Weekly Recipe Challenge

In the few weeks that we've been back in Grenada, I can already tell I'm in a cooking rut. We have a few meals that we really like, and tend to have them over and over. Some of this is attributed to our small selection of food items. But mostly, it's my lack of creativity. As I've said before, though, I'm blessed with a husband who is extremely easy to please, loves leftovers, and will eat anything. He still asks for spaghetti every other night. So yesterday I made him lasagna, because when you make a whole lasagna for 2 people, you get about 3 meals out of it!

But I realized that I need to branch out a little bit with my food choices. So I've decided to make one new recipe a week. That may not sound like a lot, and in a perfect world, I'd concoct elaborate, gourmet meals every day of the week. However, our budget (and my limited kitchen space and utensils) will not allow for that. I have a few recipes in the queue already. Some are family recipes that I've been eating for years, but never made myself. Others are recipes from magazines, friends, or online that looked yummy. I think this will be a fun way for me to broaden my experiences and get out of our meal-time rut.

The recipe for this week was Strawberry Cream-Filled Crepes. I've always thought crepes were the epitome of classy brunch-fare, so elegant and light. And I was a little intimidated at the thought of making them myself. Come to find out, they are basically a very thin pancake, and just about as easy to make! Thanks to my blender, I whipped up the batter in no time. The filling was simple as well: Whip 1 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat 8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream. (On a side note, my new favorite utensil is the electric hand mixer we bought at Wal-Mart while we were home for just $6! I think I've used it 4-5 times already since we've been back.) I filled the crepes with the cream cheese mixture and topped them with fresh sliced strawberries. Now that I know how easy it is to make crepes, I can't wait to explore the many variations that are possible.