Crepes with Turkey, Asparagus and Cheese

I enjoy a good crepe but I do not enjoy making them. When I get a craving for crepes I pick up a package of fresh crepes at my local grocery store. Then I go to town making my fillings and sauces for them. I spend less time cooking and more time eating.

Serves 5

10 large crepes
20 slices of thin deli turkey or ham
10 slices of low fat swiss cheese
5 oz of sliced button mushrooms
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 bundle of fresh apsaragus, trimmed

Preheat the oven to 400. Spray an oblong baking dish with cooking spray. Heat the oil in a medium sized sauce pot. Add the mushrooms and saute. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Place 1 piece of cheese, 2 slices of ham or turkey and 3-4 pieces of asparagus in the center of each crepe. Roll them up, enchilada style, and bake uncovered for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile melt the butter or margarine in the sauce pot. Add the flour and cook, whisking together for 2-3 minutes. Add the milk, chicken stock, salt, pepper, mustard and wine to the pot and cook until thick and bubbly. Add the mushrooms back to the pot. Remove the crepes from the oven. Reduce the heat to 350. Pour the sauce over the crepes. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly. Serve

Steaks with Gorgonzola Herb Butter

The first time I had Gorgonzola cheese was on a trip to Italy, 15 years ago. I have been a fan ever since. Unfortunately, I'm the only person in my family that loves this cheese. Or should I say fortunately because that means more for me!

makes enough for 6-8 steaks

4 tbsps softened butter
4 tbsp softened gorgonzola
pepper
1 tbsp fresh parsely, minced

Place all in a food processor. Process until well combined. Place in a bowl and return to room temperature 1 hour before serving. Cook your steaks as you desire. Top each steak with 1 tablespoon of the gorgonzola butter. Serve

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Parmesan and Herbs

This is a quick and easy side. A nice change from regular spuds.

Serves 3-4

2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and peeled

Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut the potatoes into bite sized cubes. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Add the garlic, cheese, salt, pepper, thyme and olive oil. Toss to coat. Spread in an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or until a knife can easily be inserted and the edges are brown.

Slow Cooker Pasta Sauce

This has to be one of the best and easiest pasta sauces I've made in a long time. It's loaded with veggies which bumps up the flavor and nutrition. If you have picky little eaters(or big ones for that matter). Throw the veggies into a food processor and grind them down as fine as you like. You can't tell their even in there.

serves 8-10

2 large zucchini
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
10 oz of sliced mushrooms
1 28 oz can of san marzano plum tomatoes
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 pound turkey italian sausage
1/3 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper
1 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minute tapioca

Spray the insert of a 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Peel and quarter the onion and chop each zucchini into 4ths and place them into the food processor. Process to the grind you like and pour into the insert. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the processor and grind. Add it to the insert. Squeeze the sausage out of their casings into a hot skillet that has been coated with the oil. Brown the sausage and drain well. Add it to the insert. Place the tomatoes and the tomato paste in the processor and grind them into a sauce. Pour that into the insert. Stir in the salt, pepper, basil, fennel seeds, tapioca and wine. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 6 hours. Serve over your favorite pasta. Top with parmesan cheese

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes

When the kids are home for the weekend, I like to fix breakfast after church. I whipped up a batch of these babies. I'd forgotten just how good they are. I doubled the batch so Christopher could take some back to school with him.

makes 8-12

1 1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 beaten egg
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp canola oil

Place all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a whisk until combined. Add the oil, egg and buttermilk. Stir until just combined. There will be a few lumps. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto a hot griddle that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cook until golden brown. Turning when the edges appear dry and the surface is bubbly.

Manicotti

I took my mom's original recipe and bumped it up with the addition of grated zucchini. It made a nice a addition to the filling. I know everyone will tell you to parboil the shells before baking. I never do for a couple of reasons. First I find that the shells too difficult to fill and they rip easily when pre-cooked. I also discovered that the manicotti comes out over cooked when pre-cooked. By adding a little extra water to the sauce the manicotti comes out perfectly al-dente every time.

Serves 6

12 uncooked manicotti shells
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1 medium zucchini, grated
2 large cloves of garlic, finely grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups marinara sauce
1/3 cup water
fresh mozarella, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 400. Spray an oblong baking dish with cooking spray. Pour 1/2 cup sauce and the water into the bottom of the baking dish. In a medium bowl mix together the ricotta, zucchini, garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Line a tall glass with a large zip lock bag. Scoop the filling into the zip lock bag(the glass holds the bag open for you to make scooping easier). Zip the bag shut, squeezing out as much air as possible. Snip off on corner off the bottom of the bag. Holding the manicotti shell in your free hand, squeeze some of the filling into both ends of the shell. Snuggle the filled shells up against each other in the baking dish. Cover the shells with the remaining sauce. Lay slices of mozarella over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove the foil, turn the broil up to high and brown the top for about 3-5 minutes. Serve

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

These have to be the easiest slow cooker recipe yet. If you have a meat and potatoes lover in your life this is the meal for him/her.

Serves 6

6 large, bone in pork chops
2 large shallots, minced
1 can cream of mushroom soup(I used an organic brand)
1/4 cup dry white or marsala wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp salt(I used 3 tsp montreal steak seasoning instead)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dry thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup cold water
2 tbsp corn starch

Place the flour, salt, pepper and onion powder in a large zip lock bag. Drop the chops into the bag, seal and shake to coat them. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the chops and brown an both sides. Spray the slow cooker's insert with cooking spray. Lay the chops on the bottom. Sprinkle the shallots and thyme over the top. Pour the soup over all and pour the stock and thyme over the soup. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. One hour before serving, skim off any fat and add the corn starch that has been mixed into the cold water. Adjust seasoning if necessary and return the cover. Raise the heat to high and let the chops cook for the remaining hour. Serve over mashed potatoes.