Father's Day: Crepes

I know I've shared this recipe in the past, but it didn't ever have a picture to go with it.  This is what I made for our Father's Day breakfast this year.

Crepes:

(makes 8)
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar (heaping)

For best results, blend this in a blender and spread out on a flat cooking surface --we like to use our electric griddle.  Unless of course, you have a crepe maker. Turn when just barely golden, and yes, one side will be ugly.
Makes enough for 4 normal adults, or 3 hungry adults who like to stuff themselves silly.

Super crepe sauce:
Sour cream
Brown Sugar
about a 3:1 ratio respectively (just go by personal taste)

Favorite toppings:  (not necessarily all together though) Fresh strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, peaches, banana slices, blueberries, powdered sugar, whipped cream, super crepe sauce, Nutella, yogurt, homemade jam, apple or cherry pie filling, pudding, ice cream... the sky's the limit!

Yum!

Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This is anything but healthy, but man was it good!  Richard brought home some Morel mushrooms that he found while working (don't worry, he knows how to tell the difference between the fake ones and the real ones) and since those things usually run about $50/lb we decided we'd eat like kings for one night regardless of calories.

I imagine that you can substitute other mushrooms as well, or... you can come to our place for the full experience.  You're all welcome anytime!

I have to admit this isn't an exact recipe, since I made it up as I went, but you get the general idea. Feel free to add any suggestions.  (For example, my sister added a little white wine instead of lemon juice, but that's not something I usually have on hand.)


Creamy Mushroom Sauce:

1 small Shallot diced finely (or one thin slice sweet onion)
  carmelize in
2 T butter
add about
2 c sliced mushrooms
saute until tender
Add  1 1/2 - 2 c heavy cream, (half and half works too)
Simmer until it thickens a little,
add 1/2 c fresh grated parmesan
Squeeze a little fresh Lemon Juice in,
Add about a 1/2 tsp fresh Thyme (or 1/4 tsp dry)
Salt and pepper to taste


Serving Suggestion: This goes well over Fettuccine and Grilled Chicken.

 Enjoy!

Gwennie's goals

In a recent post on Texas Moments, I wrote about the book that Gwendolyn and I made for her use in making goals. Since blogger apparently doesn't allow pdfs, I made a handful of images to show part of the layout of the pamphlet, including the cover and the title page (above). Gwennie says, "these goals will help because I get a prize when I finish a section. I'm starting with goals about not responding in anger, memorizing five poems and making one of my own, finding an animal shelter to donate a special amount of money to, and reading books by my favorite author and writing a story from the perspective of my favorite character." The images below, after the contents, represent one of the four sections in the booklet.

Chinese Dinner!

(It was actually an accident that I posted this on Chinese New Year --it must have been something in the air...)

This dinner is a favorite that we made a nearly-monthly tradition with the Ricks family when we lived in Rexburg --mostly because it is delicious and too good to just make for yourself, but also because it makes so much, and it's nice to split up the work as well.

Egg Rolls

2 Bags coleslaw mix
3 Chicken breasts cooked (boiled and shredded is how I do it) or the equivalent meat of a rotisserie chicken shredded (much tastier, but don't get one with any special flavoring like rosemary or barbecue.)
2 T Soy sauce
2 T Wok oil (can be bought near the soy sauce -this is a key ingredient, it's infused with garlic and other spices)

Heat slowly in large pan with lid until cabbage is tender.
Let cool in fridge for an hour or so --if you don't, the steam will turn the wrappers into mush (yeah... learned from experience.)

Wrap in large egg roll wrappers (can be found in the produce section near the tofu and wontons and foreign foods) follow directions on back of package. This recipe can fill two packages of wraps (about 23 egg rolls each).

Fry in 1-2 in. of oil until just barely golden. Keep temperature around 300-350 deg. F. (We use our electric skillet to keep the temperature of the oil from getting too hot. I'm sure you could do it on the stove, or in a deep fryer too.)

These are my favorite egg rolls, I actually didn't ever like egg rolls before this recipe came along, and I think they're even better than those at the restaurants. They're also really easy--no shredding cabbage for me (wrapping takes the longest actually). Leftovers can be heated in the microwave until warmed through, and then put under the broiler or in a toaster oven for a few minutes to get the outsides crispy again. Yum!


Sweet and Sour Sauce

In saucepan combine:
1 tsp Ketchup
2/3 c Brown sugar (mix with ketchup so ketchup doesn't clump and float)
1/4 c White vinegar
2/3 c Pineapple juice or Mandarin orange juice --or both if you're doubling (drained from the can you get exactly 2/3 cup)
1 tsp Soy Sauce

Boil together, then to thicken add
1/4 cup cold water and 2 Tb Corn Starch mixed
Boil until desired thickness -may add pineapple tidbits at this point if you like.


I've been through quite a few sweet and sour recipes but this is my favorite. It's not like the red stuff you get at buffets, more like what you'd get at Fong's in Rexburg. I also always double this if I'm making the whole meal.

Batter-Fried Chicken (for sweet and sour chicken)

1 c flour
1 c milk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

Heat oil to 350-375 deg. F
Dip dry chicken breast pieces (cut into 1in. cubes or finger size strips) in batter and fry til golden.

Make sure the pieces of chicken aren't too thick, or you'll have to really brown them to cook them through, but don't make them too thin, or the chicken will be dry and leathery. The batter will easily cover 3 large chicken breasts, (judge about 1/3 of a chicken breast per adult). Let the chicken cool on a cooling rack over some paper towels to catch the excess oil (same for the egg rolls).

Doesn't that look so yummy!?

Now, Andrea just needs to post her excellent recipe for Fried Rice (hint hint) pictured above, and to counteract the carbs, add a favorite steamed vegetable, and voila! the perfect Chinese dinner!

It's a lot of work, but it's so worth it! Just give yourself at least 2-3 hours to get everything ready and cooked, and prepare as much as possible beforehand --cooking and shredding the chicken for the egg rolls can be done the day before, in fact the filling for the egg rolls can be refrigerated overnight --just don't wrap them until you're ready to fry them, and it probably wouldn't hurt the fried rice to be rewarmed the next day either.
Also, if you're like me, and you don't want your house to smell like fried food for days, invest in an electric skillet and plug it in outside to do the cooking. Please be careful with the hot oil! I'd hate to hear that anyone got hurt because of this recipe. If you use your skillet for the egg roll filling and wash it, make sure it is completely dry (like even turn it on warm for a bit to evaporate any water off), cause any molecule of water that is in the pan will make the oil sputter and pop. Keep a spatter guard handy and wear an apron.