Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Chicken Alfredo Crepes

Another not-really-a-recipe one-serving dish, to give an example of things to do with crepes.
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, combine first 3 ingredients. Spoon mixture down the center of crepes. Roll crepes up and place, seam side down, on baking sheet.
2. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until heated through.

Robyn's notes: I checked the crepes every 2 minutes, starting at 6 minutes, by touching the top of each crepe at the center. After 10 minutes, even though they were only warm to the touch at that spot, I took them out of the oven because the edges were getting pretty crispy and I didn't want them to burn. Turns out they were hot all the way through, even though I couldn't feel it from the outside.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Turkey Crepes Two Ways

This is not really a recipe, as there aren't any measurements. Still, I enjoyed how these came out and thought I'd share them as examples of ways to use crepes. This is a single serving.
  • 2 cooked crepes, cooled
  • deli-sliced oven-roasted turkey breast
  • thinly sliced cheddar cheese
  • cream cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place turkey breast in single layer over each crepe, covering as much of crepe as possible.
2. On one crepe, place slices of cheddar cheese in single layer over turkey breast. On the other, spread or drop dollops of cream cheese over turkey breast.
3. Roll up and place, seam side down, on baking sheet. Bake for 5-6 minutes, or until cheddar cheese in first crepe is melted.

Robyn's notes: I made one of each of these at the same time because I wasn't sure if either or both would come out well, and didn't want to have to re-heat the oven and start again if the first one I tried wasn't good. They both came out well and I ended up alternating bites, so that I'd have a cream cheese bite then a cheddar bite. This is good for a quick lunch, and was filling. Don't roll the crepes too tightly, or the centers will still be cold when the edges appear ready.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Monday, October 10, 2011

Quick Chicken and Broccoli Crepes

  • 5oz frozen chopped broccoli (fresh ok, too)
  • 1/2 of a 10.75oz can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 C cooked slivered chicken or turkey
  • 7-8 cooked crepes (see notes, below)
  • 3 Tbsp mayonnaise (see notes, below)
  • 1/2 Tbsp milk
  • 2 Tbsp additional grated Parmesan cheese
1. Cook broccoli according to package directions, drain thoroughly. Combine with soup, Worcestershire sauce, 3 Tbsp cheese, and chicken. Fill crepes with chicken mixture; roll up and place in shallow baking pan. Combine mayo with milk; spread over crepes. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp cheese. Broil until bubbly.

Yield: 7-8 crepes (see notes, below)

Robyn's notes: lots of changes and notes for this recipe. First, I can't eat broccoli, so the rest of the sauce was made separately while the broccoli was cooking, and then after filling my crepes, the broccoli was added to the remaining sauce and the other crepes were filled. Secondly, this in no way filled 7-8 crepes. The broccoli filled out the crepes a lot more than the sauce that didn't have broccoli, but in total we got about 4 crepes out of this recipe, two each. It was plenty for us with a side of fruit. Third, my stomach doesn't generally react well to mayonnaise, so while I cook with it sometimes, I don't when I'm already feeling somewhat unwell. So in place of the mayonnaise and milk, this is what I used for a sauce on top of the crepes:
approx 2 Tbsp of remaining condensed cream of chicken soup from can
approx 1 Tbsp sour cream
approx 1 Tbsp milk

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Sunday, October 9, 2011

All-Purpose Crepes

I don't usually share recipes that have large yields, or recipes for freezing. I'm not someone who enjoys leftovers or thawing Tuesday's frozen food for Friday's dinner. Crepes, however, are different. When I was a small child, around 6 years old, I fell in love with crepes, and I've been filling them both sweet and savory ever since. This recipe has a large yield, and the finished crepes take up very little space in the fridge or freezer.
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 C flour
  • 2 C milk
  • 1/2 C melted butter
1. Combine ingredients in blender, blend for about 1 minute. Scrape down sides with rubber spatula and blend for another 15 seconds or until smooth.
2. Refrigerate batter at least 1 hour.
3. Brush pan with butter and heat over medium-high heat. Pour 2 to 3 Tablespoons of batter into pan (using a ladle makes this easier), and tilt pan in all directions to swirl the batter so that it covers the bottom of the pan in a very thin layer. Cook crepe until bottom is lightly browned, 1-2 minutes. Turn carefully with spatula and brown the other side for a few seconds until set. Remove from pan with spatula; stack between layers of waxed paper.

Yield: 30 to 35 crepes

Robyn's notes: do not feel that your crepes need to be perfectly uniform in size or an exact circle. Basically you are making an exceptionally thin pancake. Whereas when making pancakes, you're watching for bubbles to form, when making crepes you're watching for the surface sheen to disappear. When the surface of the crepe batter appears dull, that's when it's time to turn the crepe over. Once the crepes have been made and stacked on the waxed paper, they can be stored in the fridge or freezer in a ziploc bag. Fridge for about a week, freezer for up to 4 months. This batter can be used for any manner of fillings, both sweet and savory. Be creative, or search "crepes" in the sidebar for my recipes using this base.

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently