Crepes with Strawberries & Cream

The cream is what makes these so divine!

I made crepes for the first time this morning, and they turned out phenomenal. 

Tyler described them as being a "10 out of 10!"

His brother, sister, and our overnight house guest all raved about how good they were!

I'm already ready for round 2 of these!

While they were a little bit more labor-intensive for a breakfast....maybe time-consuming is a better choice of words, they were well worth the extra effort. Probably something I'll make every once in a while, now that I know how doable it is.  They have a great texture and the strawberries and cream complimented them well.  Use a good non-stick skillet for these and don't be discouraged if your first one doesn't turn out perfect. Also, the original recipe calls for the crepe batter to be mixed up with a blender.  I hate having to dig out my blender and clean it up, so I just used an electric hand mixer. I think the hand mixer gave me a lumpier-appearing batter than a blender would, but, lumpy batter or not, mine still turned out awesome.  

Step 1: Cream

Make this first so it can refrigerate while you complete the other steps.

Whip together until soft peaks form:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1-1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1/3 c. powdered sugar

Step 2: Strawberries

Get these strawberries marinating while you're cooking your crepes.

For 12 crepes, I used about 2 lbs. of fresh sliced strawberries. 

I just sliced them up and sprinkled about a tablespoon of sugar on them.

Step 3: Crepes

makes 12--10" crepes

Combine the following in your blender or with an electric mixer:

4 eggs

1/2 c. melted butter

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 c. milk

1/4 c. water

1 T. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Slowly incorporate until smooth:

1 c. all-purpose flour

Cook crepes in an 8-10 inch (preheated) non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Pour approximately 1/4 cup of crepe batter into skillet, being sure to gently tilt or swirl the skillet until the batter is covering the bottom of the pan.  It should be a very thin layer.  (I used a 10 inch skillet, and just over 1/4 cup of batter per crepe.)  Once the crepe can easily lift up around the edges and looks mostly set up (shouldn't be more than a minute), flip with a spatula and allow to cook for another 15 seconds or so, just to gently brown the other side.  (Omelette technique?) If you notice that there is an exceptional amount of residual butter on your crepes, I would suggest separating with a paper towel as you stack them. Assemble as shown below--best eaten on crepes that are no longer warm.  

Indulge!

Recipe inspiration from:  Little Yellow Barn

Better Than Spaghetti

Ground Beef & Italian Sausage

Marinara sauce

Spaghetti noodles

& Parmesan Cheese

The cast of members for a well-known favorite.

Spaghetti.

Inexpensive, fast, simple, family-friendly, and comforting. 

However, whenever I say I'm going to cook spaghetti for dinner, I usually mean something more like this sausage and pepper pasta.  While it's not really spaghetti, the boyfriend and I have both agreed that we like it much better than spaghetti!  

I used to make this as my Inside-Out Stuffed Peppers. I would brown sausage and ground beef, mix in acini de pepe or orzo and some marinara, and add lots of sauteed bell peppers.  However, it was a little too rich and heavy on it's own.  I love the conversion of this to a pasta dinner, and the leftovers are great!  I used colorful peppers in this because they are sweet and beautiful, but you can definitely try it out with green bell peppers.  You can also sub in regular pasta noodles in place of the egg noodles.  

Just have fun with it!

Forgive my lousy photography skills--the pictures just don't do this dish justice.

Sausage & Pepper Pasta

4-5 sweet italian sausage links, casings removed

2 T. olive oil

3/4 c. onion, diced

1/2 ea.--red, yellow, orange bell pepper, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c. white wine 

2-1/2 to 3 c. marinara sauce

1 t. Italian seasoning

1 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

pinch crushed red pepper 

1 T. sugar

2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

4 T. fresh basil, ribboned

12 oz. egg noodles

Brown italian sausage.  Drain. Drizzle olive oil in large skillet.  Saute onions until slightly translucent.  Add in peppers.  Continue sauteing until tender, yet crisp.  Add in garlic and saute for 2-3 more minutes.  Toss in cooked sausage. Add in seasonings (no sugar) and white wine.  Allow white wine to reduce almost completely before mixing in marinara sauce.  Heat until warm and bubbly.  Add in sugar to cut the acidity of the marinara sauce, followed by parsley and basil.  Serve over cooked egg noodles.  

