My oldest has never been one for toys. Never into trains, nor dinosaurs, nor super heroes. Instead he’s into everything outdoors (he had a major John Deere obsession that still hasn’t faded). For his birthday, he dreamed of getting his own grill.
Is a mini grill really appropriate for a 7 year old? Time will tell. He is a very mature kid and I’ve been lecturing him non-stop about how he’s only allowed to use his grill when a grown up is RIGHT THERE TO HELP.
Insert nervous-emoji-face.
The entire weekend he was grilling non-stop. First up? Eggs.
Then marshmallows.
Then cheeseburgers for our dinner...
...followed by more marshmallows.
Fortunately we’ve run out of charcoal so he’ll have to take a few days off from grilling. Darn.
In regular-kitchen-cooking news, I tried making a new recipe. As usual, I have no idea what to call it. It started with an extra container of crab meat I had in the fridge (I know, I know- who has random crab meat in their fridge?). I also had some zucchini. And frozen corn. Aaaaand to round us out, some Jiffy corn muffin mix. Let’s make some corn & crab fritters!
Corn & Crab Fritters
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
10 oz frozen corn, heated to package instructions
1 large zucchini, shredded, with excess moisture pressed out (just blot a kitchen towel on it)
8 oz crab meat, any liquid drained
2 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil mayonnaise*
1/4 cup corn meal*
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray (I used butter flavor)
*Depending on how watery your shredded zucchini is, you may need to use less mayo/more cornmeal.
Heat a large griddle to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine dry corn muffin mix, corn, zucchini, crab meat, eggs, salt, and pepper. Add most but not all of the mayo, and add most but not all of the corn meal. If it seems too wet, add a little more corn meal. If it seems too dry, add a little more mayo. If you’re not sure, just cross your fingers and continue, ha! This really is a pretty forgiving recipe and it’ll cook up fine.
Spray the griddle surface with nonstick cooking spray, then working in batches, ladle out the corn/crab mixture into 8 large circles. Cook for a few minutes (my griddle took about 5 minutes), then gently lift up one to see if it’s nice and golden brown. If so, go ahead and flip. Once both sides are deep golden brown, serve!
We really dug these. They're reminiscent of crab cakes but with the added sweetness of the corn. The zucchini is really just a filler here- it adds bulk so you get a good-sized portion while keeping calories under control. To make a fancy-ish meal, serve these with a lean protein such as baked fish or grilled seasoned chicken plus a side veggie.
Per corn crab fritter: 266 calories, 33 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams fat, 11 grams protein, 577 mg sodium