You then can use those bucks to buy all sorts of goodies the site offers, like Paypal funds, Amazon.com gift certificates, magazines, electronics, toys, apparel, etc. Just for signing up, you get 30 free bucks. Not bad! If you're interested, visit Swagbucks.com. I swear, you'll be hooked instantly!

Catching up...again...

It's been yet another crazy weekend, as we celebrated Luke's birthday on Sunday. Most of the time has been spent preparing for the big party and the work paid off - it was a HUGE success! Everyone seemed to have a great time and Luke had a blast...he's been so worn out from all the excitement that he's slept more than 3 hours already today?!?

As for the past few dinners, I ate at the Sinkhole Saloon in Palmyra with the 10-year reunion planning committee. I had an awesome veggie burrito and chips, and, of course, a bottle of Magic Hat! On Saturday, we ate BBQ pork chops and corn on the cob. Yesterday we spent the day munching on hot dogs, meatballs, chips, pretzels, popcorn and cake. The meatballs were a huge hit, so I want to share the recipe. It's honestly one of the easiest recipes ever!


Meatballs
Ingredients
40 meatballs
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 onion

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and cook in crockpot over low for 4-5 hours.

May 27 - BBQ Chicken

We had an extra little one for dinner tonight (we watched my friend, Sarah's little guy while she and her husband went to a rehearsal dinner), so I wanted to make something I knew everyone would eat (especially since it went so well yesterday!). I decided to do BBQ chicken, braised carrots and garlic red potatoes. It tasted so good and all three kiddos cleaned their plates! I've posted both recipes before, but they're so delicious, I'll post them again. Enjoy!

Braised Carrots
Ingredients
1 lb bag of baby carrots
1/2 cup water or chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in large saucepan.
2. Simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until water/broth evaporates.

Roasted Garlic Red Potatoes
Ingredients
2 pounds red potatoes, quartered
1/4 cup butter, melted (I used low-fat)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
2. Place potatoes in an 8x8 inch baking dish. 
3. In a small bowl combine melted butter, garlic, salt and lemon juice; pour over potatoes and stir to coat. 
4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over potatoes. Bake in preheated oven for at least 60 minutes (often a little longer).

May 26 - Kielbasa

This was the last night before I went grocery shopping, so it was digging around the freezer for something to eat. I pulled out a kielbasa, french fries and corn...so that was that! It wasn't the most deluxe meal, but it tasted okay and (I think for the first time ever)...every single person in the family ate it - and liked it?! Luke is now full-fledged into finger foods, so he ate everything, and Linds loves "hot dogs" (which we lied and told her it was), fries and corn. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make one meal for all four of us!

FREE Rite Aid Card!

Rite Aid is *finally* offering a scan card program (like the CVS Extra Care Card). It will offer member-only discounted pricing, 10% off Rite Aid brand items, and rewards points up to 20% off. They'll also have special coupons and sales online just for members. It's free, so you might as well sign up for it - extra discounts never hurt! PLUS, when you sign up, you get $50 in coupons AND a $5 off $25+ coupon right off the bat. Click here to sign up.

They're at it again!

Restaurant.com is having ANOTHER 80% sale in honor of Memorial Day! This sale runs through Monday, so go grab some SUPER cheap gift certificates for some restaurants in your area. They're good for up to a year after you buy them, so you've got plenty of time to use them. Enjoy!

Recipe Newsletters!

If you're anything like me, you loooove trying new recipes (I swear, I can't eat the same thing more than twice a month). Here are two of my favorite sites for recipes - sign up and you get them e-mailed to you. I buy Bisquick in bulk, so you better believe I use a bunch of stuff from them, and Betty Crocker products offer the Box Tops for Education, which I give to my mom (the schools get money from the company when they turn them in). Check 'em out!

Good deals!

I've signed up for a few Philadelphia-area daily coupons from a few sites lately and am really digging them! They're all for up to 90% off salons, restaurants, events, and specialty shops in southeast Pennsylvania. I haven't bought any yet, but am really tempted - maybe the boy will surprise me for my birthday since I signed him up, too! Check it out here.

