Crepes: Strawberry Banana with Cream Filling

Pin It We finally made crepes!  After having them in France a few months ago, we have been meaning to try them.  I was pretty intimidated.  Pancakes have always been my thing.  But, crepes? 
Good news is I only completely botched the first two.  The trick is to spread the batter all over the pan immediately and only flip when the crepe moves very loosely in the pan.
Once I got the method down, I barely had to pay attention.  A little buttery and a little crispy, these crepes were light and tasty.  Perfect savory or sweet.

I went the sweet route.  The best part was the creamy filling, but we will definitely be going the savory route in the near future.  I am thinking asparagus.  Thoughts?

Top with a little powdered sugar to fulfill your sweet tooth cravings. 

Crepes with Cream Filling

Crepes
adapted from Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book Bridal Edition
Makes 10 crepes

2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 milk (I used almond milk)
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour - (If you want to skip the whole wheat, use 1 c of All purpose)
1 T cooking oil
1/4 t salt
2 T butter (for greasing the pan)

Mix together wet ingredient.  Slowly stir in sifted flour until mixed.  Heat a lightly greased 6 inch skillet.  Pour in 1/4 c batter.  Spread throughout pan by turning to the sides.  Brown.  Flip when the crepe moves loosely and flips easily.   Grease again and repeat with remaining batter.

Cream Filling

1/2 c cream cheese
1/2 c Greek Yogurt
2 T powdered sugar
1 t lemon zest

Combine and mix.  Fill 1-2 spoonfuls per crepe.  Put in fruit filling of choice.  Top with fruit and powdered sugar.

Bon Appétit!!



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Meatless Monday: Lentil Taco Salad

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Monday, Monday.  Can't trust this day.  The Mama's and The Papa's have had it right all along.  Lentil Taco Salad on meatless Monday?  I wasn't sure I could trust it either.  Fact of the matter is, it had Paul & I both jumping for joy.  Moo-ve over beef (sorry I couldn't resist), Lentils, it's what's for dinner.  We loved our Sloppy Lentils and this recipe inspired from the The Curvy Carrot will definitely be squeezed into our Lentil repertoire from time to time.  Every other day, Every other day of the week is fine, but when you have Lentil Taco Salad it can make Monday a bit more bearable.

Pico de Gallo is like a dream come true.  Why?  It reminds me of summer, when tomatoes and peppers are overflowing out of my grandpa's garden just waiting for me to sink my teeth into them.  I get my green thumb from him.  As you can see, the tomato plants we are growing in a garbage can on our porch is Out. Of. Control.  Can't wait for those juicy reds to come our way.  You'll be the first to know. 

This dish is healthy and satisfying.  Seasoned with home made taco seasoning and topped with a cool creamy 2% Greek Yogurt sauce, this dish has all the flavor of regular taco salad without the added sodium and fat.  The directions look long, but it's as easy to make as regular tacos, with the exception that the lentils will need longer to cook. 

Lentil Taco Salad
as adapted from The Curvy Carrot

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Lentils: 
1 T Olive Oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed well
1 recipe Taco Seasoning (as follows)
2 1/4 c vegetable broth
Salt & Pepper to taste

Serve with:
Lettuce
Corn
Avocado
Handful of Tortilla chips
Pico de Gallo
Greek Yogurt Sauce

For the Pico de Gallo:
3 Tomatoes, diced
1/2 of lime, juiced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Green Onions, chopped
8 leaves of Cilantro, roughly chopped
Sea Salt and Pepper
Optional: cayenne pepper

For the Greek Yogurt Sauce:
10 oz Greek Yogurt
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin

Taco Seasoning
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like things)

Directions:

Heat a large skillet to medium.  Heat Olive oil.  Sauté garlic and onions until softened.  Add dried lentils and taco seasoning.  Heat until lentils are heated through, about 1 minute.  Add vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20-25 minutes until lentils are softened.

Mix together Pico ingredients and Greek Yogurt sauce ingredients.  Refrigerate until serving.

In single bowls, layer in tomato, corn, cooked lentils, pico, avocado & Greek Yogurt.  Serve with a handful of your favorite tortilla chips (skip this step if you are a health nut).

Bon Appétit!
 
And all mixed up.  This meatless Monday is not so bad after all. 

What do you do to get through Mondays? Pin It

Summer Berry Goat Cheese Salad

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How was your weekend?  Mine was relaxing and productive (snore, I know).  Took a bike ride, barely dodged the rain.  Met a friend for an afternoon coffee, barely dodged the rain.  Both times got lucky and was just drizzled on in between down pours.  Typical Brussels weather.  One minute it's sunny, the next it's raining buckets without warning.  I also did lots of cooking and had a successful trip to the market.  See?  Productive.  I don't know what took me so long to get into these markets.  Maybe it was the fact that I am normally not successful in leaving the house before 2pm on the weekend.  Maybe it was because I was afraid or felt guilty of butchering French over and over again at each and every stand.  Either way, no more excuses.  I love the market and getting by on hand signals doesn't seem to be a problem.

Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries and fresh goat cheese from farm to market to table.  Lettuce, too.  It was nice to wash the dirt off of the lettuce instead of pesticides. 

Surprisingly, we got to enjoy this salad on the patio in between down pours.  Perfect timing.

I heard it's been a heat wave in the US.  This is the perfect salad for those hot hot days where you wouldn't dream of turning on the oven or even the stove.   Creamy goat cheese on a bed of leafy greens topped with summer berries and a homemade raspberry vinaigrette.  Need I say more?  We will be making this Summer Berry Goat Cheese Salad all summer long. 

Summer Berry Goat Cheese Salad

Serves 2 as a main course

Ingredients:
Half a head of leafy green lettuce
1 big handful of spinach
1/2 c strawberries, sliced
1/2 c raspberries
1/2 c blueberries
1/4 c almonds, chopped
1/3 c goat cheese, chopped into crumbly bits
1 recipe Raspberry Vinaigrette as follows

Raspberry Vinaigrette:
1 clove garlic diced
2 T raspberry vinegar
1 T olive oil
2 T water
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Squeeze of 1/4 of a lemon

Directions:
Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a glass jar and shake.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, layer in lettuce, spinach, berries, goat cheese and almonds.  Pour dressing over salad, refrigerating leftovers for up to one week.  Serve Immediately. 

Bon Appétit!

I couldn't really eat it in one of those bowls.  A girl needs room to move things around and mix things up. 

Did you do anything fun this weekend?  Do anything to beat the heat?  Now it's time to catch up on the last 3 eps of the Bachelorette.  This girl has been seriously slackin'.  Enjoy your Sunday! Pin It

Lemon Basil Chicken Marinade

Pin It Life has recently given me lemons.  Lemons that I thought were going to be sour, but they turned out to be semi-sweet.  Everything happens for a reason.  I won't get into all the detail on my specific lemons, but I will get into a common philosophy on lemons in general.  This has nothing to do with the lemons I got, just a pure coincidence.

When life gives you lemons, squeeze some in your water and drink it, every day.  Organic lemon water is my new healthy habit.  I recently started drinking lemon water every morning after reading about its alkalizing effects on the body*.  Alkalizing the body is key for overall health.  Although lemons are acidic, once our body metabolizes it, it has an alkalizing effect.  Strange, right?!  I have no idea how it works.  Turns out there is a lot more to benefit from lemons than just your body's PH balance and I love the taste.  What can lemon do for you?  From clearing the skin to boosting your immune system, the benefits are endless.  To read about some of the benefits click here & here

**One thing to note though, is that you should thoroughly rinse your mouth after drinking lemon water (all things acidic, actually) before brushing your teeth to protect your tooth enamel from the acid.  Waiting a half hour before brushing is also a good idea. Drinking with a straw can reduce the effects on your teeth.  I am not a dentist.**

I also love cooking with Lemons.  Lemons add a perfect amount of zing to a pasta sauce or marinade.  I made a delicious Lemon Garlic Basil Chicken Marinade.  Though chicken is acidic, I like to go by the philosophy of moderation (Geeze, I must be feeling philosophical today or something) and I love me some chicken (Organic, that is - I have watched more than my share of documentaries on the food industry recently, but more on that in another post (more philosophy, anyone?)), especially hot off the grill after being marinated in the flavors of summer.  Who needs marinade in a bottle when you can throw a good, fresh, healthy marinade together in less than 5 minutes?  I think it's time we step away from the processed bottled goods and go back to what is natural and simple.  Lemons.  Basil.  Garlic.  Olive Oil.  Doesn't get much simpler than that.  

How many different bottles of salad dressings and marinades do you have in your fridge?  What's even more freaky is the shelf life on these suckers!   You have to think that a homemade dressing would maybe last a week in the fridge, so what's in those puppies making them last eons? Thankfully, I don't like the bottled dressings in Europe or I would be too embarrassed to tell you the number in my fridge.  I am guessing I had around 6-8 when I was in the US and rarely did I finish the bottle.  Talk about waste.  Waste of money and a waste on the environment.  

The flavors of summer as mentioned above, lemon, garlic & basil, though summer seems to have a million perfect flavors.  Just one more thing I la-la-love about summer.  Tip: If you use a lot of garlic in your cooking, the Garlic Zoom by Chef'n is a great way to chop/mince with little effort on your part.  Leaves fingers less garlicky.  Garlic fingers. Ick.

Throw it all together and let marinade for a few hours in the fridge until you fire up the grill.  Grill until no longer pink in the middle and you have the perfect light summer meat dish.  Pair with a salad or some Zucchini Pasta and you have a great summer meal!  A good, crisp, white wine would be delish.  I may or may not be drooling a little bit.

Lemon Garlic Basil Chicken Marinade

Ingredients:

2 organic chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T fresh basil, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 T Olive Oil
1/4 c water
salt & pepper

Directions:

Mix ingredients.  Marinate for about 2 hours in fridge.  Grill until no longer pink in the middle.  Serve hot off the grill!

Bon Appétit!

If you are in more of a lime-y mood, try my Ci-lime-tro Chicken Marinade, packed with more summer flavors! 

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