Chocolate Crepes with Orange Sauce

Once a week, an "EMFH" night shows up on our dinner board.  "Every Man For Himself" is a necessary night off from cooking for me, and the best way for us to clear out the fridge of this week's leftovers. 

Last week, I decided to spice up EMFH night with a fun dessert.  I found a recipe for chocolate crepes, and made my own orange sauce to go with them.  I had never made crepes before so I had some anxiety about this because they are very delicate, but they tasted great... I almost didn't share them with anyone.  (Flash to my fantasy world... a totally spotless and quiet home, with beautiful white furniture, and me eating chocolate crepes all by myself on my gorgeous couch that does not have crayon on it....sigh.)  But seriously, I love my family.

I may make this a habit around here.  A fun and easy dessert on EMFH night is great motivation to eat leftovers!  Or maybe I'll just skip dinner and go straight to dessert...

Chocolate Crepes with Orange Sauce (Adapted from cooks.com)

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 c. skim milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vegetable oil

For Orange Sauce

• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor until well blended.
2.  Lightly coat small non-stick skillet with oil and heat to medium high.  Reduce heat to medium low.  Drop 1/8 batter into skillet and cook 30-40 seconds on each side until the top of crepe has dull surface and the edges begin to curl.
3. In a small saucepan, combine Orange Sauce ingredients and whisk together until well blended.  Heat to boiling, and then turn down to a simmer.  Let simmer for a few minutes, and remove from heat to cool slightly.  Sauce should be consistency of pancake syrup.
4. Serve crepes on a dessert plate, with sauce drizzled on top, and sprinkled with sifted powdered sugar.

Orange-Pecan French Toast Casserole

Aloha y'all! Dinner's about to go in the oven, so I have a few minutes to share one of my all-time favorite recipes with you.  This one is delicious for weekend brunch, and also works great for those "breakfast for dinner" nights, which we have every so often at our house.  I have made this recipe many times and it's always a hit.

I've been blessed to become part of a Moms of Preschoolers (MOPS) group here in Waikoloa, which is a faith-based organization that brings together moms in fellowship, support, encouragement, and friendship.  We meet every other Friday, and we rotate bringing food for the meetings.  This week was my small group's turn, so I chose to bring this dish.  The nice thing about this casserole is that you can make it ahead (the night before, or several hours before.) 

The French bread I used was still pretty soft, so I chose to make it a couple hours before so that it wouldn't get too soggy soaking in the fridge overnight.  If you use thicker slices that have hardened a bit, overnight would work just fine.  (Side note... if you have some French bread loaf leftover from dinner, this is a great way to use it up.  And since it's Cooking Light, you don't have to feel too guilty.  Or at least that's what I tell myself after a few pieces.)

(Hot out of the oven...that's some caramely goodness right there!)

Orange-Pecan French Toast Casserole (Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons light-colored corn syrup

Cooking spray

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup fat-free milk

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large egg whites

2 large eggs

12 (1-inch-thick) slices French bread (about 1 pound)

Preparation

1. Combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup; pour into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over sugar mixture.
2. Combine rind and next 7 ingredients (rind through eggs); stir with a whisk. Arrange bread slices over pecans in dish; pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350°.
4. Carefully turn bread slices over to absorb excess egg mixture. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Try it for Sunday brunch this weekend and let me know what you think.  Enjoy!