May 25 - Birthday Pizza!

Today is Luke's birthday, so we let him pick dinner...okay, okay - we don't have any food, the kid digs pizza, and we haven't had it in a couple of weeks, so it was a no-brainer. We ordered from Domino's and Linds and I made a cake for Luke. I'm definitely not good at making cakes...no matter how hard I try, they always look like a HUGE disaster! Luckily, Linds helped me with this, so I can lay partial blame on her ;-) Here's our creation:

Now, when we gave him the cake, he poked it a few times and then just screamed - no tears...just piercing shrieks. I don't think he liked it?! He refused to even touch it. Oh, well, we'll see what happens during his party on Sunday! Today, we spent the afternoon at Chick-fil-A with Luke's buddies, took long naps, and went to the "slides and swings" (East Fallowfield Park) behind our house. It was such a fun day! Here are a few photos of the birthday boy.

Happy Birthday Luke!

One year ago today my little man was born! I know this has nothing to do with food, coupons, or freebies...but I have to wish him a happy birthday on here :) He's my little mama's boy (in a tough, manly, masculine way!), and he and his sister are the lights of my life. It's so hard to believe he's already one - I feel like it was just yesterday that we were sitting at the Paoli Hospital, watching the Jon & Kate + 8 Memorial Day marathon (which, by the way, drove me insane! as if labor wasn't bad enough!), waiting for him to arrive. Happy birthday Lukas - I love you!

May 24 - Spaghetti with meat sauce

We're back, but almost completely without food?! I dug around in the freezer for a little yesterday and uncovered a frozen bag of the spaghetti meat sauce I made a few weeks ago...so pasta it was! The cupboards are so barren I didn't even have anything to serve with it. With Luke's birthday tomorrow, I know I won't get to the store until at least Wednesday. Sounds like it's pizza for Tuesday!

Spaghetti Tomato/Meat Sauce
Ingredients
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 pound lean ground beef
2 yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Blend the stewed tomatoes and crushed tomatoes in a blender.
2. In a large pot, brown the ground beef with the onions and garlic. 
3. Pour in tomatoes, and reduce heat. 
4. Add sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper, and cover. 
5. Simmer about 45 minutes. Serve warm over pasta of your choice.

Back from vacation!

I'm slowly adjusting back to "real life" after a nice long week at the beach. I must say, it's exhausting going from lazy days of lounging and relaxing back to laundry, dishes, cooking, and solo-parenting. I was so lucky - there were essentially 6 parents for Linds and Luke most of the vacation (my parents, brother and his girlfriend were unbelievably helpful with the kids).

From where I left off last Wednesday, we never made it to Applebee's...we actually went to this amazing waterfront restaurant that was just steps away from our house - Back Bay Ale House. This restaurant had the best chowder and crab skins (potato skins topped with crab) and the drinks were, of course, fabulous! They arrived in 32-oz mason jars and knocked you over after two. Here's the fam during our last dinner of vacation at Back Bay.

So now we're home again...and I desperately need to hit the grocery store!

Free Recipe Book Downloads

I found a few more recipe book downloads! Check these out for some great recipes.

40 Healthy Snack Recipes eBook


22 Quick, Easy & Healthy Chicken Recipes eBook


Chicken Casserole eBook


Pork Chop eBook

Vacation Update!

I have so much catching up to do! We've been in Atlantic City for the past four days and have been enjoying lazy days, filled with food, booze, gambling and quality family time. We arrived on Sunday afternoon to the Lucky Beach House and by the time we got there, no one was up for cooking or even going out, so we ordered some pizza from Tony Boloneys - it was some of the best damn pizza I've had! If you check out the site, make sure to look at the "erotic pizza" if you dare...we all looked at them and it gave us a good giggle.

