Today’s post is going to be quick and easy. You see, you may notice a few changes on the blog today – a new look, new features and finally…index pages! As most bloggers know, changes like that are not so quick and easy. They take time…lots of time. But we had some this weekend and we figured it was time to liven things up a bit around here, make some improvements, get around to the things we’ve been procrastinating. Frankly, we were ready for a little rejuvenation. So was this recipe…
Seafood enchiladas have long been a favorite summertime dish for us. My grandpa passed along a recipe to me years ago after clipping it from a magazine in the lobby of the hospital where he volunteered. He saw it, knew my affection for seafood, and thought I would like it. He was right. (He found at least 50 recipes…perhaps he was trying to tell me something.) Well, my cooking skills have much improved since then and I opted to scrap the pre-mixed seasoning packet and put my own spin on these babies.
The original recipe calls for regular cream cheese, butter and a ranch dressing seasoning packet. I typically swap out the regular cream cheese for reduced fat cream cheese. I’ve even used the fat-free or a mixture of the two and the results don’t vary at all. I also usually switch out the butter for oil. Now this time, having worked my way around a kitchen a bit more these past few years, I decided to bag the ranch seasoning mix and all its sodium for my own mixture of spices. So in place of the ranch dressing mixture I combined parsley, dill, chives, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder.
As for the recipe, it’s simple. Mix the cream cheese and spices with a bit of milk in a large bowl. Reserve about a 1/4 of the mixture in a small bowl to the side. Next saute the cayenne, onion and garlic in a skillet. Toss in the crab meat, sliced black olives and Salsa Verde. The original recipe called for green chilies, but we’re rejuvenating, remember. 🙂 (Next time, I’ll make my own salsa too….) Cook this mixture for a few minutes and then add it to the large bowl with the cream cheese and spices. Fold in some Colby Jack cheese and spread the mixture evenly in the center of about 8 to 12 tortilla shells.
Next roll the enchiladas, place them in a baking dish seam-side down and top with a bit more Salsa Verde, the small bowl of cream cheese mix and some more Colby Jack. Bake the enchiladas covered for 25 minutes at 350F. Finally, uncover and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. And you’re done…see, quick and easy.
Mike and I have enjoyed these enchiladas numerous times over the years, but this was the kids’ first experience with them. I was a little skeptical. I knew they would enjoy the crab, but I wasn’t so sure about the salsa and dill flavor. Well, I should have remembered Mr. N’s affection for ranch dressing, he really liked the enchiladas and gave them 3 spoons. Miss A liked them too, but not as much as her brother. She rang in with 2 spoons. Mike and I both really enjoyed the freshened up version of the dish. I gave them 4 spoons and Mike a strong 3 spoon vote. Overall, a very successful meal. I bet Grandpa would have enjoyed them too – or at least the fact that I still make them!
Have a great week everyone. We’ll be back next week with our first recipe from our Thai cooking adventures. In the meantime, we hope you have as much fun checking out the indices as we had making them. We didn’t realize just how many states and countries we’ve visited – and just how much the kids have changed!
Print this recipe: Seafood Enchiladas
Eat, Play, Love 
I’ve never tried enchiladas before although I’ve seen them quite often on blogs. These seafood ones look terrific and inspiring enough to get me cooking some up in the kitchen. 🙂
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Like the new look Kristy! I’m not sure how much control you have with plugins on your site, but do you have the ability to install some sort of “lightbox”? Something that opens up the image in an overlay thing instead of loading in a new frame. That would be awesome (click an image on my site if you need an example… if you can get it to load :p).
I never tried seafood enchiladas before (or seafood tacos)… I’ve never been that enamoured by the idea of “fish” tacos or enchiladas, but I bet they’d be good with crab. They look like a nice, quick summery meal as well 🙂
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I’m not sure how much control I have with plugins either! LOL. I’ll have to look into it though. 🙂
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Hello Kristy, I love your new and improved look. Great organization and full pictures make your recipes easier to find and drool while looking. I know how painful organization can be as I spent countless hours doing a complete overhaul on my site when I went to my own self hosted site. It is great but I call it a work in process. I don’t think we will ever be done. Wishing you and your family a super weekend. Take care, BAM
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Thanks BAM! Happy weekend to you as well. And I’m with you…will we ever really be done?! 😉
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Love the new look , was even a wee bit distracted by it actually! great food too! Do NOT take that coat out of the closet, i have joined you in refusing to go back to winter garb and have felt quite liberated !! though you and I may be a wee bit chilly for the next few days.. we will win out in the end.. ! c
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Thanks C! And yes, I’m already chilly, but no winter coat! 😉
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Kristy! your blog looks wonderful! and so do those seafood enchiladas :))
Mary x
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Thank you Mary! 🙂
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Wow, I love your new format, Kristy!! Nice job.. the wider post area means larger photos to see your great recipes.. Love your recipe as well, I can see why your Dad gave it to you:) Yay to your new look!! Index pages are brutal, I spend hours sorting mine.. and when self-hosted I spent days setting up gallery-images but it’s always worth it in the end, eh?! xx
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Thanks Smidge! Index pages are brutal. I think I stared at the computer for way too many hours last weekend. 🙂
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Your organized recipe index is wonderful! Index is really nice to have, especially for readers who want to make your dishes! I have a lot of updates in my mind but I don’t have enough time to work on. Great job on index! Your new design is really nice – I love large pictures!
