Southwest Crab Dip

Brian Sims and me at Brian's 26th Birthday Crawfish Boil at Katie Fenn's house

If you went to dinner with me tonight, you would have no idea that four years ago I did not eat seafood.  Before 2008, my seafood preference list was limited to crawfish at crawfish boils, shrimp, fried calamari, and tuna salad.  Nowadays, I'm willing to try any kind of seafood- fish, lobster, crab, alligator- baked, raw, grilled, or fried.  When I was assigned Dip Duty for a Super Bowl party back in February, I thought I'd look for something that fit my new found pallet for seafood.  Dips, however, are often a healthy eater's worst nightmare.

The Super Bowl XLV invaded North Texas!
Andy and me at the Super Bowl Headquarters in Sundance Square

I have a crazy love for queso, but it is the prime example of how unhealthy dips can be- chock full of fat and carbs- it is delicious but ridiculously bad for me.  Most dips have a cream base, such as creamed cheese or sour cream, so unless it's fat free creamed cheese or sour cream, your diet is down the drain.  Dips are also addicting.  Let's get real- who has one chip dipped in queso and then walks away?  Impossible.  By the end of it, you've stuffed yourself and you have that "food baby" feeling, sometimes before your main meal has even begun.

Super Bowl XLV (2011) was held at Arlington's Dallas Cowboys Stadium
My mom, me, and my dad on the Dallas Cowboys field for the VIP Tour of the Cowboys' Stadium

So back to my Dip Duty and the Super Bowl party.  We were going to our friends Clay & Michelle's house- Michelle is the one with the DIY blog that I've mentioned a few times, Chic Little Things.  I made Bourbon Meatballs because no football watching party is complete without them.  I knew Michelle was making queso and her famous Alfredo Meatballs (the recipe for which I will try to finagle from her), so I wanted to contribute something that was non-cheesey and a little lighter.  I found a mix for crab dip for the party, and it turned out really well.  The best part of it was that it was delicious AND healthy!  For once, it was okay to crowd around the dip and not (pretend to) care about the addictive factor.  Don't get me wrong, I still have my fondness for queso, but through exploration and new ventures, I have found that it is possible to make healthy dips for crackers or chips, too.

Michael Berthold, me, and Andy in front of the ESPN stage in Sundance Square, set up for Super Bowl XLV

The spice mix that I used in the recipe below is from a company that I love called Company's Comin'.  I wait until the Fort Worth Stockshow and Rodeo or the Fort Worth Junior League's Christmas in Cowntown to buy it, but you can find it online here.  If you really wanted to, I'm sure you could make your own spice mix, so here are the ingredients that are in the Company's Comin' one that I used.  I don't know the proportions, though, so I just spend the $3.00 on the pre-mixed stuff.

Ingredients:Onion, parsley, taco seasoning (chili pepper, wheat flour, salt, spices, dextrose, corn syrup solids, dehydrated onion, dehydrated garlic, natural flavor, disodium insonate, extractives of paprika, spice extractive, silicon dioxide), garlic, celery, dill, tasty blend (salt, onion, paprika, sugar, garlic, yeast extract, sodium silica aluminate, celery), and selected spices.

Southwest Crab Dip
Company's Coming, made healthier by Kate Strickland
Servings: 2 c of dip total; Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 9 (yes, for the whole bowl!)



Southwest Crab Dip

• 1 package Company's Comin' Southwest Crab Dip spice mix (available for sale online here)
• 8 oz fat free sour cream
• 1/4 c fat free mayonnaise
• 1 can (appr. 8 oz) crab meat

1. Drain crab meat
2. Mix spice mix, sour cream, mayonnaise, and crab meat in bowl
3. Serve with crackers

Enjoy!