Soft Shell Crab BLT

Soft Shell Crab BLT
Greer first tried this at The Grove in Houston before an Astros game.  After a few tries, we ended up with our own recipe.  If you like BLTs, you will surely enjoy these additions.  This does take a little bit of time, but worth it in the end.  This makes enough for two.

Ingredients

2 softshell crabs, cleaned

Milk (enough to cover crabs in a bowl)
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ c flour
Vegetable or Canola Oil for frying

2 teaspoons mayonnaise

2chipotles, finely chopped

½ bunch watercress

1 roma tomato, finely diced
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
½ avocado, sliced

4 slices bread

Directions

Place the cleaned softshell crabs  in milk, and let soak for about an hour. 
While crabs are soaking, remove watercress from stems, combine with diced tomato and bacon, set aside.  Mix mayonnaise and chopped chipotle.  Spread mixture on bread, and toast. 
Coat crabs with beaten eggs, dredge through flour and repeat.  Fill wide pan with tall walls with about 1.5 inches of oil.  Place crabs in hot oil and fry until golden brown, flip once.  Remove from oil and place on rack and lightly pat dry.
On toasted bread, generously heap watercress, tomatoes and bacon.  Place one crab on top.  Finish with avocado slices.

Feel free to add some spices (like pepper, chili powder, paprika) to the flour to give a little kick.

Cost

Softshell crabs $13.98
Watercress $0.89
Tomato $0.31
Bacon $0.79
Bread $0.50
Avocado $0.99
On Hand $2.oo
Total: $19.46
Per Sandwich: $9.73

Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad

Chicken salad makes a great quick and easy lunch.  This particular recipe was based on a local bakery Greer used to frequent.  Being primarily mustard based, this one feels lighter and healthier than a lot of traditional chicken salads.   Serve on a sandwich, or over a bed of lettuce.  Makes 5 servings.

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, grilled
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup chopped walnuts
1 Apple, diced
Sauce:
2 tablespoons Dijon
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon mayo
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
½ teaspoon paprika

Directions

Grill the chicken breast, and shred.  Combine with cranberries walnuts and apples and sauce, mix well.  Serve chilled. 
Sauce:
Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Cost

Chicken $1.52
Cranberries $0.99
Walnuts $0.75
On Hand: $1.00
Total: $5.01
Per Serving: $1.00

Leftovers

This keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days.