Sorry about the clutter in the background!

I prefer to leave my sausage kind of chunky. 

 

Orange-Glazed Cajun Salmon

I love a nicely cooked slab of salmon.

Who doesn't?

Eating salmon just makes me feel good.  Not only is it tender, moist, flakey, and delicious, but it is also healthy and packed with beneficial nutrients.  Aside from the well known omega 3 fatty acids it contains, salmon is also high in Vitamin D, Vitamins B 3-6-12, proteins, and selenium.

The key to making the best salmon ever, is not overcooking it.  Overcooked salmon is dry and chewy.  You should cook salmon until it is just barely opaque and cooked through, and not any longer!  That way, it will have the optimum succulence.

One of my favorite ways to prepare salmon is with this recipe.  It is sooooo flavorful.  By starting the salmon at a medium/high heat, you get a good searing, or crusting of the seasoning on the outside, which also traps in moisture.  The sweetness of the glaze in this recipe compliments the heat of the cajun seasoning.  I served it with a simple rice pilaf and baked asparagus tonight; a baked potato and broccoli would  pair nicely with it, as well. 

I hope this turns out great for you!

All that yummy cajun seasoning makes for a fabulou blackened salmon...if you are feeding little kids, I would decrease the amount of seasoning you use on their piece (just so you don't risk it being too spicy).

Orange-Glazed Cajun Salmon

Makes 4--6 oz. fillets (1.5 lbs)

***I made 1 lb (~3--5 oz. fillets) b/c I'm only cooking for 2 people***

For the rub:

3 T. Cajun Seasoning (I use Weber Louisiana Cajun Seasoning--I would recommend not using the "Louisiana" brand that comes in an orange canister)

1 t. light brown sugar

1/4 t. kosher salt

Mix until well combined and rub generously onto your fillets.  

Cook over medium-high heat in a frying pan with 2 T butter, 3-4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your fillets. 

For the glaze:

1/4 c. orange marmalade (I use Bonne Maman brand)

1 T lime juice

When fillets have cooked on each side, remove from heat and add glaze mixture to pan.  Swirl to combine and coat each side of your fillets with the glaze.  

Delicious Baked Asparagus

One bundle of asparagus per 2-3 people

Coat with Olive Oil &

Season with:

Kosher Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

& a pinch of Lemon Pepper

Bake @ 400 F for approximately 20-25 minutes

 (Optional: Sprinkle with parmesan cheese in the last five minutes of cooking)

For another awesome salmon recipe, click HERE. 
 Rich, Asian Grilled Salmon from Barefoot Contessa

Creamy Coconut Cake

 Ever since I came to Richmond in May, I have heard tons of Tyler's family members just begging his mom to make a Coconut Cake.

I guess I'm not a big coconut person, so I've never really taken much interest in the talk about her yummy coconut cake.  But, this weekend, the remnants of her famous cake were brought home from the river house....I'm shocked that there even were leftovers!  She must have purposefully set aside a quarter of the cake so Tyler, his brother, and I could enjoy a slice. Or two. Or three. 

I wasted no time when I cracked open the fridge yesterday morning, at 5:45am, and saw it glistening on the top shelf, in that artificial light.

I had a piece right away for breakfast.

What can I say?

It was calling my name!  And I needed something yummy and sweet to kickstart my brain before my impending organic chemistry exam. 

And, to think...I was so health-conscious the night before--with my 3 mile jog and fresh juice.

Wasted efforts.

(:::shakes head:::)

Anyway, now I'm sharing Christine's recipe for a coconut cake with whoever-you-are.

Savor it--because it will take you 4 days to prepare.

Christine's Creamy Coconut Cake

4 days before serving:

Mix up the Filling

16 oz. sour cream

2 c. granulated sugar

12 oz. frozen fresh coconut (plus 6 additional oz. to sprinkle on the top)

***obviously the coconut will need to be thawed until viable, then everything combined and chilled overnight (or for at least a few hours).

3 days before serving:

For the Cake

1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix

4 eggs

Substitute milk for water

Prepare cake according to package directions, using 4 eggs and milk instead of water.  Bake 2 round cake layers.  After cooling, split each layer in half (for 4 layers total).

