Wednesday, April 7, 2010

When You Want Dessert for Breakfast


There is a guilty pleasure in this house that started when I was pregnant with our first child. It's called: Strawberry Crepes.

They are the most amazing breakfast in the world. How could they not be? It's dessert for breakfast. Even my dad, who is as picky as a four-year old and hates about half of the ingredients, inhales these with gusto. Dad, if you are reading this, read no further if you do not want to know exactly what food enemies you have been readily eating at my house.

Here's the deal. As far as I know, I am not infringing on anyone's copyright because I have taken about three different recipes over the years and made my own out of all of them. But just in case, I will just tell you to go hunt up a good crepe recipe for the actual thin pancakes you need for this recipe. This is under bread in my Better Homes & Garden cookbook. You can't really mess up the pancakes, it's all about the filling.

Here you go:

1. Make a big stack of thin crepes by blending your crepe batter in a blender (or a food processor if you have broken the fourth blender in a YEAR). When you pour the batter into your pan, pour it right in the middle of the pan and then, tip the pan side to side to spread the thin batter. I do not have a special crepe griddle, just a 10-inch skillet will do the trick.


2. Meanwhile, mix the following in a medium sized bowl (I use one with a lid so I can just throw the leftovers right in the fridge after we eat.):


  • 1-2 cups of lowfat/nonfat cottage cheese (EEEEEK! screams most kids, but we have 'em, girls!)
  • 1 cup of cream cheese (I use the low fat kind)
  • 1/2 cup of sour cream, low fat sour cream, or nonfat plain yogurt (this is optional)
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Mix these all together, softening the cream cheese in the microwave if needed. When you are ready to serve breakfast, heat the entire bowl in the microwave to make the filling warm.

3. Chop off the green tops of at least 16 ounces of fresh strawberries, or if you don't have those, you can even thaw out some frozen (even sweetened) strawberries. My kids like their strawberries pureed so we throw these into the food processor too.


All boys like machinery, even in the kitchen.
Don't mind his dirty face. That's just all the Dermabond,
keeping him together.


Sleepy cheerleaders, so sweet.

4. Grab a can of whip cream out of your fridge on the way to the table.

5. Start the construction: one crepe, spread with filling, add strawberries, roll up the crepe and top with whip cream, if desired.

6. Enjoy!

Just writing this post has made me hungry for this old faithful friend. With a spring cold making life a bit lazy around here, I might have to throw this comfort food together...for the children, of course.

Resting,
Karen

1 comment:

Kim said...

Wow! Those look amazing! I'm not going to lie though, as much as I appreciate the detailed description, I doubt I will ever try these. I am a terrible cook and they look pretty fancy. But maybe I could leave this up on my husband's computer screen... see what happens Saturday morning!