Creamy Strawberry Crepes

I had some really beautiful strawberries and wanted to make a dessert with them before they went bad. I like to keep frozen crepes so I thought why not. They were so yummy, here's the recipe.

Beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, peel and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the strawberries and whipped cream and fill the crepes.

Top with whipped cream and more strawberries right before serving and enjoy!

Here is the recipe I used, but quartered it because there are only 2 of us, and used reduced fat cream cheese, whipped cream, etc. because trying to be a little healthier. Also I used frozen crepes, but posted the crepes recipe and directions.

• FILLING:
• 1 package (8 ounces) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (softened or cubed), softened
• 1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced, divided
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:

For filling, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, peel and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 2 cups of berries and whipped cream. Spoon about 1/3 cup filling down the center of 15 crepes; roll up. Garnish with remaining berries. freeze remaining crepes for another use. 

DIRECTIONS OR CREPES:

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, water, butter and salt. Add flour; beat until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• In an 8-in. nonstick skillet, melt 1 teaspoon butter; pour 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom.
• Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, adding butter to skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between.

Easy Chicken Salad

As said in the Linguine with Creamy Chicken Sauce post, I made a lot of chicken. So I made chicken salad for lunch during the week.

I chopped up some celery and grapes.

Threw them in with the chicken.

Then I did the unthinkable, I added mayonnaise...( I like the olive oil mayo, a little healthier and the taste isn't as strong).

Then just stir it up and add some salt, pepper, and lemon pepper, even a little tarragon if your into it, I am. While eating it the next day i decided it was missing something so added some sliced almonds and then it really hit the spot. EASY!

Snagged!

I went to Austin today for my great-grandmother's 99th birthday, yup you heard right NINETY-NINE! She is still the most beautiful 99-year-old I have ever seen. Sidetracking, on the way home my mom asks if I wanted to stop at Neiman's Last Call and I reply do you even need to ask? However, we were with my grandfather and aunt also so we had limited time, in and out that was the goal. I went straight to shoes which are always my favorite and of course the only ones I liked were $285 and $735, not quite on my newly-wed budget. In my defeat I went to the back to look at furniture as we are looking for a house I just like to keep an eye out for amazing deals and steals. I went to meet my mom at the check-out counter and found this little jewel at 50% off! Right in time for my trip to Aspen. Another reason I love fall...

Clutch Includes:

Plum Cheek Colour

Cashmere Matte Eye Colour

African Violet Luster Eye Colour

Topaz Luster Eye Colour

Kir Royal Sateen Eye Colour

Stellar Sateen Eye Colour

Truffle Matte Eye Colour

Discrete Lip Glac

Stormy Grey Kohl Eye Pencil

Black Long Lash Mascara

Stormy Grey Kohl Eye Pencil

Black Long Lash Mascara

Side-note: my grandfather got the steal of the day for 8 $30 candles for $9, he was told to get sussies for my grandmother's book club. He did good.

Linguini with Creamy Chicken Sauce

Made this really yummy pasta last night, and it was another weight-watchers recipe so it wasn't TOO bad for you, or so I like to think. 

First I cooked the chicken, I used half for the pasta and the other half for a chicken salad for lunch during the week.

I was by myself (no Hercules) so I didn't have the hands to take pictures since the recipe required a lot of stirring and throwing stuff in the pot and whatnot. I put the directions below so just make the sauce according to that while also cooking the pasta.

Toast some walnuts

Combine and put in your pasta bowl.

Use an antique setting on your camera so it looks like a romantic Italian restaurant... right?

Still try and do different things with your camera, and seriously think about taking a photography class because your skills are sub-par.

Ingredients:

 9 oz. linguine

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons flour

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 package of mushrooms

2 garlic cloves

1 cup fat-free milk

1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

3/4 block (6 oz.) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, cubed and softened

1/2 teaspoon fresh gound pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups chopped cooked chicken (around a pound)

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons butter

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

1 - Cook pasta according to package

2 - while pasta cooks place 1 tablespoon water and flour in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth, and set aside

3 - heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and garlic. Saute 4 min. or until mushrooms are tender. Add the milk, chicken broth, cream cheese, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook stirring constantly for around 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Stir in flour mixture and cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Stir in chicken and nutmeg; reduce heat and simmer uncovered, 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Add butter, stirring until melted. Add pasta and toss to coat. Serve with a sprinkle of toasted walnuts.

I Heart Fall

Introducing a new Fall Look, what do y'all think?

Why I love fall:

1- makes me want to go school supplies shopping and send people bouquets of sharpened pencils, i love office max

2- weather goes below 90 degrees

3- fall colors go really well with a red-head

4- sweaters!

Why do you love fall?

Banana Bread

Last weekend I made some banana bread. Just because. Here is the recipe. 

Grease and flour the bunt pan.

Mash the bananas, I had never done this before and I have to say it was a lot of fun. Get some aggression out.

Keep mashing until you you have a cup and a half.

 Cream the butter and sugar together. 

Then add the eggs one chickadee at a time. Then add the mashed bananas.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Then pour into the mixing bowl alternating with the sour cream, this was when Hercules came in handy because a buddy is nice to have to switch off and not have to just keep picking up and putting down, and picking up and putting down, and picking up and putting down....

