French Cooking ~ Crêpes Recipe

In France, we love to have soirées crêpes: that's when we have crêpes for main course and crêpes for dessert.  In the ones for the main course, we usually put anything we desire that has a salty taste to it: ham, cheese, eggs, and my favorite is lying some bechamel ~here is the recipe~ and add other ingredients on top.  As for the dessert crepes, these are the sweet kind!  We put nutella, jam, sugar, butter, whipped cream, fruits, etc.

When making crepes, try and flip them, it's a lot of fun!!!  Have each member of your family make their own crepe, they will enjoy it.  Even the little ones can do it... when done cooking, and once the pan is cooled, have them flip a crepe, it might just gets messy ;)

French Cooking ~ Béchamel Recipe

Recipe yields about 2 cups of Béchamel

Béchamel is a French white sauce, kind of like sausage gravy that is served with biscuits here in the US, without the sausage.  We use it as a base for a lot of meals such as lasagna, shepherds pie, casseroles, and I personally love it in crêpes!
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the video already ~it's also at the end of this post~, and today I am finally sharing the recipe...

Sauteed Carrots, Leeks and Chicken a la Francaise

Healthy Recipes

Like with my Quiches or Crock-Pot Veggies and Salmon recipes, this one simply starts with whatever vegetables I may have in the fridge that day.  Then, add some protein, and we have healthy dinner.

Ingredients for 2 persons

6 Carrots          2 or 2 Garlic Cloves              2 Chicken Breasts

2 Leeks            Butter, Olive Oil                    Herbs de Provence, salt, pepper

Directions

1. Peel, wash and slice the carrots.

2. Peel and half the garlic cloves.

3. Place the carrots and garlic cloves in a heated pan with one teaspoon of butter and a tablespoon of O.O.  Sear the carrots on high flame until they become brown.

No-Bake Choco Treat 3minute-Recipe

Do you ever have a craving for a chocolate something after dinner, or throughout the day too?! 

I do, and last night, I needed something quick and easy to make, to eat right away!!  This is what I came up with.

*Just as a friendly warning, some of the pictures are not too appetizing, I admit... But trust me, the result will be worth it!

Ingredients:

-1.5 cup Graham crackers

-2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

-1Tablespoon Nutella

-5 squares Hersey chocolate bar

-Butter

-3 big Marshmallows (or 10 small ones)

-Parchment paper

Salmon Quiche

Ingredients:

- Salmon in a can ~or fresh would be fine ;)~

- 1 zucchini

- 1 tomato

- 1 pie crust

- 3 eggs

- salt, pepper, herbs ~I use either Italian Seasoning or Herbes de Provence~

- a 8 or 9 in. pan ~ square or circle, it doesn't matter~

Last Minute Sweet Tooth Satisfaction

My Husband and I cannot not have some kind of sweets after dinner. 

Sometimes, we try to be healthy about it, so that week we had lots of pears and strawberries, and had been eating them a few nights in a row already.  Eating the same thing over and over gets boring after a while!!  We needed change.  Yet, I couldn't let these tasty fruits go bad, so I looked at the different ingredients I could find in my kitchen at the last minute and made up these tasty treats in less than 10 minutes!

~Pears and Strawberries Tartelettes~

Ingredients for 4 tartelettes ~which means 'mini pie' in French!~:

- 3/4 of a cup of Graham Crackers 

- 1 tablespoon of melted butter

- 4 squares of chocolate

- 2 pears

- 4 big strawberries ~or more depending on the size~

- whipped cream

{make sure to click the "Read More" button under the picture for more detail}

Breakfast Sandwiches

Hubby wakes up every morning at 5:30 a.m. or earlier and drives about 1.5 to 2 hours to go to work.  When I first moved back in with him, after our wedding, I was waking up with him, to prepare him a nice breakfast, and pack his lunch and snacks.  I felt the need to support him through his hardship, and I was happy to do it.  

