Saturday, November 2, 2013

Crepes, Crepes, Crepes!

Strawberry Cream Crepes 
AND 
 Ham and Cheese Crepes 

Sometimes you feel like something a little sweet...




and sometimes you want some savory.





Crepes are a very versatile food. 
They are a very thin little pancake.
 My son-in-law grew up with something similar called egg pancakes that his family ate with butter and sugar on them. We made them with ham and cheese for dinners.
 I saw them at the State Fair with 
the strawberries and cream in them
and fell for that version too.
No matter what you call them...
just call them delicious.

 There isn't much difference between making them for savory dishes or for sweet dishes.
For the sweet crepes we just add some sugar, vanilla, and almond extract.

Other than that they are the same. 



 Make sure to cook your crepes in a non stick skillet. Lightly coated with oil. There are crepe pans out there that you can purchase, but this works just great.

 After it is done on one side carefully flip to the other side. Then just stack them up in a pile while cooking the others.




 As you can see, they are very, very thin.









Ham and Cheese Crepes: 

 We used a combination of 
shredded cheddar cheese 
and shredded Velveeta cheese.
Also thinly cut ham.

Combine the sour cream, mustard, 
salt, pepper, and onions.
You can leave out the onions,
 if you have onion haters in your family,like we do. (You know who you are Cory!)
 


Spread about one tablespoon of the sour cream mixture down the middle of the crepe. Top with some ham and cheese.Then roll like a burrito. 
 Place your rolled crepes in a greased 13"x9" pan.
Sprinkle with Ritz cracker crumbs and drizzle with butter.
 They come out of the oven with gooey cheese peeking out of the ends and the top a light golden brown. Makes you just want to grab a fork and dive right in.

Now for dessert!
Strawberry Cream Crepes:

 Fresh strawberries, cut into pieces.
Mix up the "sweet cream" filling,
which is cream cheese, sugar, 
powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond extract.
Make the same way as the savory crepes, but when you make the actual crepes,
 add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. 
Cook exactly the same way.
Construct the same using the cream cheese mixture first, and then adding the strawberries.  
Next gently fold together instead of rolling.
No cooking this crepe! It is now ready to eat!
Add a dollop of whipped cream to the top.
Garnish with a few sliced berries and
ENJOY!

Basic Crepes
4 eggs
1 1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat eggs slightly.
Combine with the remaining ingredients.
Mix well.
Keep mixing to get the lumps out.

Heat a 7"-8" skillet over medium heat.
Grease lightly.

Pour about 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan, tilting the pan and moving the batter around to spread evenly.

When the crepe is light brown and set, flip to the other side. Lightly brown that side, then remove from pan.
Repeat with the remaining batter 
to make about 10 - 12 crepes. 

 Ham and Cheese Crepes
12 oz. ham, slices, diced, or just thinly sliced strips
1 1/2 shredded cheese, (we used a combination 
of cheddar and Velveeta)
1 tablespoon diced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon mustard
1/3 - 1/2 cup Ritz crack crumbs
3 tablespoons melted butter
10-12 crepes

Heat oven to 350 degrees
In a small bowl mix the sour cream, onion, mustard, 
salt, and pepper.
Evenly divide in the following order: 
the sour cream mixture,
the shredded cheese,
and the ham.
Roll up each crepe 
and arrange in a 13"x9" greased pan.
Top with the cracker crumbs.
Drizzle with the melted butter.
Cover loosely with foil.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melting 
and the top is turning golden brown. 
Serve immediately.

Sweet Crepes
   Add the following to half of the basic batter and mix:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Cook the same way.

Strawberry Cream Crepes
 8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
 3-4 cups sliced strawberries
 5-6 sweet crepes
Whipped cream
Strawberries for garnish.
Combine the cream cheese, sugar, powder sugar,
 vanilla, and almond extract.

Evenly divide the cream cheese mixture 
among the crepes.
Top with the strawberries.
Fold/roll up carefully.
Top with whipped cream and 
a few slices of strawberry.
Enjoy!

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