On Monday, we took a stroll along the boardwalk and played a game of mini-golf. We drew names earlier in the day and the winners were allowed to order the losers around the following day - ironically, we all drew our spouses/partners?! Scott and I ruled the course and won by a good 6 strokes. That came in quite handy for Tuesday when I needed some recovery time ;-) After golf, we had a "lupper" at the Rainforest Cafe - I got the guacamole burger (burger, guac, pepperjack cheese and an onion ring) and we all ordered tropical drinks in their cool flashy cups. Totally touristy, but fun!

Yesterday, was a recovery day for me...I was kind of hurtin from Monday's boozey adventure post-Rainforest Cafe, so I just nibbled during the day. That evening we decided to order Chinese and go to town on some lo mein, shrimp with broccoli, General Tso's, beef with broccoli, and egg rolls. After a late-night trip to the Claridge, Zach and Rachel beat us to all of the leftovers...but the boy and I needed to win back our money (which we did!).

Today we're planning to hit the Atlantic City Outlets and maybe do an appetizer feast at Applebee's (they have a super cheap special) and then come home for tropical island drink night. I <3 vacation!!

FREE South Beach Fiber Bar!

Start Sampling (a great site for deals, freebies, etc.!) is giving away a FREE South Beach Living Fiber Fit S'mores bar! No strings attached - just fill out the first question and enter your mailing address and it's all yours. I just sent away for mine :) Click here for yours!

May 14 - YP w/ old friends

Tonight was my "mini-reunion" with four old friends from the PHS class of 2000! We're trying to throw together some last minute plans for our 10-year reunion coming up and met at YP. It was an absolute blast to see these ladies! We're all Facebook friends, so we pretty much knew what was going on with each other, but to reconnect and reminisce was fantastic. There were so many great memories I had forgotten about that we were able to laugh about.

Since I was out to eat (garlic and crab pizza, Old Bay fries, and a trip to Friendly's for coffee ice cream with Heath bar crunch...my god, brings back the post-football Friendly's trip memories!), I didn't cook at all. In fact, I didn't even make something for the boy or kids before I left like I normally do. They ate hot dogs and chips (healthy dad dinner, huh?) and then the boy ate 3/4 of the stromboli I brought back for him. Only one meal left before we leave for vacation, and this one's at my parents' to celebrate my little brother's graduation! No more cooking for another 10 days - WAHOOOO!!

Luke vs. Corn on the Cob

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I got a new camera - wahoo! We desperately needed an upgrade, and with vacation in three days, we figured it was high time. We bought a Sony Cybershot W-350. I've been photo-crazy all day, taking pictures of anything and everything, and managed to capture this absolute preciousness! Maybe I'm partial, but I kind of think he's the cutest little guy in the universe.

And, of course, I have to toss a few of Linds in!

May 13 - First Corn on the Cob of the Season

I was planning on doing Valerie's chicken today but realized I had two chicken breasts left...enough for the boy and the kiddos with the way Luke and Linds have been eating lately. When I was at Wegmans buying some burgers and their amaaaaazing baked potato salad (it is SO delicious!), I came across a halibut fillet with pesto, sun dried tomatoes and a little mozzarella cheese. It looked like it would taste heavenly and I needed a protein for my meal...the fact that it was $4 was even better! I also saw they had corn on the cob out, so I bought six ears, figuring that would be enough for us. Next time, I need to buy at least 10!

Now, of course, I cut up the chicken for Luke and Lindsay, assuming that's what they would eat. Linds started picking at it (she was eager for the corn), but Luke just tossed his overboard. I know he likes this chicken, but I figured maybe if I gave him a bite of the fish and pesto and tomatoes that he would be so grossed out by the alternative that he'd scarf down the chicken. NOPE! The kid ate 2/3 of my fillet. Every time I took a bite he shrieked and banged on his tray table.

So, my meal (and Luke's I guess) was a little halibut with pesto, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, paired with corn on the cob and white rice (with a little of the Val's chicken sauce on it for flavor). The boy and Linds ate the chicken instead of the fish. I took a few photos and I'm going to post them all...I got a new camera today, so I went a little picture happy.

