So today, I’m thinking of crab cakes. We got this booklet in the mail from Food & Wine magazine with their best recipes ever. One of the recipes was Mrs.  Duvall’s Crab Cakes. Mrs. Duvall just happens to be the mother of actor Robert Duvall. She was very famous for her crab cakes.

I did a search of crab cakes and found that everyone has their own tricks and secrets to what makes their crab cakes better than the rest. For some, it’s the seasoning and for others it’s a sauce.

I made crab cakes 1 time in my life, just a few years ago. I bought a huge can of crab meat (from a reputable crab company). I used just enough bread crumbs and other ingredients to hold the meat together.

I made a spicy sauce to go with them. They actually turned out pretty good but as with most things that are pan fried, the last few were darker and less cooked than the first ones.

When we go out to eat, if there is a crab cake sandwich on the menu, I usually get it, as long as it’s not too over priced. Some places can really overcharge for a crab cake sandwich. I like it better than a hamburger because it’s lighter and you get a little crunch.

Maybe I’ll have to make them again soon.

My oldest is 10 and every once in a while, she kind of hints that she really doesn’t like meat. Well, hints is being nice.

Her latest is the she ‘doesn’t want to eat cow’. Her friends think cows are cute so they now think they won’t eat anymore beef. But, when asked by her sister about cheeseburgers she said “well, cheeseburgers are different”.

When she goes through one of these phases, she thinks if she quits eating meat that she’ll be able to eat more junk. When I tell her that we’ll have to do research and figure out what she should replace meat with, she decides not to.

I have no problem with it if she decides she really doesn’t want to eat meat anymore. But, she will have to get the proper nutrition. It would take work on both of our parts but if it was something she wanted to do, I’d help her.

How often do you try something new? I very rarely do because I know my family won’t eat it. It could be all their favorite ingredients but if it’s not made how they are used to it, they won’t eat it.

I’d probably put the ‘blame’ on that to my husband’s family. They always have all meals pretty much the same. Even now, if we go over for  a roast beef dinner or something, it’s always the same, right down to the can of green beans.

The way I grew up was a little looser. We had a lot of the same meals but it always wasn’t the same. We’d have different vegetables or something, whatever my mom was hooked on at the time. She used to put spinach in salad and told us it was romaine lettuce but after a while, I found out romaine lettuce wasn’t fuzzy.

I always think I want to try something new but usually I don’t so I don’t have to hear the wrath and then have to make other things for dinner. It’s just not worth the stress.

Lately, when I eat fried foods, I have an allergic reaction. Basically I get shortness of breath. I already have asthma, so I have the necessary meds around for when it happens.

I had it happen a few times with food from Wendy’s. I originally thought it was something on the burgers. Then I had it happen a few times after eating clam cakes, which is the most perfect fried food.

Then, tonight I had buffalo chicken (you know how I love my buffalo chicken) from the pizza place we always go to and it happened again.

Hopefully I can nail this down so I can get back to fried foods again. I really like breathing.

It’s a new year and everyone says they want to lose weight. Even Food Network is getting on board with a week full of healthy recipe shows. (OK, Paula Deen is in that line up. I guess everyone needs to cheat.)

When most people think of dieting and eating light, they think they have to deprive themselves of food. It’s all about making good choices and watching portion sizes.

Now, obviously, if you’re trying to lose weight, you are not going for a double slice of chocolate cake. But, if one cookie makes you feel better, and less deprived, then go for it. If you deprive yourself of too much, your body will revolt and you’ll probably end up eating the double slice of cake.

So, whatever you decide to do, have a good plan. Try to stick to it but don’t beat yourself up if you slip once in a while. Pick a salad instead of french fries. It’s not that hard if you go in with a plan.

That’s my target date for everything getting back to normal here. Everyone, except me, heads back to work or school. I’m going to get back into a routine and (gasp) start making dinner again.

With everything going on, with the holidays and stuff, I’ve really gotten off track. When I found out we’d be hosting Christmas, all my efforts seemed to be for that.