Assembling the Cake

Reserve 1 cup of filling (to be used in frosting)

Evenly split up the filling and spread it out on top of each layer.  Stack.

Frosting

1 c. filling

8 oz. thawed Cool Whip

Combine and spread out over cake.  

6 oz. frozen fresh coconut, thawed

Press coconut onto top/sides of frosted cake.

Chill for 3 days in the fridge and serve.

Despite being sick and feverish, he still wanted some cake!

I think its a beautiful looking cake

Spinach & Banana Green Smoothie

A couple years ago, my boyfriend and I went through a huge smoothie phase.  They were delicious, healthy alternatives to ice cream.  We made smoothies as a snack a few times a week, and sometimes as a breakfast-on-the-go.  One day, in the height of our smoothie phase, I added spinach to a strawberry-citrus smoothie, just for kicks.   It ended up being delicious, and aside from the ugly green color, you couldn't even tell that spinach was added.  

Spinach + Smoothies = Fantastic Idea!

 Just through experimenting and trying to incorporate various healthy things, I came up with this smoothie.  It ended up becoming a breakfast staple for me and my roommate, Jessica.  This is definitely deceivingly delicious, jam-packed with nutrients, and filling enough to be a meal substitute. 

Health-Boosting Green Smoothie

First, grind the following dry ingredients into a fine powder in your blender:

1-2 T. Chia Seeds (fiber & omega-3s)

1 T PB2 (Peanut butter flavor, without the added sugar/oil)

***optional--1/8 c. old-fashioned, raw oatmeal

Next, add the following to your blender:

2 spoonfuls (~1/8 c) Greek yogurt (I use vanilla/honey flavor--protein & probiotics)

1 T. Coconut Oil (make sure you get Unrefined, Unprocessed, Extra Virgin, Cold-Pressed)

1 banana

2-3 handfuls spinach

splash of milk (water will also work)

Blend until well-incorporated, adding more liquid as necessary.

Finish by blending in ICE until desired consistency.

TIP: You can use easily use frozen bananas and spinach in this smoothie.  If I buy fresh spinach and don't have time to use the entire bag, I'll transfer the spinach to a freezer Ziploc and freeze it.  I don't buy it already frozen and disgusting in the carton.  With bananas, if you have ripe ones that are about to spoil--cut into coins, freeze on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper, and transfer to a Ziploc once frozen through. 

Citrus Delight Juice

Citrus Delight

Process the following in your juicer:

1 big handful of baby carrots

1 grapefruit

3-4 clementines (or an orange)

1 apple

*optional--handful of spinach

ENJOY!

Real ugly when the spinach is added!

For some TIPS on juicing, click HERE!

Cupcakes with Fluffy Frosting

People love cupcakes.

They're just the right size for a single serving, they don't need to be cut up to share, they're pretty, and they don't require a plate or any utensils.  There's just something appealing about an adorable little cake, wrapped in paper, and topped with a big ol' dollop of frosting!

And so, this is my favorite Cupcake recipe!

The frosting is super yummy and looks gorgeous

It makes exactly 24 cupcakes--so two even batches of 12

Kids like them

They're easier than they look

For the Cupcakes

Makes exactly 24 cupcakes

Mix up a box of cake mix, following the directions on the package.

After preparing cake mix, add the following: 

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. oil

1 egg

Bake according to package directions--be sure to fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way so you don't get saggy or flat, dinky cupcakes.  Test for done-ness using a toothpick. Cool before frosting.

For the Frosting

Makes enough for exactly 24 cupcakes

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (1 pckg.)

8 T. butter, softened (1 stick)

1 T. vanilla extract

3 c. powdered sugar

Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add in vanilla.  Add powdered sugar at 1/2 c. intervals until it reaches desired consistency. (may need an additional 1/2 c. if its too soft) To make fancy looking cupcakes, frost using a cake tip.
  

I like to use this for decorating my cupcakes:

***I've also found the cake mix extender to work well with Red Velvet and Devil's Food cake mixes--I usually just add about a teaspoon of cocoa.

Good luck with your cupcakes!