Week 2 Monday: Crepes with Fruit and Cream Cheese, Minestrone with French Bread and Rainbow Sherbet & Gingersnaps

It's Monday morning of Week Two.

 

For breakfast I am making crepes. I love crepes. This crepe recipe is fantastic - like a very thin pancake with a taste of vanilla. Crepes are so versatile - they can be featured at breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert depending on the filling being used. For breakfast they can be filled with scrambled eggs, cheese and bacon or sausage.
But my favorite is filling them with a sweetened cream cheese and fruit. It's so light and tasty.

 

 

Mondays are typically soup of stew day on my menus.  The thing I love about these is that I can pack a lot of healthy vegetables into one meal for my kids. Today is a healthy, flavorful minestrone.

And on the side I am going to bake French bread. This recipe is by far the best French bread recipe I've tried. It turns out perfect every time.
My family absolutely devours it - before it even has a chance to cool.

 

 

Crepes with Fruit and Cream Cheese

 

Minestrone with French Bread and Rainbow Sherbet & Gingersnaps

BREAKFAST:

 

CREPES

Crepes can seem intimidating at first if you've never made them. But once you get the hang of it, they are easy and versatile. They can be used for breakfast, dinner or dessert depending on what filling you make to go inside. Sometimes I make crepes for dinner with chicken a la king and then also do a dessert filling and have them for both dinner and dessert.

 

But they make such a delicious breakfast with fruit and a sweetened cream cheese!
Definitely a favorite around here.

 

The recipe makes a lot of crepes, so I am halving it since we are only having them for breakfast.

 

1. I put 2 eggs in a bowl of warm water to bring them to room temperature. Then melt a Tablespoon of butter in a small dish.

 

2. Measure one cup of flour in a medium size mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt and sift well.

 

3. Make a "well" in the center of the flour. Pour in  1 1/4 cups of milk, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. It will be very thin. Stir in the melted butter. 

 

4. Now heat one or two small frying pans (omelet size) on high.

 

5. When the pans are very hot, pick one up and spray generously. Take about 1/8 cup of batter, pour right into the center of the very hot pan. QUICKLY tilt the pan in all directions, 360 degrees, until the batter spreads in a wide thin circle.

(The batter will begin to cook the minute it hits the hot pan so you must move quickly!!)

 

6. Put the pan back down on the burner. Let it cook until the edges are dry and bubbles have formed and popped. Using a fork or spatula, pull the edges away from the pan and than slide the fork or spatula under and flip it over.

 7. Let it cook for a bit on the other side. Just long enough for it to lightly brown. Then pick up the pan and tilt the pan over a platter to let the crepe slide out. Repeat with the remaining batter. ENJOY!

 

CREAM CHEESE FILLING

1. Put 1 or 2 packages of cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl.

 

2. With a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is soft and creamy.

3. Add a little powdered sugar - to taste. You don't want it too sweet. The sugar shouldn't mask the flavor of the cream cheese, just sweeten it a little.

 

4. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of vanilla and beat until it is all smooth and well mixed.

 

ASSEMBLING

1. Put  1 or 2  crepes on a plate. Spread cream cheese filling in a line down the center.

 

2. Top with fresh berries or mashed berries sweetened with sugar. 

 

3. Roll up - kind of like a burrito. ENJOY!    

 

 

DINNER:

 

MINESTRONE

1.      Put olive oil in a crockpot or soup pot. Chop the onion and add to the pot.

2.      Dice the carrots and add to the pot. Then do the same with the celery and zucchini.

 

3.     Add a can of red kidney beans. Then salt and pepper the vegetables and add a bay leaf.

4.      Pour in a can of diced tomatoes and a bag of lima beans.

5.      Add 2 cups of broth (I used 2 cups water plus 2 chicken bouillon cubes) and ½ cup red wine or grape juice.

6.      Simmer for a few hours or all day in the crockpot on LOW.

7.      A half hour or so before serving, chop cabbage and add to the pot.

8.      Add one cup elbow macaroni or small shell pasta. And remove the bay leaf.

9.      Put the lid back on let cook for 15 minutes or more. ENJOY!

 

FRENCH BREAD

1.       Heat 2 cups of water in the microwave for about a minute or so.

2.       Meanwhile, put 2 cups of flour in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Then add a Tablespoon salt and 2 Tbsp of dried yeast. (Or 2 - 3 packets).

3.       Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on and let mix well. With the mixer still going, slowly pour in the warm water. Mix for about 30 seconds or until blended.

4.       Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl well with a rubber spatula and then turn the mixer on medium-low speed and let mix for a full 3 minutes.

5.       Then add a cup of the remaining flour at a time – slowly. Let each cup mix in well before starting to pour another cup in.

6.       When the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, so that they stay relatively "clean" as the paddle goes around  - stop adding any more flour. Take the dough out of the bowl and spray the bowl well with cooking spray. Put the dough back in the newly greased bowl and cover with a towel or saran wrap. Let rise until double (about an hour or so).

7.       After it has doubled, punch the dough down and let it rest while you prepare the pan. Spray a large baking sheet and then sprinkle it with cornmeal.

8.       Separate the dough into two equal pieces. Roll each piece into an elongated oval and flatten slightly, using your palms, fingers and the counter to smooth it out.

9.       Place both loaves on the prepared sheet on top of the cornmeal.  Using a serrated knife, cut slits about an inch or so apart down each loaf at an angle – cutting into the dough about ¼ to ½ inch deep.

10.   Cover and let rise until about double, about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees while it rises.

11.   Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and serve with butter or as garlic bread. ENJOY!

 

DESSERT:

 

Monday night is traditionally an ice cream dessert on my menus. It's family night so ice cream is a fun treat to go along with it.

 Tonight we are going simple - rainbow sherbet with ginger snaps. But for a twist I'm going to slightly imitate the taste of ice cream pie by making the gingersnaps into a sort of crumb crust.
Just for fun.

 

1.       Crush 3-4 gingersnaps inside a Ziploc baggie with a mallet or other heavy object. Dump the crumbs into the bottom of a small dessert dish.

2.       Fill the rest of the dish with rainbow sherbet.

 

3.       Top with a whole gingersnap.