I have a pile of coupons I need to cut out. I’m going to go shopping on Tuesday. I didn’t go this week with all the leftovers.

An update on the soup: it tasted great. Everyone had some too. I had half a box of tubetini (I think that’s what it’s called) and it was the perfect amount. So, I probably won’t have much left over, but what can you do.

Way back before the stomach bug hit our house, I had cut up some boneless chicken breast into bite size pieces. I had never cooked it. So I figured I had to do something with it.

I decided to make some chicken soup. I had 2 cans of chicken broth, then I filled the rest with water. I added the chicken and some very small, whole celery stalks that I grew in my garden last summer and put in the freezer because I didn’t know what else to do with it. Eventually I will fish the celery out and toss it but it smelled great so I’m hoping it gives some flavor. I also added garlic salt and some Mrs. Dash.

Tomorrow, I’ll add some type of pasta to the soup. I’ll try to use something that’s open already but if not, I think I have some soup pasta that I got when it was discontinued. It was like 50 cents for a box.

I almost felt that I was forced to make a pantry meal and this was the best I could come up with. Chances are, I’m going to be the only one in my house who will eat it.

I’m sitting here watching the Travel Channel, trying to think of what to post about today. Then, on comes, Man Vs Food.

This episode, they were in Texas. The first thing I see is the Hell Burger. It’s a huge burger covered with a cup of fresh jalapeno pepper slices, habenero sauce and 1 pound of cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Did I mention it comes with cheese fries? Only 2 pounds of fries covered with cheese and melted on top.

Then, they went to a meat auction place. In the place they have a restaurant who’s specialty is chicken fried steak. Those portions were manageable for most normal people.

Then the host was in a steak eating contest. The steak was 4 and a half pounds. Plus, sides have to be eaten too. There was a baked potato, salad and vegetable. The host, I think his name was Adam, ate it all in 29 minutes. It was disgusting.

Luckily it wasn’t a marathon of this show. I really don’t know how much more I could take. I’m still not eating too much since the stomach bug.

Well, yesterday I didn’t post because it was my turn with the stomach bug. Not a lot of fun, let me tell you. The only thing I ate, if you can consider it food, was a candy cane. It was a struggle even to drink something.

Today, even though I’m feeling better, I still haven’t eaten much. I had a bagel this morning and a small piece of cheese a couple of hours ago. Atleast I could make the kids dinner, which I couldn’t do last night. I guess with everything I’ve eaten from Christmas until Sunday, maybe a few days without food is a good thing.

So, it got me to thinking what’s the best things to eat when you’re not feeling so hot. I know a lot of people swear by chicken broth. A long time ago, you’d have a bullion cube in a cup of boiling water. Saltine crackers also go good with this, or just the crackers by itself.

Some people like to have toast. They say to have it dry but I think most people have to put a little butter on it.

You really need to stay away from dairy products. On the second day of one of the kids being sick, she had a yogurt and we saw it again real soon. Then she asked for a glass of milk. I had to veto that one.

If anyone has any good suggestions on what to eat to get back to normal, I’d love to hear it. Four of us have already been sick so there’s one more to go. She thinks she’s going to avoid it but I’m not so sure.

My favorite part of having a spiral ham is making ham salad. I cut off some of the chunks of meat around the bone. I chop it in a food processor to have nice small pieces of meat.

Then I use only enough mayonaise to stick the meat together. I add some relish, to give it a little pickle flavor. Then I add mustard, because nothing goes together better than ham and mustard.

I always use regular yellow mustard too. It’s the only way to go. It gives it a little kick that makes it not so bland.

Ham salad makes a great sandwich or is good eaten plain too. Also, you have to have potato chips with it. It’s a must. You don’t need a pickle since there’s already relish in it but you can’t go wrong with a pickle on the side.

Hopefully you get a chance to make some ham salad. It’s worth the time and effort to make it yourself. Enjoy!