Don't be a cheapo

Ok, I have suffered way too much from trying to cut costs and cutting back on certain things. This past weekend, instead of flying to Pittsburgh with the rest of my friends, I decided to take the Megabus for $35 and in the end, paid just as much as I would have for a flight (damn you 30 Street station parking). Not only was I miserable about the wasted money, the bus ride was unbearable.

I called my dad and he said "this is what you get for being a cheapo". And I thought to myself, he's right, I need to stop being a cheapo on some things, because in the end they just end up biting me back in the butt. You figure I would have learned my lesson after this past weekend- but apparently I didn't. I, Melissa Lee, am a cheapo- and have learned that the hard way.

This week, I thought I would return to my trustworthy Eatingwell.com for some new recipes. I found a new and simple recipe for a Crab Salad Melt, the recipe follows:

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3 asparagus spears or 12 snow peas, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
8 ounces crabmeat, any shells or cartilage removed
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 scallion, finely chopped
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
2-5 dashes hot sauce
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 whole-wheat English muffins, split and toasted
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Place rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat broiler. Place asparagus (or snow peas) in a medium microwave-safe bowl with 1 teaspoon water. Cover and microwave until tender, about 30 seconds. Add crab, celery, bell pepper, scallion, lemon juice, mayonnaise, Old Bay seasoning, hot sauce to taste and pepper; stir to combine. Place English muffin halves, cut-side up, on a large baking sheet. Spread a generous 1/4 cup of the crab salad on each muffin half and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted, 3 to 6 minutes.

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Alright, so pretty simple recipe- and it was actually pretty good.... now why am I a cheapo you ask? Well, naturally, I go to the market on Monday and go to the seafood section for some crabmeat. To my surprise, it was around $16 for some crabmeat and I quickly decided that it wasn't worth it and I would just make something else for the week. Walking around the store, trying to figure out the best thing to make, I see on the shelves near the canned tuna fish, CANNED crabmeat- for $1.99! Of course, I quickly grab two cans and rush to get the rest of my ingredients, thinking that I have just found a loophole!

I get home and make the dish according to the recipe and was very happy by the taste. Tangy from the lemon juice and sweet from the crabmeat, I was really excited that I was able to make this dish with such cost savings skills! Well, I soon find out that 25% of this canned crabmeat is cartlidge and the crunch I was getting, was not from the asparagus, but really from bits and pieces of shell and cartlidge.

What a bummer. I quickly spit out my (otherwise yummy) melt and threw the entire thing away. I was so sure that I had found a cheaper way to make this dish! But readers be warned- don't get canned crabmeat! If you really want to enjoy your dish, just buy the real (good) stuff, I had to learn that the hard way.

Anyway, the dish was good (at least thats what I thought from the few bites I had) but I would say to cut back a little on the lemon juice- it was a bit too tangy for me. I omitted the bell peppers and celery because, well, I hate them and it tasted just fine (minus the shells and cartlidge of course)

Lesson of the day? Don't be a cheapo and get real ingredients and not things from a can.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 15 minutes

Taste: 7.5