Top 9 Recipes of 2024 - Video Recipes

As year-end recipe lists go, my Top 9 Recipes of 2024 is one you can really sink your incisors into. And all of my top picks are deliciously cheap to make. Just click on any recipe name to see the original 2024 blog post for tasty photos and my money-saving tips, and be sure to play any embedded videos below. The ranking order is random and not by delectability, so go ahead and dig in! 

1. Baltimore Baloney Hot Dog 

This recipe is too much of a good thing, that is, if you like Wieners and Baloney. They are grilled and then combined in a hot dog bun. Also called a Baltimore Dog serve this if you watch a Balimore Orioles baseball game. I haven't had baloney since I don't know when, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. I like mustard on my hot dogs. A Baltimore Baloney Hot Dog is worth a bite at least once in a lifetime.

2. Grilled Beets

When I get out the grill, I like to experiment with grilling veggies like corn, potatoes, carrots, and now Beets. Grilled Beets soften, and the flavor sweetens along with their naturally peppery bite. I slice mine thick enough to make a small Vegan Slider Sandwich. For a delicious change of pace, try grilling sliced Beets.

3. Matt's Crab Salad

My Cajun nephew Matt is back with a couple of seafood recipes. First up is his luscious Crab Salad. If you can make a Tuna Salad, then you can make this, that is, if you use pick and peeled expensive lump crab meat. My Louisiana family has local connections for whole crabs and crab clusters (boiled, cleaned, and ready to peel). Sweet and juicy crab meat is a splurge to this cheap$kate, but when I'm in Louisiana, I gotta go there. A budget substitute is Imitation Crab or Krab. I like Krab and have a delicious Mexican-style Ceviche that is made with Krab, and it is the bomb.

4. Matt's Shrimp & Corn Soup

My nephew Matt knows seafood as he has worked in restaurants, from fast-food to Country Clubs, most of his employed life. For his Shrimp & Corn Soup, he makes a seafood broth by roasting leftover shrimp and crab shells (the crab shells come from the above Crab Salad recipe). I give you easy substitutions like clam juice and/or broth. 

5. Turkey Gumbo

My version of Gumbo uses leftover Turkey from the holidays. You'd be surprised how much meat you can scrape off the backbone of a Roasted Turkey. You can use a Turkey Leg or Breast, too. The trick for a rich Turkey Gumbo is browning flour for about 20 minutes to reach a chocolate color of Roux. These days, you can buy a jar of browned Roux powder from the supermarket, so this recipe can be made in no time.

6. Roast Duck

Just a simple recipe for Roast Duck. Nothing to it, really, I just sprinkle on salt and pepper. I roast it like I would a chicken. 

7. Poached Egg 

How do you poach an Egg? Do you stir the water and then add an egg? How about adding vinegar to the boiling water? Try Googling it and see all the methods for keeping the whites from spreading out all over the place. Check out my recipe video and see how I Poach Eggs. I serve mine simply on toast. 

8. Swamp Chili

My nephew Matt was on a tear last year, and here's another recipe called Swamp Chili. He does add a can of Chili Beans, which is okay by me. My brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef, makes an appearance, and my wife Linda gives her 2 cents at the end of the recipe video.

9. Pineapple Salsa

I'm a big fan of Salsas made with fruit, and I've made my share with Mango and Peach - you can add Pineapple Salsa. I'm not a big fan of canned fruit, but pineapple holds up quite well in a can. Reserve the Pineapple juice for a Cocktail mix or a breakfast drink. This Salsa has the typical chopped veggies of onion, tomato, and jalapeño, plus cilantro. It's sweet and spicy.

Here are some Honorable Mention Recipes of 2024, just click on the recipe name to check it out: Avocado Toast, Grilled Tomahawk Pork Chop, Hot Link Po Boy, Vegan Chorizo Egg Scramble, Giblet Gravy, Blueberry Bagel and Butter, Sauteed Seafood Mushrooms in Butter, BLT Sandwich, and a good old Meatball Submarine Sandwich.

It has been a fruitfully abundant year of recipes here at the Cheap$kate Chateau. I did the heavy lifting for you, so now all you have to do is pick a recipe link and save yourself some hard-earned cash by trying out any of the above. And if you have a favorite recipe of mine, then leave a comment to share.

And make sure to keep checking in here from time to time. I create yummy-looking blog posts with a dollop of humor, and while my tastes are cheap, my recipe flavors are top-shelf !!

Crab Salad - Chef Matt Video Recipe

 Next to lobster, fresh boiled crab is the most luxurious seafood. My nephew, Chef Matt is back with a simple but luscious Crab Salad.