LAST DAY!!

Don't forget...today is the LAST DAY for Restaurant.com's 80% off sale!! $25 gift certificates are as cheap as $2!! Click the link below for your savings. Happy munching!!

May 12 - Pizza

I'm really in vacation mode already! I don't feel like cooking, cleaning, or doing anything that requires effort. By the time dinner rolled around tonight, I had zero interest in putting something together, so we ordered pizza and a salad from Venice Pizza. It's pretty good pizza and one of two pizza places that delivers around here (Dominos is the only other one we can get...that I know of?). So, that was it - pizza and a salad for dinner. Nothing fancy, but damn, it was great to be able to dish out the food and not even have to clean it up (thank you, boy!).

80% off at Restaurant.com!!

Through Thursday, May 13 you can get 80% off at Restaurant by clicking the link below. That makes a $25 gift certificate only $2!! Can you possibly find a better deal than that?!?!? There are a ton of restaurants to choose from, too. Hurry, though - it's only good through tomorrow!!

FREE Cookbooks!

Here are a few free cookbooks you can get just by submitting your e-mail address. I downloaded the Mexican and copycat ones and they have some great stuff in them!

May 11 - Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce

We're slowly working our way through the freezer as we get ready for vacation (5 days and counting!). Today I let Linds choose what to have (chicken or spaghetti) and she picked spaghetti. I had made this sauce two and a half weeks ago and absolutely loved it! The batch was enough for four meals, and makes a quick, homemade, delicious sauce...boiling water and heating it up is just too easy. Go ahead - give it a shot...I promise you'll like it!

Spaghetti Tomato/Meat Sauce
Ingredients
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 pound lean ground beef
2 yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Blend the stewed tomatoes and crushed tomatoes in a blender.
2. In a large pot, brown the ground beef with the onions and garlic. 
3. Pour in tomatoes, and reduce heat. 
4. Add sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper, and cover. 
5. Simmer about 45 minutes. Serve warm over pasta of your choice.

The prep time was about 15 minutes - that included chopping the onion and garlic, as well as browning it and mixing the sauce together. This would be simple to toss together and put in the crockpot on low for those of you who work. And like I mentioned before, next time I make it, I'm going to substitute 1/2 lb. of sausage for 1/2 lb. of the beef. I think that will give it a nice kick! If you want to make it vegetarian, however, delete the meat out of the recipe and substitute in two tablespoons of olive oil.

May 10 - Cornbread Enchilada Casserole

Today was the May installment of "Munchin Mamas" recipe club. Although already taken place, we honored the Cinco de Mayo holiday and made it a Mexican themed meeting. We had some fantastic food, including: fruit salsa with cinnamon sugar chips, guacamole and chips, a spicy cream cheese/Velveeta/turkey sausage dip with chips, a cheesy salsa-y chicken, and Mexican wedding cookies. I decided to bring the famed cornbread enchilada casserole, given to me by my friend Katie. I made it a month or two ago and it was a HUGE hit! I had enough leftovers for it to be dinner tonight, so I ate it twice today (so did the kiddos). Luke was really diggin it, too - I couldn't believe how much he enjoyed the beans especially. Watching him eat all this "big boy" food is fascinating, albeit a bit sad...where did my baby go?!?

For those of you who haven't tried it, here is the recipe again!

Cornbread Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
4 oz. can diced green chiles
1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
3 to 4 chopped scallions (I used 1/4 cup onion)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used 2 boxes of Purdue Short Cuts because I didn't have too much time to make it)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn with red & green peppers, drained
1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1/2 cup egg substitute (I used 2 eggs)
1 (8.5 oz) package corn muffin mix
2 Tblsp chopped roasted red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Mexican cheese
for garnish - sour cream, fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Place salsa, scallions, chicken, beans, corn, half the chilies, and enchilada sauce into the cooker; stir well. Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 4 hours.
2. Combine the other half of the chiles, corn muffin mix, egg substitute, and chopped red pepper in a bowl. Spoon batter evenly over the bean mixture in the cooker. Cover and cook 1 hour until the crust is done.
3. Sprinkle the cheese over the corn bread, turn off the crockpot and let it sit 5 minutes until the cheese melts. Top each serving with a tablespoon of sour cream and additional cilantro, optional. Makes about 6 servings.

