If you’re strapped for cash, it’s easy to feel like seafood is a luxury you can’t afford. While you may not be able to eat it three times a day, here are some ways to afford seafood on a limited grocery budget:

Only Buy What’s On Sale – When I teach people how to reduce their grocery bill, one of the very first things I suggest is practicing the “Buy Ahead” principle. By that, I mean, making an effort to stock up on items you regularly use when they are at their lowest prices.

Think about it: if you stocked up on the majority of your groceries when they were on sale for 40-50% off, you’d definitely reduce your grocery bill over the long haul, wouldn’t you?

Seafood routinely goes on sale and stores usually have the best sales around Lent. Stock your freezer and then enjoy eating your deeply discounted seafood for the next few months!

Choose Wallet-Friendly Fish – Substitute expensive seafood – like halibut and sea bass – for less-expensive fish with similar tastes and textures. Tilapia and cod are great choices for a small budget.

Look for Markdowns – Our grocery stores have sections in the meat department where meat that is almost to the sell-by date is tagged with a reduced sticker. I often find tilapia marked down for 30-50% off the regular price. Provided it looks good and is at least 24 hours away from the sell-by date, it is perfectly useable. Just pop it in the freezer if you’re not planning to use it within the next 12 hours and you have fish at a bargain!

Use Coupons – There are often coupons available for brands like SeaPak. If you’re already going to be buying the product, it’s a no-brainer to clip and use the coupons available. I recommend hanging onto the coupon and pairing it with a sale – to get an even better deal!

Learn to Stretch – Who says you have to eat five pounds of seafood every time you serve it? Smaller amounts of something delicious don’t take away the delicious factor, but it does mean a much smaller hit to your pocketbook.

Consider serving seafood on a salad or with pasta, think of it more as a “condiment” – not as the main thing you’re eating at the meal. Get creative in the kitchen and you can likely make your seafood purchases go a lot farther.

Crystal Paine is a wife, homeschooling mom of three and bargain-finder extraordinaire. Visit her blog, MoneySavingMom.com, to learn practical tips to find great deals, stretch your hard-earned dollars, and live on less than you make so you can save more and give more.

Now that summer is in full swing, I am finding myself looking for fun excuses to host warm weather get-togethers with family and friends. And, because summer and seafood go hand-in-hand, I think I’m going to throw my annual beach party, especially since traveling to an exotic destination isn’t in my budget this year. I thought I would share how l like to bring the beach right to my own backyard.

Keep in mind that the best thing about coastal dinners is they aren’t fancy—so remember to keep it simple. It’ll help keep you calm and keep your budget in check!

By using SeaPak Shrimp and Seafood frozen products, a seafood platter is a cinch to prepare. Bake some favorites like Butterfly Shrimp, Coconut Shrimp, Popcorn Shrimp and Tilapia Tenders. Arrange them on a big platter with a variety of dipping sauces and some sliced lemon.

To complete the meal, serve cole slaw, potato salad, fresh fruit and garlic bread. Your menu will be delicious and ready in no-time. To make clean-up a breeze, use eco-friendly paper plates, napkins and cups since it is a casual affair. SeaPak is known for its award-winning great taste and signature recipes inspired by the coast, so no one will know you didn’t bring in a chef from the beach! And, pick up some sand and buckets from your local hardware store, throw out a piece of burlap for a table cover and your decorating is done! You can even line your walkway with tiki torches filled with citronella. They serve two purposes: adding light when the sun goes down and keeping bugs away.

If you’re looking for another menu option that is easy but a bit more impressive, try this short-cut method for making the classic low country boil dish for your next summer get-together.

And, if you want to see a video of me making these simple recipes, check out our Facebook page!

Low Country Boil

Prep Time: 3 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Makes: 6 servings

1 (12 oz) package SeaPak® Shrimp Scampi, frozen
2 lbs small red potatoes, quartered
16 oz good quality spicy smoked sausage like andouille or kielbasa, cut into 16 pieces
2 Tablespoons crab boil (like Old Bay)
1 package of frozen 6 mini nibble corn cobs (or 3 ears of yellow corn, husked and cut in half)

PLACE quartered potatoes and sausage pieces in large pot with enough room temperature water to cover all the ingredients (about 10 cups). Add crab boil.