On a visit to Louisiana to see Mom, we came into a few cooked crabs supplied by another nephew, Zak, who worked with a seafood distributor, so the wholesale price was right. The crab's outer shells are removed along with the insides (lungs, gills, etc.). What is left is called a Crab Cluster which includes legs, claws, and the body.

Normally, raw whole crabs are covered in seasoned water (using a package of Crab or Seafood Boil) and boiled for about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Click on any photo to see larger.

When we picked and cleaned half a dozen boiled Crab Clusters there was about a pound of crab meat to work with.

Before the 99c only Stores shut down this year, I managed to nap a few 6-ounce cans of Crab Meat for $1.99 each. Oh well, this may be the last crab I have for a while unless my ship comes in! 

I am a fan of fake Krab. It has the flavor of cooked crab but at bargain basement prices. So if you are a cheap$kate like me, and want to try your hand at a Crab Salad, why not first try it with Krab? My last recipe using Krab was for a Cerviche, and it was a tasty one I make during warm summer patio parties, click here to see how I do it. 

You could also skip all the hard work of peeling a crab body and crab claws with a container or two of picked and cleaned Lump Crabmeat. 

If you use crabmeat in the shell, it takes work to get the flesh out. Now, the crab claws are not too hard to work with, think of them as a pecan or walnut in the shell, break the crab claws with a nutcracker. Crack the claws close to the pincher or joints so when the shell is pulled apart you will reveal the flesh, then it's fairly easy to remove in a large piece. 

The hard part is removing flesh from the body of a crab. Once cooked and cooled, the body is broken into a couple of segments, and then you probe and scrape the white chambers with a small fork and butter knife to remove the tender and sweet flakes of flesh.  

Zak and the Swamp Chef were the designated crab peelers so we made quick time of it, even the Swamp Chef picked, I mean, pitched in.

Same as a typical Tuna Salad, Crab Salad has chopped celery and onion, pickle relish, mayo, mustard, and a squeeze of lemon juice. The main adjustment is how much mayo you will add. It can be creamy or go lite and add less mayo.

 Crab meat will spoil, so it's best to keep it refrigerated until preparation. Keep the finished Crab Salad chilled. Serve on a salad or as a sandwich. I like it on a cracker.

Join my Cajun family and get out any fave crackers, or toasty grain bread, and spread on Chef Matt's creamy and rich (flavor and moneywise) Crab Salad. 

Chef Matt's Crab Salad - VIDEO     Play it here, video runs 5 minutes, 56 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients

• Crab Meat -1 pound cooked and peeled. If using whole crabs about 3-5 crabs depending on size. Okay to use a container of Lump Crabmeat or a package of Krab (Imitation Crab).
• Onion - half cup chopped.
• Celery - half cup chopped.
• Lemon Juice - from 1 or 2 lemons.
• Sweet Pickle Relish - 2 tablespoons.
• Mayonnaise - 1 cup. Add a couple tablespoons at a time to reach the desired creaminess.
• Creole Mustard - 1 tablespoon, optional. Okay to add any favorite mustard.
• Salt and Pepper - to taste.

*Serve Crab Salad with favorite crackers, carrot or celery slices, on a salad, or in a sandwich.

Directions

Containers of Lump Crab Meat are for sale in cans or plastic containers. Okay to use cooked Lump Crab for an easy version. 

The cheapest Crab Salad is made with fake crab or Krab.

For uncooked fresh crabs, boil submerged in water with Seafood Boil for about 15 to 20 minutes. Crab shells will turn bright orange when they are ready.

Peeling cooked crabs takes time and can be a bit tricky. But as with anything, practice makes perfect. Tools include a nutcracker for the shells, and a small fork and butter knife to remove crab meat from shells.

For this recipe, Chef Matt used Dungeness Crab Clusters that were pre-cooked. The outer shell and internal organs were removed. Claws, legs, and body segments were ready to peel.

Once the boiled crabmeat is removed from the shells, make sure to give the meat one more go-over to remove any small shell pieces. To quote Matt: "Nothing worse than biting into a shell."

Add cooked and peeled Crabmeat, celery, and onion to a bowl. Spoon in sweet pickle relish and mayo. Mix well, but use a light touch so you still have some crab chunks.

Add a little mayo at a time to reach desired creaminess. It's up to you how much mayo to add.

You can add mustard or leave it out. I've had it both ways.

Salt and pepper to taste. I add very little salt, as mayo has some already, but I add plenty of pepper.

Chill Crab Salad until ready to eat. 

Serve Crab Salad on favorite crackers, carrot or celery slices, in half an avocado, on a salad, or as a sandwich.