Crab Rangoon Pizza and Unbridled Gluttony

  Crab.  Rangoon.  Pizza.

I know.  Sounds a little...weird.

Also, I know I just wrote about crab rangoon.

Sorry.

I've had this recipe on my radar for quite awhile, yet every time I mentioned making it my husband recoiled.

He might not be quite as adventurous as me when it comes to food.

Seriously, though...it might sound weird.

But we already know we like crab rangoon, right?

There is NOTHING not to like.

So the past couple of weeks I've been out of school- the truly sick part of me just wants school to start again already...the rest of me is cooking up a storm.

First, there was popcorn.  Several days worth of popcorn-making.

So many requests for popcorn!

Earlier this year I closed up shop on Nora's Nibbles when I decided to go back to school, but between some local orders, gifts for my husband's co-workers, and gifts for family I quickly found myself surrounded by bags and bags of popcorn this holiday season.

Then there was the bread-baking- I made little mini-loaves of Cranberry Orange Bread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread to give as gifts.  I'm sure they'll make an appearance in a future post.  Spoiler- they were delicious  :-)

I had pictured a full week to myself before the kids got out of school followed by an exciting break with the kids going on adventures.

Lets just say I may have been just a little off base on how things would be!

I had a fantastic Christmas morning with my beautiful children, a wonderful Christmas evening with my amazing in-laws, and a cozy and chilly day-after-Christmas cuddled on the couch surrounded by my family.

Fast forward to today- 3 days post Christmas, 3 days pre-New Years'.

I had some time to cook just for the sake of cooking and had my own little one-person tamalada making beef tamales.

SO GOOD.  More on that later.

I also made that Crab Rangoon Pizza my husband vowed not to eat.

I couldn't take it anymore, it just had to be made.  It sounded way too interesting not to try.

So this pizza starts fairly simply with a freshly baked crust.  A mixture of crab, cream cheese, green onion, and parmesan cheese is smeared over the surface which is then topped with mozzarella, more parmesan, sliced green onion, and fried strips of wonton wrapper.  After the entire gooey concoction is tossed in the oven it is drizzled with sweet chili sauce before serving.

DUDE.

(I'm from California, it's totally acceptable for that to be part of my vocabulary in perpetuity, btw.)

SO FREAKING GOOD.

(So bad for my waistline)

I'm counting my blessings that I've shown a relatively ridiculous amount of willpower this holiday season because I have eaten *nothing else today*.

No really.

(Almost) nothing.

I had this for lunch.

I had a small slice as an afternoon snack.

I had some more for dinner.

You know those tamales I made today?

Yeah...I had a couple of bites off of my daughter's plate.

But this masterpiece won out.

It is insane.

Do yourself a favor- make this.

For a late-night snack.

For New Years'.

For a random run-of-the-mill Tuesday night.

Just make it.

And if your husband turns up his nose at the thought?

Well...more for you.

Crab Rangoon Pizza

Modified very slightly from Allrecipes.com

1 C vegetable oil for frying, or as needed

4 (3.5 inch square) wonton wrappers, cut into strips

1 (16 oz) package pizza dough

8 oz cream cheese, softened

6 Tbsp chopped green onions, divided

1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

8 oz crab meat, thawed (or imitation crab, minced)

4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

2-4 Tbsp sweet chili sauce

1. Heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat; fry wonton strips until crisp, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Spread pizza dough onto a baking sheet.  Bake in the preheated oven until slightly brown, about 7 minutes.

3. Mix cream cheese, 1/4 cup green onions, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, and crab together in a bowl; spread onto the pizza crust. Top with mozzarella cheese, remaining Parmesan cheese, fried wonton strips, and remaining green onions.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is browned and melted, about 8 minutes. Drizzle sweet chile sauce over top.