Breakfast Savory Crepe Burritos

I have a stepsister who lives in Washington state. If you can believe it, I don't think I've ever actually met her in the 25-some years my mom has been married to her dad. I do know, however, through my mom that she has been a dedicated vegan for many years. She gave me a great vegetarian crepe recipe, which involves chick pea flour and several ingredients. I've had them when my mom has made them for me, and they are very good. However, I have yet to buy any chick pea flour, and I don't often like too measure too many ingredients. So I came up with a "quickie crepe" recipe for savory crepes that is pretty good, and has fewer ingredients, and no measuring at all. The numbers listed are for "parts" - so, however much you like, in the following proportions:

• 1:1:1/2 parts Bisquick, whole wheat flour, and nutritional yeast, respectively 
• 1-2 Tblesp. miso paste, whisked smoothly into a little veggie broth, then added
• water and veggie broth until the mix is fairly thin 

So, that's one part Bisquick (vegan! Yay!) to one part WW flour, to a half part nutritional yeast. I just dump some Bisquick in the left side of a bowl, then add an equal part of the flour, then a half part nutritional yeast. Totally "eyeballed." The resulting crepes are just a little "puffy," and not as paper thin as a true crepe would be. However, they are satisfying and great for filling. I made breakfast burritos out of this batch, filled with a western-style tofu "scramble," lentils, and vegan cheese.

Tofu Scramble

1 diced baked potato (a leftover)
one diced bell pepper
one small diced onion
one package sliced mushrooms
1 block of pressed and crumbled tofu
garlic powder or blackening seasoning, salt and pepper
about a cup of cooked lentils, which I had withheld from my lentil mushroom loaf

I peeled my cooked potato (I make 5 or so baked potatoes at a time in the oven, so that I have them throughout the week for use in cooking, or to top for a quick lunch) and toasted it on high heat in a little vegetable oil until well-browned. Then I added and sautéed the pepper, onion, and mushrooms first, then added the tofu and lentils just to warm them through, and seasoned the mix. I put a little filling down the middle of a crepe, and added vegan cheeses on top. I folded them up, and decided that half would be plenty for a single breakfast!

I first folded them in Glad Press and Seal, then in aluminum foil. They "peel" more easily out of the freezer this way, are protected against freezer burn, and I can drop them in a bowl and re-use the piece of Glad wrap to re-heat them (about 2 minutes a side, covered and on high power).

Mmmm, steamy.

Now I have a hearty breakfast stockpile for the next several months, since I save these for my hurried work mornings.

Cod in Parchment Paper

I think the name for cooking in parchment paper is cooking "en papillote," but you know, it's my mom and my brother that speaks the French, murky bo cups. I based this dish on one I saw Rachael Ray do, which of course, she calls "Spanish Fish in a Sack." (Okay, maybe you CAN dumb something down a bit too much.)

I just love cod, and olives too, so this looked mighty fine to me. I didn't check Rachael's recipe for anything but the cooking time (400 degrees for 20 minutes). I put cod, grape tomatoes, green and black Greek olives, onions, garlic, thin lemon slices and parsley in mine. Then I seasoned the stack and drizzled it all with extra virgin olive oil. I think fennel would have also been good... But I put the fish on the veggies so that it would cook down over those, and the lemon on top of that so it would go down into the fish.



Oh, and I put them all on parchment paper. Then I folded them over on the top seam, and up at the ends. I put them all in a glass baking dish.



I opened the bags, and drizzled each with more lemon juice. Delicious.



I made extras for leftovers, as I usually do, but I wouldn't recommend it. Just buy what you are going to eat that night... The leftovers were not as tasty as they were fresh from the bag. I served them with a little pasta, and I would definitely do it again, especially when I'd like to be "faux fancy" for company.

Open-Faced Chicken Cordon Bleu with Dill and Wine Sauce

Okay, if my efforts hit the mark, that sounds fancy - but it only took me about twenty minutes to make this dish.

I started with some pre-pounded chicken breasts (the Perdue Fit & Easy). I browned them (and cooked them through, because really, they're so thin) in a pan with a little olive oil, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. Then I removed them to a cookie sheet on some aluminum foil, and made the sauce in the same pan.

I started with a roux, with just a little butter and some flour added to the pan until it is combined (when it balls up and smells a little nutty. Can't wait to see what searches bring up THAT phrase).



Then I added some wine (nothing measured, of course), about enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Remember the salmon with dill sauce? Well, I had some leftover sauce, and I added it to the pan (or you could just add butter, dill, sour cream or milk, lemon juice and chicken stock to taste). If your sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with some chicken stock. If it is too thin, you can put some flour in a Pyrex cup, add some of the warm sauce (a few tablespoons) to the mix, whisk it, then add that back to the pan. But let your sauce come to a full, gentle boil before you judge the thickness: that's when the flour roux really kicks in.