May 9 - Mother's Day Lunch

I had the MOST amazing Mother's Day to date. It was absolutely perfect! I woke up to breakfast in bed (eggs, Grilled Stickies from the Diner, and pineapple juice in a sippy cup...so Linds wouldn't spill it as she walked up the stairs :P). Then, we all hung out, played games, took naps, etc. and the best part? Lunch at Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester! It's national hamburger month, so IHB has a special burger each day in celebration. I read about yesterday's burger a few weeks ago and told the boy I wanted to go, and he remembered! It was their Mediterranean burger topped with their hummus (by far my favorite in the area!), cucumber, arugula, mozzarella and balsamic syrup. I hyped it up in my head, so I was hoping not to be disappointed - and I certainly wasn't!

To top it off, both kids were absolute angels during the meal...polite, well-behaved, patient (pretty much the opposite of the kids at the table beside us :-P). Later we had a smaller dinner of tortellini and salads, but IHB was definitely the highlight of the meals yesterday.

May 8 - Pork BBQ & Beans

The other week when I made pork tenderloin, the package had two slices in it. While the other one was roasting in the oven, I tossed this one in a crockpot with some Sweet Baby Ray's, shredded it, and then froze it for later. I pulled it out Saturday morning and we ate it on the onion-poppyseed buns from Pepperidge Farms and baked beans. I don't have a recipe because it was literally a two-ingredient mixture (pork and BBQ sauce), but here's what it looked like!

May 7 - Mac 'n Cheese

Today the boy was at a golf outing and then poker night with the guys. There's something about cooking a big meal for just me and the kiddos that seems unnecessary, so I cooked a tray of Stouffer's mac 'n cheese up. I got a ridiculously good deal on it, too - it was just under $5 at Giant, and if you become a Facebook fan, they'll give you a coupon for $2.50 off.

May 6 - Honey Dijon Chicken

A couple weeks ago I clipped a coupon for 50 cents of any Lawry's marinade...it went on sale for $1 at Acme that week, so after it doubled, I ended up getting it for free! Since I had a bunch of other kinds of marinade, I bought a honey dijon flavor. I wasn't sure if the boy would enjoy it (he's picking with his meat - he doesn't want fruit with it or anything sweet), but I know he likes honey mustard, so I figured it was a safe bet. I grilled up some chicken breasts that were marinating in the sauce all day.

I also made some scalloped potatoes (boxed - quick and easy) and Linds and I munched on frozen peas with everything else. I can't stand the thought of eating vegetables frozen, but for some reason, ever since I was a kid, peas are the best when they're frozen! My mom used to give it to us as a snack when we were younger.

I don't have any recipes since I didn't have to actually "prepare" anything, but here's what it looked like:

Garden Update

I planted lettuce seeds in the garden a few weeks ago, and we have some baby lettuce! It's pretty teeny-tiny sprigs, but it's there. Linds keeps asking where the "mommy lettuce" is - hehe :) I'm thinking of planting the peppers, zucchini, and green beans this weekend, although I need to check the weather for the next week to make sure we're past the last frost.

Since I've started my garden, I've started accompanying the boy on his runs to Home Depot (it's like his haven!). I came across these opportunities and thought I'd share them with you:





I signed up for the workshop at the Downingtown location (on June 3rd), so if you're local and feel like coming, let me know! I'm also planning to sign up for the Garden Club - I need any and all tips I can get!

