Red Pepper Crab Cakes with Lemony Mayo

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped celery $
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1 pound lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
• 2/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 large egg $
• 1 large egg white $
• 1/4 cup canola mayonnaise $
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add bell pepper, celery, and green onions to pan; sauté for 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Place vegetable mixture, crab, panko, 1 tablespoon dill, ground red pepper, egg, and egg white in a large bowl, stirring gently to combine. Working quickly with damp hands, gently shape about 1/2 cup crab mixture into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Repeat procedure with remaining crab mixture, forming 8 patties. Wipe pan with paper towels. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden and thoroughly heated.
2. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon dill, mayonnaise, lemon rind, and lemon juice in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Top each crab cake with about 2 teaspoons mayonnaise mixture.

Picadillo Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3/4 cup chopped onion $
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 pound 90% lean ground sirloin $$
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons dried currants
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
• 2 1/4 ounces pitted green olives, chopped (about 12)
• 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro $
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced pickled jalapeño pepper
• Cooking spray $
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 6 (1/2-inch-thick) slices
• 6 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns with sesame seeds $
• 6 small green leaf lettuce leaves

• Preparation
• 
  
• 1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add chopped onion and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Add beef to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in oregano, cumin, and cinnamon; cook 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup water and the next 4 ingredients (through tomatoes). Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro, vinegar, and jalapeño.
• 2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add onion slices to pan; grill 4 minutes on each side. Remove onion from pan. Place buns, cut sides down, on grill pan; grill 1 minute or until toasted.
• 3. Place 1 lettuce leaf on bottom half of each bun; top each with 1/2 cup beef mixture. Divide onion slices evenly among servings; top with top halves of buns.
• Note:
• MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

The Ultimate Baked Potato Soup

This baked potato soup is loaded with your favorite condiments including bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream and scallions.  This soup can be made in a food processor or blender to ensure that it's smooth and creamy.  Each hot and steamy bowl is topped with crispy bacon fried potato skins.

8 slices of bacon, chopped
3 lbs. russet potatoes, scrubbed
1 onion, chopped fine
2 t. minced fresh thyme
2 T. flour
4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1 c. half n half
salt & pepper
2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for serving
1 c. sour cream, plus more for serving
thinly-sliced scallion

1. Using a vegetable peeler, remove wide, long strips of potato peel and set aside. Finish peeling the potatoes. ( I had probably around a 1 1/2 c. peels.) 

2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. To the fat in the pan, add the potato skins and cook until crisp about 10 min. (You want to be sure they are crisp, or else they'll just be soggy and greasy, I took mine out at just the 10 minute mark and they weren't truly crisp, so I just spread them out on a cookie sheet and baked them in a 400 degree oven for around 5 minutes and they were very crisp after that.) Remove the crisped potato skins to the paper-lined plate with the bacon. Add the onion to the fat remaining in the pan, cook until tender and lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the thyme and flour, cook and stir for about a minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and the half n half. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the potatoes are very tender, (you should be able to easly crush a piece of potato against the side of the pot with the back of a wooden spoon) about 10-15 minutes.

3. Using a blender, puree (in small batches) all but about 3 cups of the soup. Using a potato masher or your wooden spoon, lightly crush the potato chunks in the reserved potion of the soup. Add the pureed soup back to the pot and return to a low burner to keep the soup hot. Add in the 2 c. cheese, stir until melted, then add in the sour cream, stir well. Season to taste with salt & pepper. (Sometimes I like to add some of the crisped bacon into the soup mixture at this point, but that's optional.)

4. To serve, top bowls of soup with crisped bacon and potato skins, additional cheddar, sour cream and sliced scallion.