The recipe didn't call for these but I like nuts in my banana bread, so I added a around a cup of walnut "nuggets" (giggle to yourself at the word nugget).

Make sure its all good and mixed.

Pour into bunt pan and bake! Enjoy the amazing aroma wafting from your kitchen to where your lazy butt is sitting watching TV.

Invert onto your dish of choice, and enjoy the prettiness. 

Slice and enjoy!

Yes, this is a cheese board...

But a very pretty one that I wanted to use, it's my kitchen I can do whatever I want.

P.S. I never knew that Chief had such a fondness for bananas.... you could move it all over the place and his eyes never left the banana.

Here's the easy copy, paste, print version of the recipe:

2 sticks butter

1 and a half cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

3 eggs

1 and a half cup mashed ripe bananas

4 cups + 2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 and a half teaspoon baking powder

1 and a half cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour bundt pan.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and beat.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all combined.

Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving with softened butter.

Split Pea Soup

We have been trying to be a little healthier after our weekend of gluttony, if you saw the Sunday brunch you would know what I was talking about. The is my mom's split pea soup recipe. I kind of feel like split pea soup is underrated in the soup category, it is delicious.

Saute the onion and celery in a little bit of butter.

Then add the carrots, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Then take some of the ham and slice-

-and dice!

Pour it all into the pot and then add the split peas and water (split peas are found in the dry food section in the grocery store near the beans and rice, I always forget this and end up walking by it at least 3 times).

Douse the mixture with tabasco, depending on spicy you want it is how much. Then simmer for around 2-3 hours or until nice and mushy.

When ready to serve garnish with some fresh parsley and enjoy!

Then since you have so much ham now enjoy leftovers with a toasted ham sandwich on Bird Man bread from Broadway Daily Bread.

The easy copy, paste, print version of the recipe:

1 large onion, chopped

4 ribs celery, chopped

2 oz. pork fat/ butter

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1 carrot, chopped

3-4 lean ham locks

1 cup diced hams, optional

1 16 oz. package split peas

2 quarts water

1 teaspoon Tobasco sauce

Saute onion and celery. Add parsley, garlic, carrot, salt and pepper. Add ham locks, ham, split peas, and water. Simmer 2-3 hours or until thoroughly cokked. Add more water if necessary. Correct seasonings and add Tabasco.

Sunday Brunch

It's Sunday my favorite day of the week, besides Friday, and Hercules got up early and went to the store to whip up a great breakfast that he saw on Pioneer Women (because I watch it, he has to and it is mostly man food so he doesn't mind). We had breakfast sandwiches and a fruit salad.

Start out with some sausage patties.

Cook on medium heat, we cooked all of these but don't worry we didn't eat all of them.

Scramble up some eggs with salt and pepper and little half and half.

Then cook in the sausage grease, makes it nice and tasty with all the little bits at the bottom of the pan. We actually took a little grease out of the pan it just was a little too much.

Saute some jalapenos in butter for a bit, TURN THE EXHAUST ON the fumes are lethal. It reminded of when my roommate in college accidently set off a thing of pepper spray that she thought was a highlighter in our tiny apartment that 6 girls lived in. It was mayhem.

Sear some Texas Toast in butter so it is nice and crunchy on both sides.

 Pile it all up and then add cheese, we used pepper jack. Pioneer Woman used cheddar.

Back into the skillet so the cheese is nice and melted and whole thing just comes together.

For the fruit salad I chopped up a little bit of all the usual suspects.

Combined in a bowl with a little bit of orange juice and a sprinkle of splenda.

 Very very wonderful Sunday morning, Yum!!!

 And don't forget your piping hot cup of coffee, you can tell which is mine (with the cream and sugar) and which is Hercules' (black).

Max's Wine Dive

So I haven't cooked all week, although it is only Wednesday, I still feel a little lazy. However, because a dear friend HAS to go to London for 4 months for something really stupid like law school we HAD to go and give her a fond farewell, 3 times in a week. Since we did go to some fabulous places and I like to think of myself as a wannabe foodie and to one day be really proactive and have my own personal food journal, I thought I would start now. This was how all of my diaries as a child started out, and then next entry would be months later saying "sorry I haven't written in a while" and it would continue like that until finally I wanted a new pretty diary and the vicious cycle would continue.

We went to....

 In the quarry extended/annex whatever is is called I can never get it right, it's across the street from the main quarry. Where of course you start your night out with a wonderful just what I needed after a long day glass of wine.

 Luckily my friends like to do what I like to do, order a lot and share everything, that way you get a taste of everything. For appetizers we had the pulled pork nachos, calamari, and the heavenly truffle mac & cheese (this is a must here). 

Hercules and I ordered the fried chicken, duh.

Christie had the sliders....

Then Schreiner and Jayson did something unexpected and trumped us all with haute dog. When I asked for an explanation of what was on top the response was "It's like cole slaw, but not" Ugh! Boys, don't they know I am trying to start my awesomely terrific food journal. Somewhere else in there was a Cracklin Chicken, Ahi Tuna steak, and some kind of salad that I had little expectations for but was amazing!

And by the way what a great motto...?

Photos are from somewhere in the cyber world.