Unfortunately, after a few months, I have to admit that I was really tired, and could not find the strength to wake up so early anymore... :(  Sorry Babe...

This recipe of breakfast sandwiches was the perfect compromise!

I used Taralynn Mcnitt's recipe of her Breakfast Sandwiches To-Go All Week Long ~click on the link to find her recipe!~ and added my twist to it.  

~~Check out Taralynn's blog Undressed Skeleton, it's absolutely wonderful!!!  She's got some awesome recipes, and it's all about healthy stuff, so I LOOOVE it!~~

Ingredients for 6 Sandwiches:

- Mini Peppers (3)

- Spinach (1 bowl full)

- English Muffins (6)

- Eggs (3 full and 3 whites only)

- Shredded Cheese (1 cup)

- Salt & Pepper (for taste)

Also needed: 

- A muffin/cupcake pan 

- A Forman grill/panini grill or Croque Monsieur grill ~for my French family!!~

{click the "Read More" button under the picture for the recipe!!}

Salmon and Toasted Goat Cheese Salad

Goat Cheese Salad is my favorite.  In France, almost every time my parents would bring us to a restaurant I would order a goat cheese salad!  It's a simple yet delicious salad topped with some toasts spread with baked goat cheese.

The other day, I was craving it and decided to make it.  But for Hubby, I needed to add a bit of protein so he would feel full and satisfied!  That's where the salmon comes in.

{Click the "Read More" button under the picture for more detail}

Crock-Pot Veggies and Salmon

I just purchased a crock-pot ~last Sunday~ so I had to try it asap!!

I had no idea what to make, but had a lot of vegetables ~as usual~ and was craving salmon.
I made a simple and very healthy meal with Fingerling potatoes, carrots, mini peppers, one onion and well... Salmon!!

I cut up my carrots in slices, cut the potatoes in halves or thirds ~leaving the skin on~ and thinly sliced the peppers.  I also chopped the onion.  I threw everything right in the pot, on top of a nice mixture of olive oil and herbs, and put the crock-pot on low for 7 hours.

I loved how each time I walked by the kitchen it smelled so delicious!

And 7 hours later, I had some beautifully cooked veggies.  Honestly, I was actually aiming for a roasted kind, but I'm not sure that's what I got! I really should follow a recipe next time!!

Broccoli and Asparagus Quiche + Lettuce and some Real French Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
1 pie crust
3 eggs
1 zucchini
2 cups of broccoli - broken into small tiny bunches
1 bunch of asparagus (about 12)
shredded cheese
a pinch of Salt
1/2 teaspoon of Pepper 
2 teaspoons of Seasoning ~ Kirkland Signature Organic No Salt Seasoning

Quiches

I loooove Quiches! They remind me so much of France!

Quiches are really easy to make and are healthy and delicious! My hubby is a fan of them. One entire quiche usually lasts us the night ~although, I try to be reasonable and keep a serving for my lunch the next day!~ The left over holds perfectly and is pretty transportable for a lunch on the go!

As my Aunt Flo once taught me, you can make a quiche with any kind of vegetables/flavors that you want. Plus, whenever you don't know what to cook for dinner, or don't have much time, quiches are the perfect solution! They only take about 10min to prepare, then just let it bake in the oven for approximately 45min!

I prefer to make mines with lots of veggies because it's an easy way to eat your serving of greens for the day! And, I always have a few vegetables that sit in my fridge for a while, so before they go bad, I just throw them in a nice little quiche mixture. It's perfect!!

All you need is one pie crust, some eggs ~2,3 or 4~, a bit of sour cream, cheese, and any kind of other fresh ingredients you like.
Just mix everything together, put it on your pie crust, bake it in the over et voilà!

Since I kinda make quiches regularly, I might share with you my favorites whenever I make one!

Feel free to share your combinations of ingredients! I'm always up to trying new yummy meals!

Enjoy Healthy Meals For a

Life in Positudiness!

~Sandie