PLACE pot with potatoes & sausage on high heat and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.

ADD corn. Continue simmering for 10 minutes

ADD frozen shrimp scampi. Continue simmering for 3 minutes or until shrimp are fully cooked.

DRAIN and pour into serving dish or on a table spread with newspaper. Serve hot.

This month I am happy to introduce you to one of SeaPak’s own culinary talents, Chris Tillman. Chris (affectionately known around here as the “Mad Scientist”) works in our Research and Development department developing many of the yummy SeaPak products your family enjoys. When he is not creating new products for SeaPak he loves to teach people about food and cooking. So this month he is answering one of the basic kitchen questions many home cooks have – “What do I do with all those various knives in the knife set I bought?” – and sharing his delicious and simple recipe for Crab Enchiladas. I was lucky enough to get to taste-test the recipe yesterday and let me tell you, it is capital “T” Tasty! I will definitely be making Crab Enchiladas for my gang this weekend.

Hope everyone has a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!

-Jenna

When I tell folks what I do for a living, inevitably the subject of knives comes up. Many times they tell me they don’t know what to do with “all those knives” to which my response is “why so many?”

Almost every kitchen job can be completed with a set of three knives:

- A large 7-10 inch chef’s knife. As large as can be managed comfortably. This knife will handle the majority of all kitchen prep.
- A 3-5 inch utility knife. For peeling, paring and more delicate work.
- A 6-10 inch serrated bread knife. For slicing bread, roasts, delicate pastries, etc.

In many situations the cook will find that the chef’s knife ends up taking the place of the utility which reduces the list to two!

You can practice your knife skills on my easy recipe for Crab Enchiladas. These enchiladas use crab cakes as a base for the filling which cuts out most of your prep work. I like using SeaPak Crab Cakes in this recipe because they are mostly crabmeat with a small amount of breadcrumbs and seasonings added to make the cakes (I may be biased about SeaPak products, but you check the ingredient label for yourself).

My recipe also calls for jalapenos which may make some of you nervous. No need to be afraid of jalapenos! By scraping the seeds out and discarding them you substantially reduce the heat. (If you are feeling truly adventurous though, you can always leave the seeds in if you prefer!) If you really don’t want jalapenos, you can substitute finely diced green pepper for a little added crunch and color.

Give my Crab Enchiladas a try for your Memorial Day dinner and if you have any other kitchen questions please send them in.

Crab Enchiladas

2 packages SeaPak Maryland Style Crab Cakes (aioli sauce included), frozen
4 8-9 inch flour tortillas
8 ounces Mexican cheese, shredded (preferably Queso Quesadilla)
6 ounce can of whole kernel corn
2 8-ounce cans red or green enchilada sauce
2 large jalapenos, seeded and diced very small (optional)
8 ounce container sour cream

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F.

THAW the crab cakes in a microwave, approximately 1 1/2 minutes for four cakes. Thaw the aioli sauce (included in crab cake carton) in hot water.

SPRAY a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

EMPTY the sauce packets into a bowl and add 1/4 cup of hot water and mix well to thin out the sauce.

HEAT each tortilla in microwave for ten seconds if needed to soften. Lay the tortillas on a flat surface. Crumble a crab cake onto the center of each tortilla and spread from left to right. Add 1 tablespoon each of the aioli sauce, corn, and shredded cheese. Add 1 teaspoon diced jalapeno.

ROLL-UP up the enchilada and place in the greased baking dish (with ends tucked under so they don’t unroll). Repeat for the other three enchiladas.

POUR the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

COVER and bake for 30-45 minutes. Remove cover, and continue baking 15 minutes. Remove baking dish from the oven.

PLATE the enchiladas and garnish with sour cream. Add other garnishes such as cilantro, tomatoes, lime juice, etc. to taste.

Enjoy !