I like my own Cooking

As promised, here are the recipes from the dinner I served last night.

Nancy's Gazpacho Crab meat Martini

3 medium to large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cored
3/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded, membranes removed
1 large celery stalk
4 medium tomatoes, cored
1 generous cup loosely-chopped Romaine lettuce
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

33 ounces bottled bloody Mary mix (I used a little less but you could stretch the recipe and use the whole bottle)

5 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon (or more to your taste) kosher salt

Cut vegetables into chunks and put first 7 ingredients in a blender or food processor. Do it in batches as it will not all fit at once. Do not puree...pulse on and off and stop when it is thick with plenty of small chunks.

Transfer to a very large bowl. Add the bottled Bloody Mary Mix (regular not spicy). Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. At the table, spoon soup into large martini glasses and top with crab (1/2 pound will generously serve 6 to 8 people), chives, and lime slices.

1/2 pound fresh crab meat
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives (for garnish)
lime slices (for garnish)

The Low-Fat Chicken Enchilada recipe can be found elsewhere on my blog. The only change I made to that recipe is I lightly seasoned the chicken breasts with Montreal Chicken Seasoning prior to sauteing them in olive oil.

Frozen Strawberry Margarita Dessert (from Pillsbury Classic Cookbook)

Crust:
1 1/4 (one and one-quarter) cups finely crushed pretzels (with salt)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 Tablespoons tequila
2 Tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (I used Triple-Sec)
1 (10-oz.) package frozen strawberries with syrup, thawed
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

1. In small bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix well. Press mixture firmly in bottom of ungreased 8 or 9-inch springform pan. Freeze while preparing filling.

2. In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, tequila and liqueur; beat until smooth. Add strawberries and syrup; beat at low speed until well blended.

3. Whip cream. Fold in whipped cream. Pour over crust. Freeze overnight. To serve, let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes. Store leftovers covered in freezer.

Note: for a nonalcoholic dessert, use 1/4 cup of nonalcoholic margarita mix or 1/4 cup of orange juice in place of the 2 tablespoons each of tequila and orange-flavored liqueur.

We had a great time and, if I say so myself, the food was delicious!