If you have never had a Crepe, you are missing out!  Even better, get creative in your kitchen, and whip up a batch of Crepes.  Crepes are native to France and the definition of Crepe in latin is crispa meaning curled.  Crepes are basically very thin pancakes.  They are filled with a variety of things.  Crepe Suzette  is a Crepe with a filling of sugar, orange and liqueur.  Personally, I fill them with fruit and even scrambled eggs and cheese.  Crepes are very simple to make and they are a hit for breakfast, dessert or any meal.  I like to make Crepes for Sunday morning breakfast.  I fill half with apple filling and half with scrambled eggs and cheese.  The following is a recipe from allrecipes.com.  It is one I have used and it works very well.  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/basic-crepes/

If you follow these simple steps, you can't go wrong!

1.  An easy way to mix your Crepes is in a blender.

2.  Use a non-stick egg pan for the Crepes.  You can use either butter or a non-
      stick spray.  Once your pan is greased, it should be ok for the duration of
      cooking the rest of the crepes, so you are not utilizing a lot of grease!

Pour batter in the center of pan 

Rotate pan to spread the batter evenly in the pan

Using a rubber spatula, loosen the sides of the crepe, turn it over and cook slightly on the other side

Apple Filling                       

Scrambled Eggs

Finished Product!   Enjoy!

From my kitchen to yours, find your inner culinary soul and enjoy cooking!  Valentine's Day is fast approaching.  Why not be bold and avoid the crowded restaurants and create your own romantic bounty of food!  In the words of Julia Child:
I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a valentine as you can give.
Julia Child

Until we meet again, Happy Cooking and....Bon Appetite !

What is better than a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup?  You can do this in a half hour!

2 to 3 chicken breasts, sliced into cubes
6 to 8 cups of chicken broth (I use Chicken Base and water, it stretches farther and I can control the sodium)
1 16 ounce package frozen vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste
A sprig of thyme is good if you like thyme and a bit of parsley for color and flavor too.
Noodles, I prefer to make my own!

Noodles:
1/2 c. flour to 1 egg.  For this recipe, 2 cups flour and 4 eggs are enough.
Directions:
Measure flour in large bowl, make a well in the middle of the flour.  Add slightly beaten eggs in the well.  Mix together the flour as much as you can with a fork.  Put mixture on floured surface and need the dough until it forms into a round ball.  Cover and place in refrigerator for 10 minutes.  Take ball out of frig and split the ball in half.  Roll thin and cut into noodles.  You can let noodles dry or cook them right away.  The trick is to be sure to add it to the broth when the broth is boiling. 

Chicken noodle soup is easy to make and tastes much better than from the can!  On cold frosty nights, it warms me from the tip of my head to the bottom of my toes!  Adding the vegetables to it helps to complete the meal.  Add a slice of whole wheat bread and you have dinner made, wha la!  This picture is borrowed from online, but looks a lot like my end product!  Use whatever vegetables that your family enjoys, dare to be creative!

Physical Activity, if you are like me, I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach!  I have never been the runner, I have never been the star athlete and if I think too much, I can get on a roll and be really negative about exercise.  For instance, I hate to sweat, I don't have time, and truthfully, I would rather just not worry about it!  This mindset changed for me over night in the spring of 2011.  My blood pressure was so high, I was considered in stroke zone and I received a fast ride to the hospital.  The diagnosis, well, my gene pool kicked in with a vengeance.  If you know me at all, when something happens, I have to know why and what to do about it.  So, I began to read as much information as I could.  I began to see a theme, EXERCISE!  So, rather than embracing that notion, I thought I should read some more, and yes, the same theme, Exercise.  I am happy to report, I do exercise.  I found motivation through a facebook group created by a very motivational woman who has quite a health story of loosing a lot of weight.  I gained motivation from my family who recognizes that we need to be active together.  I am finding it is really not that difficult.  I just had to get rid of all those points that I used as an excuse not to do it.
1. Sweat, ok, still not over that, but just have to deal with that one.  I visualize a hot shower after I am done.
2.  Time, the recommendation is 30 minutes most days of the week.  The good news is, I do not have to do it all at one time!  I stretch in the morning, walk over lunch and when I am at home, I ride my stationary bike or turn on my favorite aerobic program that I record on my DVR. 
3.  Become Addicted to Exercise!  Wow!  Now there is a concept, an addiction for me that may be positive.  A childhood acquaintance whom I have admired, was the athlete and continues into adulthood running marathons and all kinds of other things.  I once asked her what the secret is and she simply said, "you have to become addicted to the adrenalin rush of exercising."  Hm, I pondered this thought and wondered if I would get to this frame of thinking.  I think I am almost there.  Now, keep in mind, my idea of the level of activity and the addiction to it is far different from my childhood friend, but I am gaining ground with my health.  I find that when I do not exercise, I feel stressed and the stress stays with me.

