In my salad days, barely a weekend went by when I wasn't entertaining friends or family. A limited space and a limited budget just required a little creativity to produce food that was fun and filling. I've never been a "chip and dip" kind of person, but I have always loved finger food. When I was putting together our Thanksgiving menu this year, I was looking for a few nibbles to serve before dinner that wouldn't send us to the table already stuffed. For some reason, crabbies popped into my head. I haven't seen or heard of a crabby since the seventies, but once the thought was there, I knew I had to make them. Let me warn you that these are not haute cuisine. When you read the list of ingredients, I hope you won't turn up your nose, because the fact is, crabbies are delicious. That they are so very simple to make is another plus.
2 pkgs English muffins
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2( 5 oz) jars of Olde English cheese
2 cans crabmeat, drained and picked over
1 tsp garlic powder
Split the English muffins and toast each lightly.
Mix butter, mayonnaise, cheese, crabmeat, and garlic powder thoroughly. Spread evenly on muffin halves. Carefully cut each muffin half into 4 pieces.
TO USE AT A LATER TIME:
Place on cookie sheets and freeze. Remove from cookie sheets and place in freezer bags. Defrost in refrigerator before baking.
TO BAKE AT ONCE:
Preheat oven on broiler setting. Place quarters on cookie sheets, without crowding. Broil until the cheese is bubbly, watching carefully so they don't burn.
TASTE NOTES
These were every bit as good as I remembered them and my guests who'd never tasted them before seemed to enjoy them as well. I still have a freezer bag full to enjoy the next time we have company because the recipe makes quite a few. The trick is to get the cheese bubbly and just a tiny bit browned.
