Nutella Crepes

My amazing sister took a vacation overseas this past fall and visited Paris as part of that trip. While there, she apparently found a vendor that sold nutella crepes {not only did they sell them, they made them right on the spot - which is a story for her to tell...maybe one day soon, right Hil ;)?} to eat on the spot. While talking to her on the phone during her stay in Paris, she raved about these crepes she had been eating ... they were a big deal. Obviously. 
Unfortunately for her {but fortunately for her loving family}, the trip came to an end and she had to return home, sans crepes. However, she found a recipe and we attempted said recipe this past weekend. And without further adieu: 
How to make Nutella Crepes in your own home. 

You will need:  6 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 large eggs 1 large egg yolk 1/2 cup water 1 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup nutella extras {we did bananas, strawberries, & powdered sugar. yum!} 

Work your magic: 1// In a medium nonstick pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, continue cooking until the butter is golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside. The residual heat will make the butter a little more brown, so err on the side of golden brown versus dark before you turn off the heat. 
2// In a medium bowl, gently whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, water, milk, and salt until just combined. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly pour the browned butter into the mixture, whisking constantly. If necessary, strain the mixture to remove any lumps. 
3// Use a paper towel to wipe out the same nonstick pan used to melt the butter. Set the pan over medium heat. Using a 1/3-cup measure, scoop the batter and pour it in to the center of the hot pan. Using a rotating motion with your wrist, swirl the batter around and out to the edges of the pan - the thinner, the better. Return the pan to the heat and cook for 2 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to lift up the edge of the crepe and flip the crepe over {see *helpful hints* below for another version...}. Cook on the other side for 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on how golden you like it. 
4// Slide the crepe onto a plate and spread with 1 tablespoon of the Nutella (or as much as you like). Fold the crepe in half, then fold in half again to form a triangle. You can also just roll up the crepe loosely like a carpet. Garnish with desired toppings.

   

    

+ We poured the batter into a measuring cup with a spout in order to make less of a mess while trying to fill a 1/3-cup measure.
+ We used two different nonstick pans - here's why:

• flipping the crepe over did not result in the crepe staying together completely, and who wants a holey crepe?! 
• flipping the crepe over into a second pan was much easier! Then, you just flip it from the second pan {which we coated in unsalted butter as well} onto a plate when time is up, and voila! A whole crepe :). 

+ You may be brave and attempt to eat your masterpiece as is; however, we knew better {and ourselves...we're messy!} and settled to eat it work a fork. It's up to you! 

Pasta Salad {for dummies}

So I follow an amazing blogger: Shay Shull over at Mix and Match Mama. She  has the cutest kids and is excited for fall! A girl after my own heart. So...I may or may not have been stalking her blog like I do on occasion {no big deal}, and I came across her friend Andrea's blog. And, browsing that {like you do any new blog you come across, right?!}, I saw her post about her working mommy lunch. And I was hooked! Here's what's up:

red onion 

cucumber (I used hot house)

pepperoni

mozzarella cheese

light Italian dressing 

tri-color pasta

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. It'll be done in about 10 minutes. Buuuut, while that's goin down, chop up your veggies! I used the entire cucumber and only half of the onion. Also, Andrea uses fresh mozzarella, but being poor, I bought the H-E-B brand brick and cut that up. Worked just fine! 

After your pasta is done to your liking {I personally like it al dente}, drain it and rinse until cool. 

Now just toss it all in a large bowl and mix, mix, mix! Add half the bottle of dressing {or less if you prefer}. I used roughly half. After that, just stir it all together and SERVE! Although, I do prefer it to be chilled for at least half an hour prior to eating - it's so much better cold! :-) 

Disclaimer: this makes a lot!  I plan on taking some to work every day, sometimes as a main dish, but also as a side some days. This will last all week long! Seriously. Amazing stuff! I just can't get enough! Also, it doesn't get much easier than this! The "hardest" part was chopping up the veggies - that onion was fresh and about killed my eyes! But seriously, this is a super easy go-to recipe and I just love the fresh veggies. Also, why have I never thought to put pepperoni in a pasta salad? It's perfect!

This is definitely going to become a staple in our household - I can see it now. Colten loved it too, even after belly aching over the fact that I indeed was going to use the tri-color pasta. Apparently, he's not a fan. But, he sure didn't complain when it was all said and done {except for the fact that I refused to use a 'regular' cucumber...he got over it hehe}! Ha! But seriously. So simple and so delicious. Thanks, Andrea!

