In case you missed it, I announced the 5 winners of the No-Sew Love GIVEAWAY this morning, HERE. 5 of you are about to receive a fun little package on your doorstep! Eeeeeeh! (Oh, and all those sweet and encouraging comments on the giveaway post?? Thank you so much. Truly. :) )
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This post was written by my foodie sister Robin, who is now sharing all of her favorite recipes and kitchen tips regularly on the new “Make It and Love It – in the KITCHEN” portion of this blog. Try a few of her recipes…your belly will thank you! -Ashley
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Hi guys, it’s Robin again! Glad to be back after several weeks of being away. I hope you’re hungry….because this one’s a really simple recipe you can throw together in minutes. :)
I remember making this Seafood and Swiss Salad recipe for my brother’s open house when he got married many years ago. The open house was simple and a very low key event after the reception. I think I was almost sixteen at the time. I was in charge of making this and a few other things. However, I used this salad as a stuffing inside of large pasta shells. And the reason I remember this recipe so well is that my sister-in-law’s father (or maybe it was one of my parent’s friend’s) raved about it during the open house. For me, at that age, to have an older gentleman raving about something I made — really was the bee’s knees! :)
If you are hankering for a seafood sandwich, and not your typical tuna salad, this will do great. You can use fresh seafood and take a little more time (and money) to prepare and chop your seafood — or you can go the cheater route and use canned shrimp and crab from your cupboard. And surprisingly, once you add in the other ingredients, the canned version is quite delicious, considering how quickly you put it together!
You can eat this salad cold on a sandwich, a soft roll, some crackers, cooked pasta shells, etc. OR, heat it up in a baking dish for a hot dip. The cheese will melt and the mixture will become creamy and delicious, perfect for dipping crackers or tortilla chips! Or, place some of the mixture onto a bun, place in the oven, let the cheese melt and the bun toast up a bit…….mmmmmmm, heaven! (Eating this warm on a toasted bun totally reminds me of the lobster rolls you get on the east coast. SO good!)
Okay, it’s almost time for lunch. Time to grab a few ingredients.
Shopping List:
**First of all, if you are NOT gluten free, I would recommend using imitation crab. It keeps it shape the best and it is a lot cheaper than real crab. But if you want to splurge (and if you ARE gluten free), I would recommend using the refrigerated cooked crab, over the canned stuff. It keeps its shape better and has a better flavor. However, I used the canned here to show that the cheap version is still delicious.
One other thing, as I mentioned in the Potato and Vegetable Casserole, I am not a mayonnaise lover. Here I use minimal mayo, so if you tend to like a robust mayonnaise flavor and want to add a little more mayo, it will do great.
The 3 TBS celery and 2 TBS onions need to be chopped finely like you see in the picture so you get good dispersion for this salad.
Add all the ingredients together: 16 oz of crab meat, 1 cup grated Swiss cheese, 1/2 cup mayo, celery, onion, and 2 TBS chopped pimento. Make sure all the excess water is drained out of the shrimp, the crab meat, and pimentos.
As a disclaimer I like Swiss cheese and so I tend to go heavy on it, sometimes totaling 2 cups instead of 1 cup. Once it is all mixed together, if it seems too dry for you, keep adding mayo until you like the consistency of the salad.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tastes great cold on a sandwich, a roll, some crackers, or cooked pasta shells. Or, remember that heating this salad up turns it into a great dip for crackers or tortilla chips. Or place on a bun, pop it in the oven, and let the cheese melt and the bun toast up a bit. Mmmmmmm!
Enjoy!
-Robin
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Seafood Salad — Recipe Card
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. I tend to go heavy on the Swiss cheese and probably end up doing two cups. If you do the same and it seems too dry, just add a little more mayonnaise. Chill until ready to serve. Or heat and serve as a dip or place on a toasted bun.
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