The following is a slide show from UNL and has a lot of helpful ideas. 

http://www.slideshare.net/alicehenneman/how-should-you-spend-your-calorie-salary

My random advice:
1. Find time in your schedule and stick to it.
2. Take a day off if you want to.  This usually happens on the weekend.  It gives me freedom.  ( I have found, I am taking fewer days off because I like how I feel after a good workout)
3.  Do a variety of things for exercise, the same thing over and over again, gets old and stale.  Just be sure you stretch, incorporate an activity that gets your heart rate up such as aerobics or brisk walking, and weight bearing exercise.  Here is the part that is the best, you do not need a gym for any of this!  The weight bearing exercise is as simple as stomach crunches, or push ups. 
4.  Just DO IT!  Don't let your mind over ride your need to be healthy.  Your body is like a fine tuned machine, you need in-put (Healthy food) and output (exercise).

Let's face it, most of us have sedentary jobs and they are typically filled with stress.  If we can handle our jobs and fit in exercise, we will be healthier for it. 

5.  More importantly, you need to remember the importance of water, you got it, water!  Keeping hydrated is a key to your body running smoothly and helping you with your plan of action for physical activity.  Most doctors recommend 8 to 12 glasses of water a day, if you are exercising, you are in a hot environment or perhaps fighting an illness, you need more than the recommended amount.  Loose the pop and other sugary drinks and choose water.  If you don't like water, try adding a bit of fresh fruit to your water, right now, citrus fruit is in season, add a little lemon or lime to your drink. Create a habit for you and your family.

Until next time, fit in a little fitness into your life, you will be glad you did!  You will find yourself less stressed, you will have more energy and overall, you will have an attitude that you can take on whatever challenge life may throw at you!

I leave you with one of my favorite songs when I am feeling down, and really don't want to move forward. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LODkVkpaVQA

 

How are your New Year resolutions going?  If you are like most of us, you chose one directly related to healthy lifestyles, eating healthy, or loosing weight.  My resolution is to embrace cooking, stay away from eating out and with any luck, this will assist me in eating healthier and maintaining my weight.  So far, so good!  There are times when I have the desire to eat out because of a favorite dish that I have never made before.  One of the dishes recently was french onion soup.  Wow, super simple and since I made it in my kitchen, less expensive and healthier as I controlled the salt and fat content.  I utilized the recipe from Rachael Ray as a baseline and altered a few things to meet my needs.  It turned out fabulous!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/oh-so-good-french-onion-soup-recipe/index.html

Our family has a new soup that they will request in the future!


Next up, chicken pot pie sounded like a good meal for Friday night and would be great since we have bitter cold temperatures here in Nebraska.  Again, I went on a hunt for a great recipe.  I started out with my tried and true pastry shell recipe, the trick to a good crust is to chill the flour and fat mixture as well as the water (separate of course).  When cool, mix together and roll it out.  The following is the recipe I tried and it was very good!  I chose to use a regular pie pan and that worked well.Next time, I would make the sauce with a bit more liquid.  Other than that, it was a keeper!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-pot-pie-ix/


The best way to keep my resolution of eating healthy is to find the joy of cooking in my own kitchen.  I hope you can do this as well!  Until I blog again, try something fun in your kitchen!