 

{Fried Pickle} Madness

Who doesn't just love fried pickles?  Okay, so maybe they aren't the healthiest option out there - but they're so deliciously amazing!  Who's with me?!    Well, Pinterest struck again, and I found a fried pickle recipe.  You mean I can make them at home for so much cheaper and easier than going out to find some?! YES!  That's exactly what it meant....   So, tried them we did!  We bought the ingredients last week, but it was kind of a rough week, so we kept putting off trying to make them.  But finally, on Sunday evening, Colten and I decided that once he got home from work, we would make fried pickles.  Besides, the jar of pickles was just taunting Colten the entire week...he threatened to eat them several times, but he held off.  Thanks babe!    Check out our experience in pictures:  

  They turned out sooooo good!  I know they're not super healthy, but we indulged on Sunday!  And, we plan to indulge again in the future!  A simple, great tasting recipe for an appetizer of fried pickles right in our own home!  Yes please!    Oh, you want the recipe???  I guess I'll share :).  Here ya go!    Ingredients 1 jar dill pickle spears 1 cup flour 1/2 cup plain yellow corn meal 1 tablespoon seasoned salt 1 cup milk Vegetable Oil to cook in Ranch Dressing for dipping   Directions 1. Pour vegetable oil to a depth of at least 1/2 inch in medium sized skillet and place over medium high heat.  Drain pickles and place spears on paper towel lined plate to absorb moisture while you prepare breading.   2. Place corn meal in a small bowl.  Add 1/2 cup flour and seasoned salt.  Stir until well combined.   3. In a separate bowl, pour remaining flour.  Place the milk in a third bowl.    4. Using your hands, dip a pickle into milk, then flour, then milk, then cornmeal breading.  Repeat until all pickles are breaded.    5. Carefully place pickles into hot oil and cook until browned, stirring once if needed, about ten minutes.   6. Remove from skillet and place on paper towel lined plate.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving with ranch dressing.   *These are extremely hot inside for several minutes after cooking.* Makes about 8 pickles.     I have these super awesome coating trays I received at my Pampered Chef bridal shower over a year ago instead of small bowls, which worked amazingly for this recipe!    Enjoy!    

{Strawberry Pineapple} Smoothie

I have a problem with breakfast.  

I know that probably sounds weird, but it's true.  My digestive system does not like for me to consume any food prior to like 8am.  Well, that's a problem, seeing as I have to be at work by 7:30, and I would have to eat breakfast at 6:30.  And, obviously if you add that up, it's impossible for me to eat at 6:30am.  SO, that leads to me munching on things throughout the morning and always grabbing for some type of snack food = not good. I also don't do very well just consuming coffee or drinks in the morning...it just doesn't sit well with me and I feel miserable for the rest of the day.  For some people, that works just fine...a few cups of coffee in the morning and they're good to go.  Well, not so for me. 

And from the title of this post, you already know where I'm going.  Yes, I'm turning to SMOOTHIES!  I love fruits and veggies, so why not incorporate them into a breakfast thing?  I really don't want to munch on whole strawberries, bananas, kiwis, carrots, etc. all morning, so why not blend all of that goodness into a smoothie?  Well, not ALL of those aforementioned ingredients into ONE smoothie, anyway.... Yikes!  But, I did some research and I found a few really good recipes that I've been dying to try!  So, I decided to try a strawberry pineapple smoothie - and today was day 1 for the test!  

Colten bought groceries on Monday, and I added the smoothie ingredients to the list.  I chose to dive right in this morning and tried my hand at the strawberry pineapple smoothie.  Colten helped, and it was actually great quality time this morning, which we often don't get, especially not so early in the day, as I'm not a morning person at all.  But, I was in such a great mood and would be trying a great recipe!  So, we dove in.  I began by digging our Ninja Master Prep out of the bottom of our pantry.  Seriously, we have this super amazing machine and hardly ever use it.  Well, that's going to change soon, too!  But the smoothie turned out AMAZING and I'm so pleased!  I've definitely found a new breakfast favorite!  It stayed frozen until about 9:30ish, which I was finishing it by then anyway!  And it's an 'on-the-go' thing, so that makes it even better!  

Ingredients:

Hubby thought he was being 'creative' and it was 'cool' to take a picture with the sugar on top of the other ingredients...and see those ice cubes?  Yeah, real genius babe! :) They're actually kinda cute!

1 cup frozen, unsweetened strawberries

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (we figured out that a 6oz container was perfect) 

2 Tablespoons white sugar

6 ice cubes (I cheated and used 7...)

1 teaspoon wheat germ (optional, but super healthy)

Directions:

1. Toss everything in the blender, and mix, mix, mix!  

Everything in the blender.

Our super awesome Ninja Master Prep Pod-Guy in use! FINALLY! 
P.S. IT'S AWESOME!

All mixed into a delicious goodness

2. Pour into your favorite cup or just one that won't spill its contents (in which case, you should dispose of any that will spill its contents...).  

3. ENJOY!

This is definitely going to be repeated several times a week, as it's a perfect amount, filling, and healthy!  And I won't be munching on unhealthy snacks for the rest of the day.  All I'll need is a semi-late lunch to hold me over until supper, as I have to get through both jobs today and won't be home until 9:30pm tonight!  *I think I can, I think I can*  

Have any favorite smoothie go-to's?  Please share!  I'm open to new recipes!! :)  

Have any smoothie tips and/or tricks?  Please share those as well!  I'm a smoothie newbie, and it never hurts to learn a thing or two...