May 5 - Tacos

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In honor of the holiday, I whipped up some tacos (although I was out of lettuce, which for some reason I always feel is a very important part of a taco). Everyone loves tacos here - Linds ate FOUR in their entirety! - and there are rarely leftovers. I added Frank's hot sauce to mine, which gave them a delicious kick. Afterwards, I ditched the hubby and kids and went to my friend Christy's house for some margaritas, sangria and nachos. Fun, fun!

FREE nursing cover!

Most (if not all) of you know I'm a breastfeeder - I nursed Lindsay for 18 months and Luke has been nursed since day one (almost one year!). Right before Luke was born, I ordered a nursing cover from Udder Covers. It was a god send for all of those public nursing excursions. Right now they're having a HUGE sale where they're giving them away for FREE (just pay for shipping).

Navigate to Udder Covers.
Click on Shop Now.
Choose the cover you want and enter Mother in the promo code box when it appears.

I don't know how long this will last, so take advantage quickly!!

May 4 - Tangy Spare Ribs

When I ordered my freezer special package from the butcher, they gave us two separate packages of spare ribs. I defrosted one overnight and meant to toss it in the crockpot, but realized around 3:00 that I didn't. Whoops! I decided to try out a different recipe then for tangy spare ribs that I've been eying for quite some time.

Well, suffice it to say, I wasn't entirely thrilled with it. They weren't bad, just not as good as the others. When I first made my original rib recipe, I was so nervous that they'd turn out blah and was pleasantly surprised. Thank god I didn't do this one first! Seriously, they aren't bad - they were just not as moist and the sauce had a bit too much kick for me (not a spicy kick...a, well, tangy kick).

Linds loved them...I swear she ate more than I did?! We also had some sweet potato cornbread that I had made a few weeks ago, which Luke devoured. It's fun to see him start eating finger foods (although he didn't care for these ribs like he did the others). If you'd like to give it a shot, here's the recipe; I'm also reposting the sweet potato corn bread because it's THAT good!

Tangy Spare Ribs
Ingredients
4 pounds pork spareribs
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. Cut ribs into serving-size pieces; place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, saute onion in butter for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. 
3. Drain fat from roasting pan. Pour sauce over ribs. 
4. Bake 1-1/2 hours longer or until meat is tender.
   

Sweet Potato Corn Bread
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar + 1 cup milk + 15 T milk
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9x9 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
3. In a small bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, sweet potato and softened butter.
4. Fold liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just well blended.
5. Pour into baking dish and bake 20 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

May 3 - Crab Cakes

It's official - vacation is less than 2 weeks away! We leave on Sunday, May 16, after lunch and head down to Atlantic City for a week with my family (my parents, my brother and his girlfriend, and even my sister will be there - our first family vacation that I have been on, honestly, since 1999 I think). Since we'll be gone, I want to use up as much of the food in the house so that nothing goes to waste. I made a list of at least 15 different meals we have available (my god this stockpiling thing is fantastic!), so I'll be going through those over the next two weeks.

Last night while I was digging around the freezer I found crab cakes from when I made them before (back in early March, I think?), so I decided to whip those up with some yellow saffron rice (which I got for free, thanks to coupons and a sale at Giant) and corn. I had 4 cakes, which I figured Linds would turn her nose up at, so I gave the boy two and I took one, knowing full well that when Linds said "ewwww!" to hers, I'd eat the rest. Wouldn't you know she devoured it?! And I'm not talking simply eating...she scarfed it down and begged for more. While this was going on, Luke was screeching in his highchair, which is code for, "FEED ME!" I gave him a bite of my crab cake (thanks to the allergy testing we know he has no shellfish allergy) and he continued screeching. Great - this kid likes 'em, too! I have a feeling my kiddos are going to have very expensive palates! Here's a rerun of the crab cake recipe:

Crab Cakes
Ingredients
16 oz. crab meat
1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 egg
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. mustard
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 c. breadcrumbs

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except crab meat.
2. Shape into cakes.
3. Pan-fry 15 minutes, turning half-way through, until both sides are golden-brown and cooked through.