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Thanks Nami! I think the index will be helpful for us too when we’re trying to think of things to cook for dinner. 🙂
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It looks like spring over here! Everything is fresh and new and alive. Wonderful rejuvenated look Eat, Play, Love. Doesn’t change feel great? And an index to boot! Your home organizing has expanded into your blog Kristy ;-); you inspired my spring cleaning frenzy and now, well, more pressure – lol. Love the enchiladas and I bet your Grandpa would have too. Your version of ranch dressing sounds amazing – I’ve got to give that a try! Looking forward to your homemade salsa…bise.
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I tell ya Kelly – I’m on a roll. 🙂 It’s been great for clearing my mind and feeling happy. Now if we could just get some nice spring-like weather, I can start outside too. 😉
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I LOVE the new look. And I’m going through indexing pages currently and it is NOT easy what-so-ever. I can’t get through everything in a day at all. Hopefully I will finish soon. I also love enchiladas but never thought to make them with seafood. I have to make these.
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Good luck with it Kay! It’s not easy – that’s for sure. I still have more I want to fix with this too. You can only do so much in a day you know. 🙂
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What a great recipe, JT orders enchiladas at our favourite Mexican spot and they’re always so good, don’t know why I never made them at home! You made it look so easy and delicious.
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They are definitely delicious and great with margaritas or the right kind of wine too. 😉
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I like the new look. Katherine keeps saying we need a recipe index. The longer you go without one…. Anyway, love the recipe too.
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It is a serious undertaking. And we don’t have half as many recipes as you guys! My next goal is to set up one more index that breaks it down by type of dish – main course, dessert, etc. That one will take another day though.
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Your new look is awesome my friend 😀
Good job!
And love this recipe 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Thank you CCU! 🙂
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I too love your new look. I keep thinking about a new look and an index, but cannot seem to find the time to do either, I am also afraid of messing things up.
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Oh believe me, I had moments of panic where I thought I messed it all up. It was a bit of a process, but I’m happy it’s done now. 🙂 Thanks Norma!
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Love the new look, Kristy. You guys must have worked hard all weekend to get this done. It isn’t at all easy. Enchiladas are great and making them at home is wonderful. I’m pinning this for future use. Isn’t it something how the foods we prepare reflect our growing confidence in the kitchen? Early on, we find recipes and prepare them verbatim, afraid to make any changes. As time goes by, we start swapping ingredients. The last, and perhaps bravest step, is when we replace the pre-made seasonings, sauces, or condiments with our own. The result is a better tasting, healthier version of the original — with a bit of unspoken pride in our accomplishment. 😉
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It was quite the process John, but I’m happy with it. So is Mr. N. He likes his logo used more prominently. 🙂 It is funny how we have a growing confidence in the kitchen; although I’m not quite up to homemade cheese and whole fish yet. 😉
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Congrats on having the index done! I made mine when my blog was about 2 years old and WOW, it was A TON of work, but it was a good move. Love the new look of your site, you guys deserve 6 spoons. Maybe 8! 😉
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Thanks Sally! I visited your index a few times this weekend to figure out the ins and outs of indexing. 🙂 You’re right – it is a ton of work, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time now. Glad you like the new look! Thank you. 🙂
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Like the new look of your blog, neat and clean
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Thanks Raymund! 🙂
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I love the changes to your blog Kristy! That is on my list of things to do — but as you said, it takes lots of time. I am wondering if the girls would like this with the crab…..looks like a family-friendly meal! Hope you guys had a good weekend. They go by too fast!
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If the girls like ranch dressing at all, the flavors should work for them. It doesn’t taste like ranch dressing per say, but it has that dill and chives thing going for it. 🙂 And I couldn’t agree more – the weekends go by WAY too fast!
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Loving the new look – well done guys! I’m always nervous to make changes just in case things go wrong.
fabulous recipe too. Great post to start my week with.
🙂 Mandy xo
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Oh things definitely went wrong…had to keep tweaking things. Then I had a moment of panic, “what have I done?!” Fortunately we kept at it and it all worked out. 🙂 Thanks Mandy!
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Love the new site Kristy!!! Glad to see you back! I hope you had a good relaxing break – we are on vacation now…so nice to be away :).
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Thanks Dawn! The break was phenomenal. I feel so much more refreshed now. 🙂 Enjoy your vacation! 🙂
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What a wonderful new look to your blog, Kristy! I love being able to read and print the recipe so easily. Nice job! And these seafood enchiladas are a real winner. I am very accustomed to eating fish tacos, but never a dish quite like this, and I am quite excited about it, actually! 🙂
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Thank you Debra! This is one of our favorites. It’s great in the summer. One of those we like to take outside and eat. 🙂
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I shouldn’t have clicked on this while I’m hungry. Sometimes I wish I can download food off the internet… for free. 😦
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You and me both! 🙂
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