Separately, I put the chicken breasts in the oven with some prosciutto and sliced ham (you can use either, I just happened to have both since we'd had company that week, and I was stocked up on pork products. Because when you come to my house? You generally get meat). Then I topped it with swiss cheese and melted it all together. You can do this while you're making the sauce, if you're super efficient.



Take the chicken out of the oven, pour the sauce on top and serve with asparagus and French bread. Why? Because it's "Frenchy." (Then, if you're a fan of "Better Off Dead," you can serve it at your holiday dinner with "Franch fries... AND, Franch dressing... AND, Franch bread. AND, to drink... PERU!")

Salad Week: Herbed Chicken Salad

These salads are so simple, honestly, I had to post a week's worth just to avoid feeling guilty.

This one came out quite well, and made me feel just a little French. (And since I'm not a redneck, I'm okay with that.)



I pulled some chicken off a grocery store rotisserie chicken (or use leftover chicken), combined it with several diced and boiled Yukon Gold potatoes, and added lowfat mayonnaise (or regular) until it looked right to me. I diced and added scallions, parsley, and dill, then salt and pepper. You could really use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand, because the rest of the dish is "tabula rasa."

I like to serve a few big scoops of it on top of some greens, and drizzle dressing around the outside. Keeps in the fridge for over a week!

My First Hollandaise Sauce, and Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll-Ups

And it was good!



I was inspired by this post on the Home Cook's blog to do another chicken roll-up with a creamy, lemony sauce. Theirs looked awesome, but I wanted just a straight hollandaise on this particular day. So I went hunting of the FoodTV site, and I found one by Tyler Florence that calls for a whole stick of butter. Ah, no. I figured there would be some way to lighten up what is basically warm mayonnaise once I found a feasible recipe... And this one by Paula Deen did the trick. Here it is reprinted, with my changes added in italics:

2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons cream (I used 4 tablespoons nonfat yogurt)
2 large tablespoons butter (I used light butter)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon ground mustard
pinch cayenne
Pinch salt
Pinch sugar
Chicken broth, optional
1 tablespoon white vinegar

The instructions were, "Combine all ingredients in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Stir until thick, approximately 3 minutes; set aside until ready to use. Do not reheat or cover the pot. Thin, if needed with a little chicken broth. Stir in the vinegar." I did the heating part, and it wasn't coming together or thickening... So I quickly added a dissolved teaspoon of corn starch, and added a tablespoon of Just Too Good! light mayo and whisked those in. Then it came together perfectly. I don't know if I needed the additions, or if I was just impatient and it would have thickened anyway... But it worked!

For the chicken cordon bleu, I flattened two chicken breasts, and then covered them with some prosciutto I had bought for Chris' lunches (hey, it was in the house, anyway). Then I just put in a half-stick of string cheese in each, and some smoked Monterey jack cheese. I tied them with string, and just lightly grilled the sides of them.



I then put the chicken in a covered dish and baked them for 20-25 minutes more on 375. Then I grilled some asparagus, because you know, it is the dream of all young asparaguses to one day be bathed in hollandaise sauce. And who am I to dash the hopes of any young asparagi? Guses?



When all was done, I sliced the chicken and laid it out attractively on the plate for its close-up.



I have to say, it was just right. It had a lovely tang to it, and just the right lemony taste with a little vinegar in at the end. I ended up spreading it on not only the asparagus, but the chicken, and a dinner roll as well.

Tuna Salad Niçoise

This is a recipe that I made up, after being inspired by a tuna salad niçoise that I had ordered at a restaurant that had boiled potatoes in it. The tuna I ordered up was fresh tuna, done medium rare, but I used canned tuna... and it still tastes very fancy. Really, the traditional salad is served room temperature, but this modification is great ice cold out of the fridge for up to a week -- when all of the flavors have married together.



3/4 sack of Yukon Gold potatoes
1 large can albacore tuna, drained
large bunch fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
1/2 finely diced red onion
two handfuls rough chopped arugula
3 cloves minced garlic
handful minced fresh dill
1/2 bottle of champagne vinaigrette, or Newman's Light Honey Mustard dressing
juice of 1 lemon, plus plenty of grated lemon zest
plenty of salt, and pepper

Dice and boil the potatoes, steam the beans briefly and rinse all with cold water. Then just combine the rest to taste. I used some of that fancy champagne vinaigrette dressing the first time, but at 20 grams of fat per serving, I tried the Newman's light dressing (honey mustard) the second time, and I think I liked it even better. Also, if you don't want your salad to bite you back (although the flavors mellow a lot in the fridge) quite so much, you can use less garlic -- or substitute garlic powder. But I'm convinced that anything so potent has to have magical powers (and not just the power to make your date disappear,) so of course I'll stick with the raw garlic.

And I wouldn't skimp on the lemon or zest -- that's what makes this such a refreshingly crisp summer salad.